A 68-year-old benefits cheat has been spared jail time after failing to notify authorities about inheriting £90,000 and receiving an additional £35,000.
Sarah Pipe, of Ann Street, Ipswich, admitted failing to notify the authorities of a change in her circumstances between April 2019 and June 2023.
The fraud resulted in a total benefit overpayment of £56,000.
Pipe claimed housing benefit from Ipswich Borough Council and Employment Support Allowance from the Department of Work and Pensions for four years.
The pensioner was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court
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She continued these claims without disclosing the substantial sums she had received.
Sentencing Pipe at Ipswich Crown Court on Tuesday, Judge David Pugh said he was "tempted to send her straight to prison".
The judge told her: "You received £90,000 inheritance and you decided that you would use it for your own benefit and continue to receive benefits."
He added: "Six weeks later you received a further £34,877 and you told a probation officer that you don't know what that sum relates to. I don't believe you."
Judge Pugh said: "It appears to me for reasons I don't understand you decided to lie to the probation officer and this court."
Pipe was given an eight-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months.
She must also complete a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
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Simon Gladwell, representing Pipe, said his client was "remorseful, ashamed and embarrassed".
The court heard that of the £125,000 she had received and the benefit overpayment of £56,000, only £5,000 remains.
Gladwell noted that her benefit claims weren't fraudulent from the outset.
He added that she had given some of the money away.
Pipe has no previous convictions.
Ann Street in Ipswich
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A hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act will take place on June 23.
Financial investigators will also be applying for a restraint order regarding Pipe's finances.
This order aims to ensure she doesn't dispose of her remaining £5,000 savings.
The court will determine what assets can be recovered to repay the fraudulently claimed benefits.
The court heard that of the £125,000 she had received and the benefit overpayment of £56,000, only £5,000 remains.
Gladwell noted that her benefit claims weren't fraudulent from the outset.
He added that she had given some of the money away.
Pipe has no previous convictions.
Ipswich Crown Court, Suffolk, England
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A hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act will take place on June 23.
Financial investigators will also be applying for a restraint order regarding Pipe's finances.
This order aims to ensure she doesn't dispose of her remaining £5,000 savings.
The court will determine what assets can be recovered to repay the fraudulently claimed benefits.
The hearing comes after Pipe admitted to claiming benefits for four years while concealing significant financial windfalls.
Despite her defence that the claims weren't initially fraudulent, the judge was clear that her actions were deliberate.
