False Claiming Does Not Pay
Biggleswade resident, Sandra Jones, claimed Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit as a Lone Parent with two children, despite having two jobs she failed to declare. When initially questioned she said she had not worked since 2004.
However Mid Beds cross reference our benefit claimants with various bodies to identify any discrepancies. One such check with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) revealed a discrepancy on her claim.
We discovered she had worked in a canteen at a school in Biggleswade between October 2005 and October 2006 and at a pub in the town between October 2006 and February 2007.
Miss Jones pleaded guilty at Bedford Magistrates Court for failing to declare two different jobs spanning different periods. She was fined £500 and had to pay £291.17 costs and will have to repay the money she fraudulently claimed between October 2005 and February 2007.
CASE 2
Mid Beds District Council successfully prosecuted a woman from Langford who fraudulently claimed benefits totalling £11,405.88.
Tracey Wilde of Langford had been claiming as a Lone Parent with two children and claimed to be unemployed.
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A check of her entitlement uncovered she had been working for nearly four years as a care worker in Shefford.
At Bedford Magistrates Court on Friday 10 August, she was given a Community Order, requiring 150 hours unpaid work in the community and
will also have to pay costs of £334.88 and pay back the money wrongly claimed to the council.
Commenting on both cases, Julie Luckman, Fraud manager at Mid Beds said: “We want people to realise that we always make checks and if they are fraudulently claiming benefits we will catch them. We work closely with our colleagues in the HMRC and Department for Work and Pensions and share information regularly.”
