Benefits fraudsters spared jail

BENEFIT cheats are pocketing £50million a week – yet only a handful of those caught defrauding the welfare system are sent to prison.

Latest court figures show that despite record levels of the crime, the number of people being jailed after convictions has never been lower.

Last year a total of £2.8billion was claimed by benefit cheats. But after 1,849 prosecutions, just 37 people got custodial sentences.

During the past five years the amount of money lost has more than doubled, while at the same time the number prosecuted for cheating the system has plunged by 80 per cent.

In the 2015-16 financial year 9,042 people were taken to court for the offence and 221 were sent to prison.

Ministry of Justice figures show the majority of benefit cheats were given non-custodial punishments, such as a suspended sentence or community service order.

Hundreds of the convicted cheats are also fined, with the average penalty standing at £338.

Saaba Mahmood, who swindled £100,000 in benefits, avoided prison last month after being allowed to attend a course to see that fraud is not a victimless crime. The motherof-eight, 36, claimed benefits for her uncle and aunt for five years, despite them living in Pakistan.

She was given a suspended jail sentence at Manchester Crown Court and ordered to do 150 hours’ unpaid work, while officials will try to claw the money back from her.

Figures from the Department of Work and Pensions show that of the £2.8billion lost to fraudsters around half disappears in fake Universal Credit claims and £680million in fraudulent Housing Benefit applications.

Much of the fraud is committed by people failing to reveal they are living with a partner, or lying about their income or how much they have in savings accounts.

James Roberts, of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “Brits are fed up with funding these fraudsters, who rarely face the full force of the law. It’s no surprise that charging fewer cheats has benefited these criminal claimers. This soft-touch strategy has to stop.”

A DWP spokeswoman said: “Fraud and error remains very low, with 96.5 per cent of benefits paid correctly. We have a strong track record on recouping debt – recovering £1billion a year in overpayments.”

FED UP: James Roberts