Too busy with the real criminals to deal with that apparent multi million pound tax fraud .
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
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Timothy Wood, 53, of Darlton Drive, Arnold, had been claiming housing and council tax benefits on and off since 2011 while failing to declare at any point that he was in employment or when circumstances changed.
He was yesterday given a four month custodial sentence at Nottingham Magistrates Court for falsely claiming £8979.71 of benefits from Gedling Borough Council and the Department of Work and Pensions across six false claim forms since November 2011.
Information from Gedling Borough Council’s taxi licensing department revealed that Mr Wood had renewed his taxi license in 2011, 2012 and 2013 but had not informed the council or the DWP of his employment
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A MOTHER sentenced to 15 months in prison for benefit fraud has failed in her appeal against her sentence.
Joanne Lisa Tack, 26, of Barnabas Court, Huntingdon, pleaded guilty at Peterborough Crown Court in November to five offences connected to benefit fraud. She would have been entitled to the benefits if her boyfriend had not moved in with her, the court heard
Last week, lawyers argued that her jail term should be cut because she had a troubled upbringing and also had an alcohol problem and was depressive.
Mr Justice Walker, sitting with Sir Richard Curtis, was told that the woman had spent the money on household goods, rather than luxury items, and her elder daughter had special educational needs
But, despite pleas for clemency, the judge said Tack had carried out the fraud over a long period of time and government funds were not a "bottomless pit".
Dismissing arguments that the sentence should be cut to around nine months, the judge said 15 months could not be described as "manifestly excessive".
The court heard Tack - who before being sentenced had agreed to pay back the money she owed at a rate of £17 per week - applied for a Council Tax rebate, housing benefit and income support in March 1998 when she was genuinely entitled to the money.
But her circumstances changed in December 1999 when her boyfriend moved in with her and she failed to tell the authorities.
