Repeat benefits offender jailed

A benefit cheat who had already been caught fiddling a previous claim brazenly telephoned the dole authorities asking for appointments to be rearranged because he was secretly working. (h/t Dave)

He pretended that he could not attend meetings because he was ill or his car had broken down but it was discovered that he was working on those days, a court heard.

Andrew Foster, 35, from Scunthorpe, admitted two offences of failing to notify a change in his circumstances affecting his entitlement to jobseeker's allowance and housing benefit on dates between July 2015 and February last year.

Joanne Markham, prosecuting, told Grimsby Magistrates' Court that Foster was overpaid by £6,118 in jobseeker's allowance and £712 in housing benefit, a total of £6,830.

He did not declare that he had been working and there was an overlap with a previous conviction in January last year when he wrongly claimed jobseeker's allowance, employment support allowance, housing benefit and personal independence payments. He was given 300 hours' unpaid work that day. He had originally been interviewed in July 2016.

"He continued to do the same thing," said Miss Markham.

Foster sometimes telephoned the benefit office to say that he could not attend appointments because he was ill or his car had broken down and asked to rearrange them but there was evidence to show that he had actually been working on those days.

Foster was repaying small amounts of money at the moment.

David Rix, mitigating, said Foster had periods of intermittent work where he was earning about £25 to £30 a day.

"If you earn the money, you have got to tell the department and he didn't," said Mr Rix. "I suspect he buried his head in the sand. Nothing is straightforward in the world of claiming jobseeker's allowance and universal credit.

"If he had told the department that he had been working a day or two here and a day or two there, it might have been that it wouldn't have made much difference to his benefit but he just didn't tell them. It's you and me who are paying for it.

"It was a very stupid and foolish thing to do. He would be insane if he did it again. He is on the radar, this chap."

Foster had built up debts of £25,000 and had "all sorts of people chasing him" for money.

Presiding magistrate David Stenton told Foster: "These offences are so serious that only a custodial sentence is appropriate. They have involved defrauding the public purse, which is prevalent."

He was jailed for seven months.

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