£36k benefits cheat and her round-the-world tour
She’s caught after putting pictures on Facebook, but is spared jail
Riding elephants in india, petting koalas in Australia and stroking a leopard in Thailand … Cheryl Brooks’ holiday pictures show her living an idyllic lifestyle many can only dream of.
But her luxury travel spree – which also saw her visit Spain and the US – was funded by more than £36,000 of taxpayers’ money that she fraudulently claimed in benefits.
The 45-year-old grandmother illegally claimed housing benefits, council tax benefits and employment support allowance over a three year period by telling officials she was single, living alone and barely scraping by.
in fact, she was living in a house with her lesbian partner Margaret Brierley, 42, who was working full-time, and between 2010 and 2013 raked in £36,166.81 in overpaid benefits.
Brooks was hauled before a court this week, but escaped a jail sentence after admitting to failing to notify the authorities of her change of circumstances.
Taking to Facebook after the hearing, she boasted to friends: ‘Just got to wait for good weather for my get out of jail
‘It is the taxpayer who suffers’
free party lol [laugh out loud].’ Brooks was ordered to pay prosecution costs of £2,303 – but this will come out of her benefits, as she is still being given disability support allowance.
A court heard that Brooks, of Stalybridge in greater Manchester, made her initial benefits claim in September 2009 when she gave up her job as a taxi driver.
However, that claim became fraudulent in September 2010 when she failed to notify officials that Mrs Brierley had moved into her home. in October 2010, november 2010 and September 2011 she made further fraudulent claims for benefits, masquerading as a single woman with no income.
The department for Work and Pensions and Brooks’ local authority were first tipped off about her deceit by an anti-fraud initiative in August 2013, which suggested a taxi licence was registered to Brooks’ address.
This sparked a full investigation by benefits bosses, who found Brooks’ Facebook account. it showed she and Mrs Brierley had entered into a civil partnership in november 2012, Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester heard.
The Facebook account also contained reams of holiday photos of Brooks and Mrs Brierley taken in far-flung locations between 2011 and 2013. These included snaps of Brooks posing outside the Sydney Opera House and signing her name at Elvis Presley’s home graceland in Memphis. Prosecuting on behalf of Tameside Council, dean Hulse said: ‘The Facebook account demonstrated they had been on a number of holidays together during the claim period. Palma nova in 2011, india in 2012, Australia and the USA in 2013.
‘This represented a lavish lifestyle beyond the means of a person who was single with dependent children whose sole income was state benefits.’ The DWP’s investigation also revealed that although Brooks claimed she had only one bank account, she in fact had five, including two joint accounts with Mrs Brierley.
Mr Hulse said: ‘This reflects the calculation that has gone into this by the defendant to conceal evidence she was living with another person. it is the taxpayer who suffers. Particularly in times when public funds are scarce it could be considered more unacceptable to be committing this type of offence.’
Sentencing, Judge Stuart driver QC told Brooks: ‘Over three years you dishonestly obtained £36,000 of public money. i think you had a good lifestyle out of that and funded luxurious foreign travel.’
Brooks was given an eight month sentence suspended for two years.