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Pensioner jailed for benefit fraud
Ref : 09/104 : Date : 08-12-2009
A pensioner who pleaded guilty to fraudulently claiming housing and council tax benefit for 11 years has been sent to prison for 10 months.
Mrs Dawn Margaret Haynes, 65, formally of Leconfield Road, Lancing was successfully prosecuted by Adur District Council. She had pleaded guilty at Chichester Crown Court on 6 November to five offences of dishonestly furnishing a document which she knew to be false in order to obtain Housing and Council Tax benefits. She elected to have a further 11 offences taken into consideration. Mrs Haynes was remanded until the 4th December 2009 when she appeared at Chichester Crown Court for sentencing.
Mrs Haynes had fraudulently claimed £40,782 in housing and council tax benefit by lying on her benefit claim forms and not telling Adur Council about her home in Spain an ISA and other bank accounts.
The Court heard that since 1998 Mrs Haynes had been in receipt of Housing and Council Tax benefit. As a result of a routine data matching exercise, it was discovered that she had undisclosed bank accounts and an ISA. An investigation was commenced by Adur District Council’s benefit fraud team. This led to the discovery that between 1998 and March 2009 Mrs Haynes had failed to disclose to Adur District Council bank accounts, ISA’s and capital, the court was further informed that Mrs Haynes had owned a property in Spain which she sold in 2003.
His honour Judge Woods, after hearing an outline of the case from Miss Henson prosecuting and representing Adur District Council, said to Mrs Haynes: “I give you full credit for your guilty plea and previous good character, they are strong points in your favour. However for many years you have been submitting fraudulent claims - you did not disclose that you had a house in Spain or the proceeds of that sale, nor the bank accounts and ISA. You have been regularly completing claim forms and verification claims and pretended there was no other property or asset. You closed the bank account shortly after the investigation commenced and obtained benefit from the Local Authority when you had assets of your own - the public cannot accept that and therefore prison is inevitable. The least sentence that can be imposed is ten months imprisonment.”
Cabinet member for improved customer services, Julie Searle said : “This case really takes the biscuit. Council tax payers have been funding this lady's costa lifestyle and that is totally unacceptable when so many people are struggling to pay their bills and keep their heads above water.”
Ends
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