A WOMAN committed a £120,000 fraud on a council as she let out a house while she lived elsewhere.

Natalie Wagstaff has been given a suspended prison sentence after she lied to Castle Point Council, claiming she still lived at a council home in Link Road, Canvey.

She was in fact living somewhere else and renting out the council-owned home to other tenants.

Wagstaff had completed a “right to buy” application and had to share if she still lived there so the council can work out how much of a discount to give her on the property.

However, she hid this from the council and sublet the property to other tenants for four years from January 2015 to June 2019.

Had she successfully deceived the council, she would have had £80,000 knocked off the price of the home.

The council said it could have housed people in need as two-bed properties are in high demand, with a 12 month wait time.

The council said it lost £46,578.86 as a result of those four years and five months, and combined with the discount of £80,000, Wagstaff’s fraud came to £126,578.86.

Wagstaff appeared at Basildon Crown Court on Friday and was given a two-year suspended sentence, 20 hours of rehabilitation and 100 hours of unpaid work.

Beverley Egan, councillor responsible for place and housing, said: “This case sends a clear message to any person who thinks that they can commit fraud against the council that they will be caught.

“The council will take prosecution action against them resulting in possible imprisonment, unpaid work and any other penalty imposed by the court and that we will seek to recover the full costs from the guilty party.”