Community service for benefit cheat in Hounslow
A woman with £16K of savings, who cheated tax payers out of more than £7,000 in housing benefit, has been prosecuted by the London Borough of Hounslow.
Barbara Gill, aged 40, of Cherry Crescent, Brentford pleaded guilty to two charges of benefit fraud at Brentford Magistrates court on 24 July 2009.
The council’s lead member for finance, Cllr Gerald McGregor said: “Changes in circumstances can, and often do, affect entitlement to benefit, especially when the change involves a considerable sum of money as is the case here.
“It is absolutely imperative that when you apply for benefits you are honest about all of your personal circumstances. People who lie, or do not tell us important information or who withhold details of their circumstances when claiming money from public funds are breaking the law.
“Many people think they can get away with it, I can assure them that with our sophisticated computer systems they won’t.”
The case was brought by the council’s fraud team after it received information indicating that Ms Gill had falsely claimed that she had no savings.
Ms Gill did not inform council officers that she held two bank accounts containing in excess of £16,000. She later admitted to council officers that she had been left a large sum of money by her late mother, some of which she had given to her daughters, and the rest of which she had spent on herself. If Ms Gill had declared her circumstances correctly, she would not have been entitled to receive housing benefit.
The unexplained income affected her benefit and as a result of her actions she falsely claimed £7034.66 in housing benefits from 5 April 2004 to 13 July 2008.
She was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service, pay costs of £852 and to repay the benefits falsely claimed back in full (total £7886.66).
Topics: benefit cheat, benefits, Britain, England, Governance, Hounslow, London, society, taxes, UK
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