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Benefits fraud

Cases of fraud

Once an investigation has identified that an overpayment of benefit has occurred, this must be repaid. If there is evidence that a person has committed a criminal offence, then the Council may decide to take further action.

Further action can include the issue of a formal caution, administering a financial penalty or ultimately prosecution through the courts.

Below are details of some of the benefit fraud cases that have recently been successfully prosecuted:

• Following an investigation by Calderdale Council and the Department for Work and Pensions, Mrs S was sent to prison for 12 months after she admitted to dishonestly making false statements by failing to disclose that her husband was living with her. At first she was reluctant to answer any questions saying that she thought "the investigation was a waste of taxpayers' money".
  
  Between May 2000 and October 2004 she received more than £68,000 in Income Support, Housing, and Council Tax Benefit. Her husband was also prosecuted after he admitted to supplying false documents that allowed his wife to continue the fraud for another two years.
  
  Speaking after the hearing, James Plaskitt (Department for Work and Pensions Minister responsible for tackling benefit fraud) said "This is an excellent example of the success that can be achieved at tackling benefit fraud when we work closely together with other agencies".
  
  Following on from the successful prosecutions the couple were forced to attend confiscation hearings. The judgement against them was that they were both required to pay £15,000 each within 12 months or otherwise face a further 12 months in prison.
  
• Mr R was ordered to carry out 150 hours unpaid work and pay £200 costs after he admitted that he had failed to report that he had been working. Calderdale Council investigators found that for 18 months between April 2005 and November 2006 Mr R had failed to report his work, despite knowing that it affected his benefit entitlement. Mr R had managed to obtain almost £5000 in Housing and Council Tax Benefit before the fraud was discovered.
  
• A man who reported that he was a landlord, when he was in fact the partner of a woman claiming benefits as a single parent, was sent to prison for six months. At Bradford Crown Court Mr S pleaded guilty to obtaining property by deception, after he admitted receiving more than £4,800 by saying that he was Mrs W's landlord.
  
  The judge told Mr S "Your activities have been utterly blatant and cynical. You set out to hold yourself out as a sham landlord and then sat back as the money poured in. Your dishonesty was blatant and cynical from the outset."
  
  As part of the same investigation Mrs W also pleaded guilty to claiming more than £34,000 by dishonestly failing to notify a change in her circumstances that would affect her benefits. Mrs W also received a six month prison sentence but this was suspended for 12 months and she was ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work.
  
  As well as living together the couple also ran businesses renting a caravan and breeding dogs, including leasing them out for stud. Together the couple claimed more than £40,000 in Income Support, Housing, and Council Tax Benefit. Again in this case Mrs W was subject to a confiscation hearing where she was ordered to repay £22,500 within 6 months or face 13 months in prison.
  
• For more than 10 years Mr H had failed to declare his savings while claiming Council Tax Benefit. When he appeared before magistrates he pleaded guilty to dishonestly making a number of false statements between 2003 and 2007. Mr H failed to declare the seven bank accounts and the savings held. The Court fined Mr H £3000 as well as a further £450 in costs which he was ordered to pay within 28 days.

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