8:30am Thursday 30th December 2010
By Christine Sexton
FOUR benefits cheats have been brought to justice.
Nita Palmer, 43, of Blenheim Chase, Leigh, admitted two benefit fraud charges dating back to April 2007, and which came to a total of £34,230.
At Basildon Crown Court, Palmer was sentenced to seven months in jail, suspended for two years.
She was also given an electronically monitored 130-day curfew order.
In a joint operation, Southend Council and the Department for Work and Pensions discovered Palmer had failed to declare she worked more than 25 hours a week for Virtue Fusion.
As a result, she had fraudulently received benefits she was not entitled to, worth £5,977 from the council, and £28,253 from the Department for Work and Pensions.
She has now made arrangements to pay back the overpayment to the council.
At the same court a Westcliff couple were sentenced to 150 hours’ community service and each ordered to pay £150 costs for dishonestly claiming up to £5,929 they were not entitled to.
Ryan Doney, 35 and wife Theresa, 31, formerly of Whitefriars Crescent, Westcliff, admitted failing to report their change of circumstances and making false representations.
The court heard Doney enrolled as a student, but then failed to tell the council he was receiving a student bursary, and therefore dishonestly received £2,052 in housing benefit.
He and his wife then failed to inform the council they had moved to Suffolk.
They claimed their address was still in Westcliff, so the couple received an additional £3,301 housing benefit they were not entitled to, and £575 council tax benefit. They will have to repay all their overpaid benefits.
At Southend Magistrates’ Court, Simon Patient, 31, of Southchurch Avenue, Southend, admitted fraudulently claiming benefits worth £6,400 since April 2007.
He was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and ordered to pay £150 towards costs. This overpayment is being recovered from his ongoing benefit entitlement.
Andrew Moring, Southend councillor responsible for corporate support services, said: “We will take action against people who comment the offence of benefit fraud.
“As these cases show, repayment of benefit is not the only action the council may take.”
Anyone who has suspicions over a person’s entitlement to benefit can call the corporate fraud investigations team direct on 01702 215254 or e-mail counterfraud@southend.gov.uk All information received is treated in the strictest confidence.
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