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Benefits cheats fiddle £421,000
BENEFIT cheats have fiddled taxpayers out of a staggering £421,000 in Hartlepool over the last year.
The amount fleeced in housing and council tax benefit has rocketed – more than tripling from 99,000 to 343,000 in the last 12 months.
Fraudsters have also swindled 78,500 Income Support and Jobseekers' Allowance from the public's purse, with six cases convicted by Government bosses in court so far this year.
A further 206,000 may well have been sponged from the taxpayer, with 12 Hartlepool cases currently going through the courts.
Benefits bosses revealed the shocking figures today – but warned cheaters they are closing in on them.
John Carter from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) regional fraud office said: "Anyone thinking of committing fraud should beware – we're closing in."
Hartlepool Borough Council chiefs said there are systems in place to claw back the overpaid money.
A council spokesman said: "When an overpayment occurs, if a person is still receiving benefit then we will recover the money owed by deducting it in instalments from their on-going benefit payments."
Recent cases reported in the Mail include that of Robert Jeffrey, 58, of Stockton Road, Hartlepool, who illegally claimed 10,223 in income support, council tax benefit and housing benefit.
Meanwhile, Dawn Reed, 37, of Wordsworth Avenue, Hartlepool, was jailed for nine months in April after illegally claiming 32,348 in tax credits.
Between April 2007 and April 2008, the council recorded almost 99,000 paid out in housing and council tax benefit to cheats conning the system.
For the financial year 2008-2009, that figure tripled to 343,000 – an increase of 246 per cent.
In total, 46.3m and 42m was paid out in benefits for each year respectively. The Department for Work and Pensions has successfully prosecuted six cases of Income Support and Jobseekers' Allowance fraud so far this year, involving 78,500 wrongly claimed.
Twelve cases are currently going through the court system with a further 206,000 suspected to have been siphoned from the taxpayer.
Mr Carter added: "These figures show that there is still a minority who are intent on stealing from the taxpayer – not just in Hartlepool but all over our region.
"In fact benefit fraud is at its lowest ever level. Nationally since 2001 we have cut fraud by two thirds. But I know that people in Hartlepool rightly get angry about such anti-social behaviour.
"With their support we will track down the fraudsters. Anyone thinking of committing fraud should beware – we're closing in."
The DWP, which also administers incapacity benefit, disability living allowance and employment support allowance, estimated the total amount of benefit fraud in North East England is around 20m each year.
Bosses say the most common types of fraud are committed by those working while in receipt of benefits, failure to declare a partner working and undeclared capital.
Cases can be dealt with anything from a two-year prison sentence for one offence, a suspended sentence, a fine, a conditional discharge, community order, conditional discharge or acquittal – but in any instance the money must be repaid.
Hartlepool Council runs a number of initiatives such as home visits and weekly drop-in benefit surgeries in various parts of the town to ensure people are made aware of what benefits they should be receiving.
It also operates an on-line ready reckoner service which can be visited at www.hartlepool.gov.uk allowing people to estimate their possible entitlement.
Anyone suspecting fraud can call the National Benefit Fraud Hotline on 0800 854 440, with calls are treated in confidence.
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