A CIVIL servant who fraudulently claimed more than £86,000 in benefits by lying about her personal circumstances has been jailed.

Bolanle Shote, 41, of Curling Tye, Basildon, pretended she was a single parent despite having lived with her partner for nearly a decade.

The former HM Revenue and Customs worker made multiple false claims for tax credits.

Cheryl Turton, Senior Manager for HMRC, said: “Tax credits are designed to support those hard-working families who most need extra financial support.

“What makes this fraud even more despicable is that Shote was employed by HMRC and knew full well that lying about her personal circumstances was fraud. She went to great lengths to hide her true situation from her colleagues and employer.

“Offences of this nature are taken very seriously by HMRC and now she has lost her job, her good name and has a criminal record.”

Shote, a mother of three, was sentenced to eight months in prison during an appearance at Basildon Crown Court.

She claimed tax credits as a single parent from February 2003 until August 2012, when she changed her claim and told HMRC her husband had moved in with her.

Suspicions were raised after it emerged she had made joint mortgage and loan applications during the nine year period.

Shote resigned from HMRC in November 2013- nine months before she was charged with dishonestly claiming tax credits.

She pleaded guilty to ten offences and repaid the full amount before being sentenced.

Addressing Shote, judge Ian Graham said: “This was a fraud from the outset which continued for over eight years and this, together with the amount involved, means that I have no option but to impose an immediate custodial sentence.”