Benefit fraudster overpaid thousands of pounds after failing to declare he was living with his wife
The fraudster, who was overpaid £10,285, was handed a suspended sentence (Stock image)
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A man has admitted four offences of benefit fraud which resulted in £10,000 worth of overpayments.
Richard Needham, 63, who did not declare that he lived with his wife, was overpaid £2,923 in income support and £7,362 in job seekers' allowance.
Deputy High Bailiff Rachael Braidwood sentenced the Isle of Man fraudster to 20 weeks’ custody, suspended for two years, for his crimes committed between March 2019 and June 2023.
Needham has already started paying back the large sum, a court has heard.
Needham has started to pay back the large sum he owes, a court has heard (Stock image)
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Although Needham pleaded not guilty at first, before then pleading guilty to the charges later on in the trial, admitting four counts of the offence.
Needham's advocate Stephen Wood explained that it was not a situation where the defendant filed to receive benefits on one occasion and then continued to collect the money for years.
Needham, according to Wood, was caring for her mother at that time, so had a different address to her husband.
The advocate requested that the court consider the defendant's guilty pleas, his repayments so far, as well as the right to respect for private and family life of the defendant's elderly parents, who he claims Needham helped look after.
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Wood said: "He accepts he should have informed the department of his wife officially residing at the address, even though she was not there for long periods.
"None of the benefits received were utilised towards lavish living."
Wood highlighted that if a prison sentence was implemented, Needham would have to terminate his employment, which has helped the defendant make the repayments that he has made so far.
He was assessed as a very low risk to others, according to a probation report.
The Department for Work and Pensions lost approximately £8.6 billion over the past year due to benefit "fraud and error" (Stock image)
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Consequently, the bailiff imposed a two year suspended sentence supervision order on the guilty party.
Government data has estimated that 3.7 per cent of total benefit expenditure was overpaid as a result of "fraud and error", which amounts to approximately £9.7billion over the course of the financial year ending in 2024.
However, about £1.1billion was underpaid for the same reasons.
In total, the Department for Work and Pensions had a net loss of £8.6billion of overall benefit payments during that period.