Benefits fraudster who claimed £80k in money from DWP caught out after wedding photos spotted online
A benefits fraudster claimed over £80,000 in money she wasn’t entitled to but was caught by the DWP
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A benefits fraudster posing as a single mum claimed over £80,000 in money she wasn’t entitled to but was caught after wedding photos emerged online.
Charlene Brindley, 41, of Wrexham, Wales, received various benefits including income support, employment support allowance, housing benefit, and working and child tax credits between 2014 and 2019.
Brindley claimed those benefits on the basis that she was a lone parent, and she was required to notify authorities if her marital status changed.
However, an investigation by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) found wedding photos on Facebook from 2017 which proved that a change had occurred under their nose.
A benefits fraudster claimed over £80,000 in money she wasn’t entitled to but was caught by the DWPGoogle Street View/GettyBrindley’s husband moved into her household, but she failed to notify the DWP and continued to claim the benefits - which totalled around £81,000.
When she was initially interviewed, she denied being married however, the emergence of the wedding photos online proved that she was lying.
She then denied that whilst they were married, they had not been living together.
Despite Brindley first being interviewed about the fraud in 2019, it took five years before she was finally brought to court, a move branded by Judge Timothy Petts as “not impressive”.
Judge Petts told Mold Crown Court: “It's staggering that she's interviewed and the offences are put to her in 2019, and it then takes five years for her to be prosecuted for it.
“It's completely unacceptable. There really should have been some explanation for this other than her file sitting on someone's desk gathering dust.
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“It's not impressive at all.”
Since her interview in 2019, Brindley has been paying back the money in instalments of £70 a month.
John Wyn Williams, defending, told the court: "She had the good sense to plead guilty at the earliest opportunity.
"And she's a vulnerable lady with her own difficulties and has gone through a difficult time.”
He explained that she gained a role in the Army in 2005, and since leaving, has been caring for others.
“For the last five years, she has been paying the £70 a month but that is going to take a long time,” he continued.
“Regarding the delay, for this to be hanging over her for five years is unfortunate.”
Brindley received various benefits including income support, employment support allowance, housing benefit, and working and child tax credits between 2014 and 2019
PAJudge Petts handed Brindley a 12-month custodial term but suspended it for 18 months.
She must now carry out 80 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation.
Sentencing, he said he had no idea why it took so long to start court proceedings, which he described as “unfair”.
He added: “The total overpayment of benefits is in the region of £81,000, which you've been paying back at a modest amount since.
“Whether you will be able to repay the amount you were overpaid, I rather doubt.
“If your only income is from benefits, it will take you well into your hundreds.”
Concluding, he said: “This isn't a case where you've been leading a lavish lifestyle; but you were taking money that wasn't yours.”