Benefit fraud couple didn't declare inheritance

A husband and wife fraudulently claimed more than £25,000 in state benefits by failing to tell the authorities they had inherited nearly £150,000 between them.

Kevin and Geraldine Daniels did not inform the Department for Work and Pensions their circumstances had changed considerably and they continued to receive Income Support.

Speaking at Cardiff Crown Court , Kevin Daniels’ barrister Jeffrey Jones said the couple were “ashamed” of their actions.

The court heard Kevin Daniels made a legitimate claim for Income Support in March 2005, stating he was a carer for his disabled son and did not have savings of more than £16,000.

Thomas Roberts, prosecuting, said he should have told the authorities about any change in circumstances affecting their entitlement to benefits. He said the couple did not declare that Geraldine Daniels started working at Peacocks clothes shop in July 2008, which would have reduced the amount of Income Support she was paid.

Prosecutors said the pair inherited £149,000 between 2015 and 2017, taking their savings well over the £16,000 threshold.

But they did not declare their inheritance money and continued to receive Income Support, with their total overpayment just over £25,000.

When he was interviewed in February last year, Kevin Daniels said he thought the savings threshold was £30,000.

He said he had received just over that amount in inheritance and did not think he needed to declare it, as he had given some to his children and spent some on the house.

Kevin Daniels accepted his wife had been working for a number of years and they had not reported her earnings.

Mr Roberts said there would be no application under the Proceeds of Crime Act, as the couple had repaid all the money.

The court heard they had no previous convictions and were judged to present a low risk of re-offending.

Mr Jones said the inheritance money came from three different inheritances over a two-year period, not in one big lump sum. He stressed their claim was not fraudulent from the outset and they still care for their adult son.

Julia Cox, for Geraldine Daniels, said her client balanced work with caring for her son, which would have reduced her entitlement to Income Support, but not taken it away completely.

Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke noted the couple had repaid the amount in full, so there was no loss to the taxpayer. There was no order for compensation, but they must pay £340 towards costs.

She gave them each a 24-week jail term, suspended for 18 months, and ordered them to complete 20 hours of a rehabilitation activity, plus 180 hours of unpaid work.

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