WARRINGTON Borough Council’s finance chief has praised the authority’s counter fraud team after the council and the Department for Work and Pensions claimed back more than £60,000 following the prosecution of four benefit cheats.
Cllr Russ Bowden (pictured), the council’s lead member for corporate finance, said: “People who are fraudulently claiming benefits they are not entitled to are stealing money from honest tax payers and diverting funds from vital council services. That’s why we are doing everything we can to catch these people and take action against them.
“These four successful prosecutions are as a result of the hard work of our counter fraud team who work closely with colleagues from the DWP to investigate claims of fraud.
“They use all of the intelligence at their disposal to bring these cheats to justice.”
The four defendants, Mark Smalley of Aveley Close, Andrew Keegans of Thirlmere Avenue, Paul Stewart of Bowness Avenue and Joanna Peppit (Macdonald) of Statham Avenue all of Warrington, all pleaded guilty to separate offences of claiming benefits they were not entitled to.
The court was told Smalley failed to inform the council and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that he was running his own business as an electrician whilst claiming housing benefit, council tax support and jobseekers allowance based on his part time work as an actor.
Because of this, he was overpaid £4,889 housing benefit, £1,687 council tax support and £16,570 in jobseekers allowance.
The court ordered Smalley to repay the amounts in full and he was given a 16 week custodial sentence suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work, pay an additional £1,587.50 in court costs and an £80 victim surcharge.
Keegans failed to inform the council and the DWP that he and his wife were working while claiming income-related benefits. As a result, he was overpaid £5,656 housing benefit, £1,312 council tax support and £1,651 in jobseekers allowance.
He was ordered to repay the amounts in full and was given a 100 hour unpaid work order. The court also required him to pay a £60 victim surcharge and £500 towards prosecution costs.
Stewart pleaded guilty to four counts of failing to inform the council that his partner was working and that he had received increases in his earnings. He was overpaid £16,200 housing benefit and £3,484 council tax support.
The court ordered him to repay the amounts in full and he was sentenced to an eight week curfew order. He was also required to pay £700 in court costs and a £60 victim surcharge.
Peppit was sentenced following prosecution on four charges of failing to inform the council that she had received a rise in her wages and had changed her employer. She was overpaid £7,247 housing benefit and £2,239 council tax support.
She was ordered to repay the amounts in full and sentenced to a nine week curfew order. The court also ordered her to pay £500 prosecution costs and £60 victim surcharge.
Council’s anti-fraud team praised after £60,000 reclaimed
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As somebody who used to take a very close interest in these matters when I was on the Council, may I also add my praise.
Whilst joining with you Paul in your praise of WBC, what most people baulk at are the unreasonably long and lenient repayment conditions attaching to the sentences for this type of fraud, because that ultimately is what it is. Very often the repayment conditions imposed by the courts mean the miscreants will never pay back what they actually defrauded the council tax payers of, because the periods of repayment are excessive. Moreover, if they came before the courts for say ‘commercial’ fraud the courts would include interest due on the defrauded sums.