A WOMAN claimed benefit worth more than £15,000 without declaring she owned a property worth more than £75,000 in Turkey, a court was told.
Pauline Noel, of St Peters Way, Warrington pleaded guilty to two offences of benefit fraud when she appeared before the town’s magistrates.
She was fined £1,200, ordered to pay £85 costs and a £15 surcharge which will go to Victim Support.
The court was told Noel, aged 54, failed to declare to both the Department of Work and Pensions and the borough council that she had owned a property in Turkey, worth more than £75,000 for at least the last three years.
Since July 2007 she had claimed income support of £13,165.70 and council tax benefit of £1,965.94, making a total of £15,131.64.
After the hearing, Adrian Webster, the borough council’s benefits manager, said: “Deliberately withholding information that affects your claim is stealing. That’s why we are targeting benefit thieves.”
A WOMAN claimed benefit worth more than £15,000 without declaring she
owned a property worth more than £75,000 in Turkey, a court was told.
Benefit cheat had home in Turkey
22 Comments
Share.
About Author
Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
2 Comments
Hardly targetting benefit fraud is it…… you falsly claim over £15k and spend it on ‘whatever’ then when you are caught out you get a fine of just over £1k. Worth doing if you ask me !?!
Typical, who makes these decisions. a typical warringtonian who works there butt off to earn £15k would pay £6k in tax over a year, yet this person only pays £1200 on money she has screwed out of these hard working people. Is there any wonder the british people are fed up. Theres a revolution coming, its well over due