A nurse claimed more than £21,000 in benefits after saying she was a single mother despite living with a partner.
Louise Brown was claiming Universal Credit between 2019 and 2022, before she became a nurse, telling the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) she was a single parent of two children.
However, the defendant was actually living with her partner and fraudulently claimed £21,289.
Brown, of Cheviot Road in Shilbottle, Northumberland, pleaded guilty to dishonestly failing to disclose information to make a gain for herself and was fined £1,575 at Newcastle Magistrates Court.
PA
|Louise Brown claimed more than £20,000 in Universal Credit between 2019 and 2022
"The defendant [told the DWP] she had two dependent children and was a lone parent with no other income," Holly Clegg, prosecuting, said, according to Chronicle Live.
But Janice Hall, defending, said while the defendant had split up with her partner who moved out a result, they later got back together.
She said: "The defendant was studying to be a nurse and [her partner] later began staying over more and more."
In a separate recent benefit fraud case, a man conned his grandfather out of his life savings as he mourned the death of his wife.
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Aidan Frier stole more than £64,000 over the course of three years from his grandad, repaying his kindness with a "nasty, cynical and persistent" fraud.
The grandad said he had a friendly and loving relationship with his grandson before the offence.
Frier conned his family claiming he was working a fictitious job.
He even sent pictures to his family pretending he was working.
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|Another recent benefit fraud case saw a grandfather conned out of £64,000 of savings
During his fake role, which began in 2021, Frier requested financial help from his grandfather to pay for his training courses and fees.
He claimed his parents had refused to help him out.
The benefits fraudster was jailed for 30 months and a restraining order was imposed.