A Moray woman fraudulently claimed more than £8,000 in benefits by pretending she lived alone.
Shelley Hendren scammed £8,355.60 from Moray Council and the Department for Work and Pensions over the course of a year while living in Forres.
She told the government benefits agency she was single, had two dependent children and lived alone between August 2017 and August 2018.
The 35-year-old also told them she was receiving housing and child benefits, tax credits and had no other income.
However, she was living with a partner during that time, and so received £4,093.60 of Income Support from the taxpayer-funded purse over those 12 months illegally.
Also scammed cash from council
Hendren received a further £4,262 from Moray Council between August 2017 and September 2018 by way of housing benefit after failing to tell them she shared a common household with her then-partner.
Elgin Sheriff Court heard how the mum previously admitted two counts of social security fraud at the earliest opportunity but had so far failed to pay back the cash as hoped.
Defence agent Iain Maltman said his client had been handed a chance to be of good behaviour and to organise repayment but had failed with the latter opportunity.
“There’s only been a very small amount of repayment,” he said. “The information in the latest background report is more positive albeit there’s not been restitution.
“It’s not been possible. There’s still in excess of £1,000 in rent arrears to be paid before she begins with this.”
He said Hendren is soon to start part-time work at a gym and that the claim “won’t go away” before suggesting it’s now up to the civil system to recoup the funds.
‘Not much the court can do’
Sheriff Robert Frazer agreed: “It’s a matter for the state, there’s not much, realistically, that the court can do about that.”
Opting to “draw a line under it”, he told Hendren: “I don’t see that there’s any realistic prospect of you being able to pay much, if any, of this money back to the DWP. I will leave it up to you and them to sort that.”
He handed Hendren, now of Campbell Crescent, Portsoy, a 20-month supervision order and 200 hours of unpaid work.
