Katherine Smith, 38 from Tipton, has been jailed for eight months after claiming income support and jobseekers allowance she was not entitled to. The claims came to a total of £44,886.67.
Smith pleaded guilty to cheating the public revenue of income support between October 2003 and September 2009 and jobseekers allowance between September 2009 and March 2012.
Mr Roy Paterson, defending, told the court that the crime resulted from a ‘misunderstanding’ of the law.
Harpreet Sandhu, prosecuting, said that despite claiming to live alone, Smith shared the house with partner Peter Scott and the pair jointly applied for a loan for home improvements. He said “The claim was fraudulent from the outset. The joint application for the home improvements loan came just 30 days after she first applied for income support. The couple also had a joint bank account and Mr Scott paid the utility bills.”
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