Benefits scam woman spared prison term

A Perthshire woman who obtained almost £6500 in an eight-year long benefits scam was spared a jail sentence on Wednesday.

Instead, 62-year-old Irene Mason, of County Place, Forgandenny, was ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work.

Perth Sheriff Court was told that she dishonestly obtained £6423.98 in Housing and Council Tax Benefit by claiming that she lived alone.

But investigators had obtained overwhelming evidence that she was sharing her home with partner Michael Devlin - and she hadn’t declared the earnings from his full-time employment.

She had originally been charged with dishonestly obtaining almost £13,000 between August 17, 2008, and May 8, 2016, at her previous home in Perth’s Rannoch Road - and then at County Place.

But she had her guilty plea accepted to the much reduced amount when she appeared in the dock.

Sentence had been deferred for a background report.

Depute fiscal Bill Kermode said that the matter came to light following an anonymous tip-off and investigators then made inquiries with banks and insurance companies.

That led to them discovering that her partner was living with her.

When she was interviewed last March, Mason maintained that Mr Devlin lived with his brother in Perth.

He did visit on occasions, putting her bins out, and would stay overnight.

But she claimed he slept on the couch, although his mail did go to her address.

As of August of last year, she had made no repayment of any of the cash.

Sheriff Lindsay Foulis allowed Mason 12 months to carry out the Community Payback Order, imposed as a“direct alternative”to a prison term.