A 35-year-old mother from Chorley has escaped a prison sentence after defrauding the benefits system of £24,000 through fabricated childcare documents.
Laura Stewart broke down in tears at Preston Crown Court when she learned she would not be sent to jail for the offence.
Over a two-year period, Stewart submitted 46 fake invoices to the Department for Work and Pensions, claiming Universal Credit payments she was not entitled to receive.
The mother-of-three, who lives at Fowler Heights Close in the Lancashire town, pleaded guilty to creating an article for use in fraud and fraud by false representation.
She claimed the deception was carried out to provide for her children.
The court heard that Stewart had originally started receiving the benefit legitimately while she was a university student, using the payments to support her three children during her studies.
However, between April 2022 and May 2024, she continued to claim far more than she was entitled to, despite no longer qualifying for the payments.
During this period, she systematically inflated her benefit claims by presenting the bogus childcare invoices to officials.
Laura Stewart was charged at Preston Crown Court to two years in prison suspended for 18 months
|GETTY
Stewart admitted both charges against her: producing a fraudulent document and making false representations to obtain money.
The fraud persisted for more than two years before authorities uncovered the scheme, during which time she received £24,000 in payments she should never have obtained.
Recorder Anna Price told Stewart that her offending had taken place over an extended period and had evolved beyond mere opportunism. "You carried on doing what you were doing, knowing it was fraudulent.
"While you were doing it to make the children's lives better there was an element of personal gain," the judge remarked.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The DWP received fake invoices from Laura Stewart to increase her benefits payouts
|GETTY
Despite acknowledging that the seriousness of the crime merited custody, Recorder Price opted to suspend the sentence due to Stewart's sincere remorse and the harmful impact imprisonment would have on her children.
Stewart was handed a two-year sentence suspended for 18 months, along with 10 days of rehabilitation activity requirements.
The judge warned her: "I can imagine how difficult it was saying goodbye to your children this morning. If you breach this order you will have to go through that again."
Stewart replied: "I won't, I won't," as she left the dock.
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter