01 February 2012
Benefit fraudster caught
On Thursday 26 January 2012 Huntingdon Magistrates sentenced a former Huntingdonshire woman to 20 weeks custody following a fraud lasting nearly nine years.
Ann Stirling (48), formerly of Main Street, Yaxley, now living at Thorney Road, Eye had pleaded guilty on 3 January 2012 to nine charges of making false benefit claims to Huntingdonshire District Council. This case was adjourned for Probation Service reports, including the option that she may be sent to prison.
The court heard that Stirling had claimed housing and council tax benefit in July 2002, declaring that she was in part-time work and a lone parent with four children reliant on tax credits. Stirling repeated her applications for benefit each year between 2002 and 2010, and on every application declared her only sources of income to be limited work and tax credits. She declared one bank account at the Abbey National.
In February 2011 as part of a nationwide exercise run by the Audit Commission’s national fraud initiative, Protecting the Public Purse, the council identified that Mrs Stirling had been in receipt of a pension from the NHS since at least 1994. This pension, of around £600 a month, had never been declared by Stirling on her claims for benefit. Further enquiries revealed that Stirling had also been in receipt of maintenance from a former husband of nearly £700 a month since 2002. Payments of these sums had been paid into an account held by Stirling which she had never declared on her claims for benefit. As a result of the investigation Stirling’s claims for benefit were re-assessed and she was found to have been overpaid £25,931 in housing and council tax benefit between 2002 and 2011.
Stephanie Wainwright for Stirling said that her client was of previous good character and had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. She went on to say that her client was aware that she risked imprisonment but asked the bench to suspend any period of custody.
In sentencing Stirling to 20 weeks the chair of the bench told Stirling that the offending was so serious having been considered and planned, and had been committed over such a prolonged period of time that custody was the only appropriate sentence.
In a separate case, Wayne Bigg (28) of Walnut Tree Drive, Huntingdon was fined £100 and ordered to pay £100 costs to the council for two charges of benefit fraud in 2008. The court heard that he failed to report that he had received an inheritance, resulting in overpayments of £3,291 housing and council tax benefit. The fraud came to light following a data-matching exercise conducted between the council, the Department for Work and Pensions and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. Loraine Adams for Bigg said that her client had already entered into an arrangement with the council to repay the sums he had been overpaid.
On Tuesday 24 January Huntingdon Magistrates heard two further cases. Suzanne Picking (36) of Elter Water, Huntingdon pleaded guilty to two charges of benefit fraud. Picking admitted failing to report that her husband had set up a business from the family home which had caused overpayments of £9,286 in council tax benefit and job seekers allowance between 2009 and 2011. This only came to light following a tip-off from a member of the public. Elaine Havord for Picking said that her client was of previous good character, had co-operated fully with the investigation and had made arrangements to repay all the monies she had falsely claimed. Picking received a 12 month community order with a requirement to compete 120 hours unpaid work and was also ordered to pay the council’s full costs of £440.
Selina Parkinson (30) of Howitts Lane, Eynesbury pleaded guilty to four charges of benefit fraud totalling £7,300. Her case was adjourned to 31 January 2012 for probation reports.
Nick Jennings, the council’s Fraud Manager said: “More and more fraud is now being detected by data-matching between agencies than ever before. It is no longer possible to hide money going in or out of bank accounts as these are all identified eventually. Whenever a fraud is uncovered the council always seeks to recover the sums that have been defrauded in full, and wherever possible the costs of investigations and court cases, so these are not born by the local taxpayer.