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Suspended sentence and community order for mother who claimed £43,000 in benefit fraud (24 June 2015)

Date: 24/06/2015
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Suspended sentence and community order for mother who claimed £43,000 in benefit fraud

A hairdresser who falsely claimed £43,000 in benefits as a single mother was caught out when she posted her wedding photographs on social media, Mold Crown Court has heard.

During the three years she claimed benefit as a single parent, 28-year-old Nicola Joy from Mold in Flintshire received more than £43,000 in income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit, the Daily Mail reports.

Mrs Joy had been living with her husband Gary since March 2010, benefit fraud investigators discovered, however.

She had told benefit officials that she was a single parent and did not know the whereabouts of her son’s father.

A benefit fraud investigation was launched after a tip-off. Investigators also found that Mrs Joy also had a £2,000 share in a hairdressing business.

Her marriage was discovered when pictures of her wedding appeared online to celebrate her two-year wedding anniversary – and her husband posted a message about his “amazing wife”.

The prosecution told the court that Mrs Joy had been on ten holidays since 2009 – and she admitted that she would not have been able to do this without her husband’s income and the money she received from fraudulently claiming benefits.

Judge Rhys Rowlands told the court that Joy had dishonestly failed to notify the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and local council of a change in her circumstances – and as a result, she had been paid a significant amount of public money to which she was not entitled.

Mrs Joy entered a guilty plea and received a 12-month suspended sentence and was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Her defence lawyer told the court that she deserved “full credit” for her guilty pleas – and added that she had a child aged five to care for.

The judge said, however, that if Joy were sent to prison, then her husband could give up work to care for the child – or the child could go and live with grandparents.

It is reported Joy is already repaying the money she received fraudulently.



Duncan Lewis Benefit Fraud Solicitors

Duncan Lewis benefit fraud solicitors can advise at any stage of a charge for benefit fraud, including fraud allegations relating to:

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• Disability Living Allowance
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Duncan Lewis is a leading provider of Legal Aid services and our benefit fraud lawyers can attend an interview under caution with the DWP or local authority fraud investigators.

For expert legal advice on benefit fraud investigations, call Duncan Lewis benefit fraud solicitors on 020 7923 4020.

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