Crime Solicitors

A 30-year-old woman from Liverpool has been jailed for a £212,000 benefit fraud, which also involved her 64-year-old parents.

BBC News reports that Danielle Bennett and her parents Samuel and Patricia Bennett all claimed to have mobility problems, which involved being unable to walk and also unable to make their own meals.

The benefit fraud relates to claims made over a 10-year period between 2002 and 2012, during which time Danielle Bennett of Woodvale Road, Liverpool, falsely claimed £101,000. Her mother Patricia Bennett falsely claimed £70,000, while her father Samuel Bennett falsely claimed £41,000.

Benefit fraud investigators from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) collected evidence that showed Patricia and Samuel Bennett and their daughter Danielle Bennett enjoying luxury holidays abroad – including footage of Danielle swimming with dolphins in Australia.

Despite making benefit claims on the basis of having serious physical disabilities, the evidence collected showed the family to have no physical disabilities, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

The family had pleaded guilty to benefit fraud at a previous hearing, which heard how they made false claims for disability benefits to fund a “lavish” lifestyle, including “exotic foreign holidays”.

Judge Dennis Watson QC said that in thirty years of working in the criminal court, it was the worst case of benefit fraud he had seen.

Between 2003 and 2012, the family had enjoyed nine “lavish” holidays in destinationslike Thailand and Las Vegas. The court was told that the family had lied “blatantly” and “repeatedly” to obtain disability benefits they were not entitled to – with the mother, Patricia Bennett, playing a leading role in the fraud.

At Liverpool Crown Court, Danielle Bennett was sentenced to 30 months in jail for benefit fraud.

Her parents also pleaded guilty to benefit fraud – Patricia Bennett was sentenced to 27 months in jail, while her husband Samuel Bennett was given a nine-month jail sentence for benefit fraud.

After the family was sentenced, DWP spokesman Steve Sneade said:

"It is not just the sum of the money involved – although £212,000 is a lot of money that is stolen from the taxpayer – but it was also the nature of the case.

"It was callous lies told to get money meant for the most vulnerable in our society – they enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, with many holidays abroad to exotic places like Thailand, New York and Las Vegas, all at the expense of the taxpayer."

Duncan Lewis Benefit Fraud Lawyers

Duncan Lewis benefit fraud lawyers are able to advise at any stage of a charge for benefit fraud – including fraud charges relating to:

• Blue Badge fraud
• Council Tax benefit
• Disability Living Allowance
• Housing Benefit
• Income Support
• Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Pension Credits
• Universal Credit
• Working Tax credits.

For expert legal advice on benefit fraud charges, call Duncan Lewis benefit fraud lawyers on 020 7923 4020.