£22k CHEAT CAUGHT OUT BY
Wedding pic exposed con
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A BRIDE was caught out in a £22,000 benefits fiddle after posting her wedding pictures on Facebook.
Chanice Bowen lied to dole officials by hiding her secret marriage, claiming she was a struggling single mum.
But her con was exposed when benefits officials discovered a wedding slideshow posted online captioned: “Best years of my life, love my husband”.
The images included Bowen posing in her wedding dress and the happy couple kissing at the ceremony.
A court heard that when Department of Work and Pensions officials quizzed her about her whereabouts on her big day, she replied: “I can’t remember.”
Split
Bowen, 25, was paid thousands in income support, council tax and housing benefit after claiming she had split from mechanic boyfriend Lee Mapstone.
But the pair had been married for three years before her fiddle was discovered.
Bowen, of Barry, Glamorgan, pleaded guilty to dishonestly failing to disclose information regarding fraudulent benefit payments totalling £21,696.76.
She was given a suspended 10-month jail term and ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work at Cardiff Crown Court.
She was also ordered to pay back every penny plus £520 in costs.