A benefits fraudster who claimed more than £53,000 she was not entitled to has had just £36 knocked off her Universal Credit claim.
Marie Buchanan, 50, made claims for Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Housing Benefit from the Department for Work and Pensions.
Initially, her claims were legitimate as she and her partner were deemed unfit for work and had no other income.
However, following a change in her situation, when her partner was working on a self-employed basis between April 2019 and April 2023, she continued to claim £53,531 in benefits.
A benefits fraudster who claimed more than £53,000 she was not entitled to has had just £36 knocked off her Universal Credit claim
Under UK law, benefit claimants are required to inform the department of any change in income or employment.
Buchanan, of Dalehall Gardens, Middleport, was handed a 21-week sentence, suspended for 12 months, with a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement after admitting two counts of benefit fraud
The 50-year-old is now making repayments while continuing to claim benefits, with £36.97 deducted from her Universal Credit claim, Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard.
Buchanan claimed ESA from October 2009 to February 2023, prosecutor Harry Dickens said.
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Benefit claimants must inform the department of any change in income or employment
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He added: "Had she informed the DWP that he had been working, she would have received a reduced benefit or no benefit payments."
Buchanan was overpaid £31,694.35 in ESA, the court heard.
She signed a form saying she would notify Stoke-on-Trent City Council of a change in her circumstances when she applied for Housing Benefit in 2011.
It meant she was overpaid £21,837.63 for her housing benefit in the four years between April 2019 and July 2023.
Initially, her claims were legitimate as she and her partner were deemed unfit for work and had no other income
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Steve Hennessy, defending, said Buchanan has been making repayments and £36.97 has been deducted from her Universal Credit claim.
He said: "She is making repayments. It hurts her to do that as she is already in financial difficulty with debts.
"She has accepted responsibility for her actions.
"She is ashamed to be before the court and how her family might view these proceedings."
Judge Graeme Smith said: "You are not the sort of person that I usually see sitting in the dock.
"I am surprised to see you sitting there at all. I accept that what you did was more putting your head in the sand than making a deliberate decision to defraud anybody.
"You received in excess of £53,000 to which you were not entitled.
"That is money that could have been spent on other public services."
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