Teary gran jailed for £100k ‘lone mum’ benefits scam

A GRANDMOTHER sobbed as she was jailed for claiming almost £100,000 in a benefits scam.

Margaret Elliott, 53, cheated for 13 years by pretending she was a struggling single mother.

But inspectors were tipped off she was living with her long-term partner, a warehouse worker.

She received a total overpayment of £96,908, Newcastle upon Tyne Crown Court heard.

Elliott is paying it back at £100 a month, which will take 30 years.

Mother-of-three Elliott, of Felling, Gateshead, was jailed for six months after admitting benefit fraud.

Recorder John Thackray told her: “Your false claims have deprived the community of much-needed public money.

“From 2002 you made false claims because you did not declare you were living with your partner and you made numerous dishonest representations.

“I take into account you are not in good health and the references which speak so well of you and I accept that you are genuinely remorseful.

“The offences are so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified.”

The court heard Elliott’s claim for benefits began legitimately in the 1990s. But prosecutor Lee Fish said: “She received benefits to which she was not entitled.

“She failed to disclose that from August 2002 to February 2015 she was living with her partner.

“It will take about 30 years to clear this debt.”

Alec Burns, defending, said: “There are references which show what type of person she usually is. When I met this lady, her first words were, ‘I did wrong, I’m really sorry’.

“She has shown genuine remorse and suffers from clinical depression. Her partner did not work all the time.”