Spared jail, fraudster ‘upset after son denied school place’

A MEDICAL secretary convicted of benefit fraud avoided jail after a court heard she was stressed because her son had missed out on a spot at his preferred school. Samantha McDermott, 50, forged official sick notes stating that she was suffering from depression following surgery.

She took time off from her secretarial job at a hospital in Manchester, and pocketed more than £3,000 in taxpayer-funded sickness benefits. But McDermott was in fact working from home for three private GP surgeries, Manchester Crown Court heard.

Yesterday McDermott, of Withington, Manchester, admitted fraud by false representation and two offences of making an article used for fraud.

However, she walked away with

a 12-month community order after she told the judge she had been ‘upset’ because her son, now 13, did not receive a place at his preferred secondary school.

Alison Mather, defending, said that her son then went to live with his father in Ireland in a ‘very difficult’ period of her life.

But Judge Hernandez told McDermott this reason was ‘unsatisfactory’, adding: ‘You were not entitled to that money and you knew you were not entitled to it. You were acting dishonestly for a personal gain.’

The frauds took place between 2015 and 2017. McDermott was caught after bosses at Wythenshawe Hospital found discrepancies in her sick notes. The judge ordered her to carry out 100 hours’ unpaid work.

‘Forged official sick notes’