£70k fraudster ordered to pay back just a third
AMOTHER who lived a “lavish” lifstyle of luxury holidays and plastic surgery after fraudulently claiming more than £70,000 in tax credits has been ordered to pay back just a third of the amount.
Tammy Ann Gunter, 41, claimed tax credits by pretending she was single – when she was actually married to the father of her two children.
The former student nurse made false claims for student finance and an NHS bursary and forged a letter purporting to be from HMRC, Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court was told when she was sentenced in October.
That hearing was told how Gunter and her husband Neil Hart, 46, lived a “lavish” lifestyle.
Now Gunter has been ordered to pay back £23,358.43 after a proceeds of crime hearing.
At a sentencing hearing, prosecutor Nuhu Gobir said Gunter was granted tax credits by saying she was a single mum – and also made false claims for student finance and a £2,000 NHS bursary to train as a nurse.
The couple splashed the money on holidays to Las Vegas and Florida in 2011 and 2013 – and took out a $30,000 loan for a holiday home in the US.
Mr Gobir said Gunter also travelled to eastern Europe to undergo cosmetic surgery.
He said: “She’s also known by her married name, Tammy Hart and she uses her maiden name in her dealings with public bodies.
“They were already in a relationship and had been living together as a family since December 5, 1997.”
He said Gunter claimed tax credits for nine years when she was working part-time in a shop and a garage.
Mr Gobir said: “Tammy Gunter made a claim that she was a single person working at least 16 hours per week. She stated that she had two children and no other income. The defendant dishonestly maintained she was single. She enjoyed a lavish lifestyle.”
Gunter received £76,008.63 in tax credits between 2007-16.
The court heard she also made fraudulent claims for student funding and an NHS bursary of £2,193 by saying she lived alone when really she lived with Hart.
Mr Gobir said: “She stated that she was separated and was a single parent with two dependent children. Neil Hart lied about his address to assist Tammy Gunter with the application. The total loss to the public purse in effect is £87,450.”
The court heard how in 2014 Gunter sent a letter to Caerphilly Council purporting to be on HMRC-headed paper.
Council officials became suspicious because it contained a number of spelling errors.
The DWP, HMRC and NHS Counter-Fraud Service Wales began a joint investigation in January 2015 and Gunter and Hart were arrested.
Gunter admitted being knowingly concerned in fraudulent activity undertaken with a view to obtaining tax credits as well as one count of forgery and four counts of fraud.
Byron Broadstock, defending Gunter, of of Central Avenue, Cefn Fforest, near Blackwood, said the couple had a “tumultous” relationship.
He said: “Many of the purchases that have been described as extravagant, they are out of the ordinary. They were often gestures in reconciliation.”
Hart admitted encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence, believing it would be committed.
Gunter was jailed for two years, while her husband was jailed for six months.
Judge Peter Heywood told the couple: “That fraud occurred over a significant period of time. There was a degree of sophistication and planning involved.”