Woman falsely claimed £35k in disability benefits
ABENEFITS cheat who said she needed help getting out of a chair claimed more than £35,000 in disability benefits at the same time she was working as a cleaner and bartender.
Cardiff Crown Court heard Valerie Whitty, 52, received Employment and Support Allowance after stating she needed help to get out of a chair due to severe arthritis.
In her police interview the defendant told officers she did not think she needed to declare the work as it was “only a couple of hours”.
The court heard she made the fraudulent claims between 2007 and 2016.
Prosecutors said the claim was legitimate when she first applied for disability benefits in 2003 as she was unable to work due to ill health.
Whitty signed paperwork saying she would notify the Department for Work and Pensions of any change in her circumstances that may affect her entitlement.
But she failed to declare that she had started working more hours than permitted under the conditions of the benefit.
The court heard she was working as a cleaner and behind the bar at Cardiff West End Social Club.
Her benefit claim stated she had difficulty walking, could not be on feet for long, and needed help to get out of a chair.
Prosecutors said the total overpayment was £35,645.40, which was paid into her bank account.
When she was interviewed by police the defendant accepted she had failed to declare that she was working several nights a week.
Whitty, from Fonmon Crescent in Ely, Cardiff, pleaded guilty to three counts of benefit fraud.
Her defence barrister said she still suffers from severe arthritis and added she had no previous convictions.
Judge Eleri Rees noted the claim was not fraudulent from the outset.
She added: “This went on for a long time and amounted to over £35,000.”
Whitty was handed a 26-week sentence, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work.
She must repay the money under the Proceeds of Crime Act.