Adviser fraudulently claimed £65,000

COURT: Jail for benefits worker who used knowledge of system to cheat it

An HMRC worker was yesterday jailed after she fraudulently took £65,000 from the taxman – by lying to her own employers and defrauding them out of huge sums in the very benefits she was employed to advise the public on.

Nicola Farningham was employed as a tax credits adviser in HMRC’s Dundee call centre and had to regularly advise callers on their eligibility for the benefits.

But the mother-of-four was using that knowledge of the system to take huge sums of cash for herself.

Farningham claimed she was living alone with her children and earning only a maximum of £15,000 a year.

But in reality her husband, Paul, was living with her and earning a £33,000 a year salary.

When confronted Farningham denied they were in a relationship – but a search found Valentine’s cards the pair had exchanged as well as romantic texts sent between them.

Depute fiscal Eilidh Robertson told Dundee Sheriff Court: “In 2014 HMRC started an investigation into the accused as a result of information provided to them that she was claiming child and working tax credits on the basis that she was a single person when she was in fact married and cohabiting with her spouse, Paul Farningham.”

Miss Robertson said Farningham had submitted forms saying she was single from 2005 onwards and that her income varied between £7,253 to £15,111 over the period of the nine-year scam.

She said: “When interviewed she said that prior to 2010-2011, he would stay over at their property alone at the weekends with the children whilst she would stay with friends or family.

“Since 2010-2011 this practice had been extended to include Tuesdays and Thursdays, too, and she would go and stayathermother’swhilstMrFarningham was in the house, although there had been a couple of occasions where they had stayed in the property together.

“The investigation into the accused established that she had married Paul Farningham on September 7 2007 and that they had four children together.

“The accused and Mr Farningham had shared a joint bank account since 2004 and a joint mortgage for their property which they bought together in 2005.

“Surveillance was also carried out by HMRC officers at the accused’s home on July24,25and262014andMrFarningham was seen to be coming and going from the property, on one occasion letting himself in with a key.

“A search of the accused’s home was undertaken on February 12 2014.

“Correspondence which had been sent to Mr Farningham at that address was found within, including his wage slips, as were Valentine’s Day cards which had been exchanged between the couple.

“The accused’s mobile telephone was found during that search and this was later examined.

“Most of the text messages recovered simply demonstrated that the accused and Mr Farningham were in a relationship given the romantic nature of the texts.

“When she was interviewed the accused said they had not been cohabiting at any stage despite buying a property and having four children.

“As a result of not disclosing that she was maintaining a common household with her husband the accused obtained a total of £65,000 to which she was not entitled. “None of this sum has been repaid.” Farningham, 39, of Balerno Street, Dundee, pleaded guilty to a charge on indictment under the Tax Credits Act.

Sheriff Alastair Carmichael jailed Farningham for 21 weeks and imposed a confiscation order ordering her to hand over £40,410 within six months.

A spokesman for HMRC said: “HMRC expects the highest standards of behaviour from its staff and we will vigorously pursue anyone who abuses the trust that we have placed in them.”

As a result of not disclosing that she was maintaining a common household with her husband the accused obtained a totalof £65,000 to which she was not entitled

Nicola Farningham was jailed for 21 weeks.