Saw this article in the twitter replies:
Angela Prendergast, from Hull, made a genuine working and child tax claim in 2011 however she failed to declare a change in her circumstances after her partner moved in with her
www.mirror.co.uk
A 'hard working and decent' mum has been jailed for a £20,000 benefit fraud.
Angela Prendergast, 49, from Hull, made a genuine claim for working and child tax benefits in 2011 on the basis she was a single parent with a limited income.
She failed to tell the Department of Pensions that her partner had moved in with her in July 2016, changing their circumstances.
The mum withheld the information for nearly two years, despite informing her local authority about the move,
Hull Live reports.
Hull Crown Court heard that Prendergast claimed over £20,000 until she eventually contacted the DWP at the end of May 2018.
Prosecuting barrister Michele Stuart-Lofthouse told the court that Prendergast believed she could continue to claim tax credits as her partner was only living at her property part-time.
She said: “The defendant failed to notify the Department of Work and Pensions as she was obliged to declare any changes in her circumstances.
“She had been claiming these benefits, which had been renewed yearly since July 2011, on the basis she was a single parent with two dependent children and had limited income.
“The tax credits stopped in June 2018 when the defendant notified the Department of Work and Pensions that her partner had moved in on May 31.”
After notifying the DWP, an investigation was carried out which revealed that Prendergast’s partner had actually moved in with her in July 2016.
Prendergast had contacted Hull City Council about her change in circumstances which affected her housing benefit and council tax.
She failed to tell the Department of Work and Pensions about a change in her circumstances (
Ms Stuart-Lofthouse told the court that Prendergast claimed her partner had been living with her for three to four nights a week but this was only for correspondence but did not contact the DWP for almost two years.
"The defendant was interviewed in September 2018 and she confirmed she claimed working tax and child tax credits until May 31, 2018, when she declared her partner had moved in to her address.
"She informed Hull City Council that he had moved into her address in 2016 but was only using it for correspondence. She believed he was not living there full-time and she could still claim tax credits and did not consider to seek advice."
His honour Judge Mark Bury asked: “Why did she notify the local authority that her partner moved in but not the Department of Work and Pensions?”
Mitigating barrister Mark Savage told the court that the money was “not used to fund a lavish lifestyle”.
He said: “She accepts there is no excuse and she accepts fully her culpability. She at the time was struggling with two young children and holding down a responsible and stressful job. She was in debt.
“I would urge the court to accept that she is ordinarily a hardworking and decent woman raising two children on her own and doing very well by all accounts in a responsible high pressure job. She is not ordinarily irresponsible but someone who provides a great deal for society.
“She should have made a phone call or written to the Department of Work and Pensions. She has not used this money to fund a lavish lifestyle, she doesn’t have one.
“She and her partner do not have a great deal of money. What that money enabled her to do was pay forward some debts. She doesn’t smoke, she doesn’t drink, they don’t go on holidays and she doesn’t buy expensive clothes.
“This has been hanging over her for two years and she has had to come to terms with what she has done.”
The court heard how Prendergast had a previous offence of benefit fraud way back in 1998 in which she was given a conditional discharge.
Judge Bury told her that this was “relevant to your present position” as he passed a sentence of four months imprisonment.
He said: “You had been paid over £20,000 of taxpayers money to which you were not entitled to.
“Your initial claim was a genuine one. You were a single parent and you had dependent children so in 2011 when that claim began there was no suggestion of the claim being fraudulent. I entirely accept that.
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