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Mum with autistic son forced to repay £56,000 after admitting benefit fraud (13 April 2015)
Date: 13/04/2015
A 53-year-old woman from Leominster in Herefordshire who admitted benefit fraud has been told she must repay £56,000 she received fraudulently between 2008 and 2013 to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Local publisher the Hereford Times reports that Alison Cole of Caswell Road in Leominster admitted benefit fraud and was given a two-year suspended prison sentence at Worcester Crown Court. The mother of three was also place under the supervision of the Probation Service for a year.
Ms Cole had failed to advise the DWP and local housing office that her partner had moved back into her home and continued claiming benefits at her normal rate. Ms Cole’s 20-year-old son has profound needs and is blind, autistic and has learning difficulties, the court was told.
Ms Cole has since made valid claims for Income Support, Housing Benefit and Council Tax – but her legal representative told the court that as a result of having to repay her fraudulently claimed benefits, she was now having to pay £60 out of her weekly benefits, with interest added to the benefit overpayments.
The judge at Worcester Crown Court told Ms Cole she would be “well advised” to get a job to support herself and her family, as she will be repaying the benefit overpayments for the next 19 years.
Judge Daniel Pearce-Higgins QC added:
“Not surprisingly she has suffered from depression – her situation in life is not enviable.”
Duncan Lewis Benefit Fraud Solicitors
Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of benefit fraud solicitors able to advise at any stage of a benefit fraud charge, including charges relating to:
• Bedroom Tax fraud
• Blue Badge fraud
• Child Tax Credits fraud
• Council Tax fraud
• Disability Living Allowance fraud
• Housing Benefit fraud
• Income Support fraud
• Jobseeker’s Allowance fraud
• Pension Credits fraud
• Universal Credit fraud
• Working Tax Credits fraud.
There are Duncan Lewis offices nationwide and Duncan Lewis is also a leading provider of Legal Aid services.
For expert legal advice on charges relating to benefit fraud, call Duncan Lewis benefit fraud solicitors on 020 7923 4020.