8:47am Tuesday 27th December 2011
A NORTH YORKSHIRE woman who fraudulently claimed almost £100,000 in benefits has been jailed for 15 months.
Elaine Hetherington, of Colescliffe Crescent, Scarborough, posed as a single parent and lied on a number of forms dating back to July 1995 to claim housing benefit, council tax benefit and income support.
Hetherington, 53, pleaded guilty to nine charges of dishonestly claiming the support, and hiding the fact her husband lived with her and was working full time.
Sentencing her to 15 months in jail at York Crown Court, Recorder Deborah Sherwin said she could not suspend the sentence because of the length of time of the fraud and the amount involved. She said other people struggled on low incomes and with health problems but they did not resort to crimes like this.
Nick Edwards, Scarborough Borough Council’s head of finance and asset management, said: “The council brought this case to prosecution because of the huge amount of public money that has been stolen. This person’s claim was never an honest one and this dishonesty continued for more than ten years.
“This crime is committed against local residents, as it reduces the money available for projects that support the local community and takes funds away from people who most need them.”
Anyone who suspects benefit fraud has been urged to phone 0800 0568154.
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