Maidenhead & Windsor

The Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough is continuing its clampdown on benefit cheats with yet another successful prosecution involving overpayments of housing and council tax benefits.

At Reading Crown Court on Friday (July 4) Julie Smith of Moor End, Holyport, was sentenced to 150 hours community service and served with a compensation order for £11,613.18 after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to three counts of dishonestly making false statements to obtain benefit.

All three offences are contrary to Section 111a(1) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992.

Smith – who had been claiming housing and council tax benefit since 2001 as a single parent – dishonestly made false statements to obtain benefit by failing to declare that her partner was living at the same house and was in paid employment.

The fraud was discovered after an anonymous tip-off to the Royal Borough's benefit fraud team.

In addition to the community service and the compensation order, Smith was ordered to pay £250 costs.

Cllr David Hilton, lead member for Windsor and Maidenhead finance, said: "This is the second such successful prosecution in a matter of weeks – and this in itself should send out the ongoing message that we will continue to come down very firmly on anyone who tries to cheat the benefit system by failing to declare their true status."

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead