All I want for Xmas... is a luxury cruise (on benefits)
£152k cheat caught out by dancing to Mariah Carey
‘Your remorse is not genuine’
A CouPle whose ‘dream life’ of luxury cruises was funded by benefit fraud were caught when the ‘disabled’ wife was filmed dancing to Mariah Carey.
lisa White, 56, was seen on video dancing around in a cafe, despite receiving disability benefits worth £152,000 for six years.
She told the council she needed oxygen tanks for breathing, needed help dressing, and had to use a walkingstick and a wheelchair.
But she was filmed dancing to Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ at a cafe by council investigators.
They also caught her loading up cafe stock from wholesalers, carrying bags in Bluewater shopping centre, carrying suitcases, serving customers and walking unaided. But even after their arrest in September 2015, the ex-civil servant couple continued their life of luxury on a 28-night £9,000 cruise.
Mrs White sobbed as she was sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended for two years at Inner london Crown Court. Judge Tudor owen said: ‘She’s dancing around. I can see why she’s happy, if I was getting money for nothing, I’d be happy.
‘Significant sums of money were defrauded from the taxpayer by you, lisa White. The victims are people who pay tax that has been given to the likes of you in the form of benefits. You carried on this fraud for six years. You took advantage of the system.’
Mrs White claimed disability in 1995 based on obesity, but after a gastric band operation in 2005 her weight fell from 27 stone to 13 stone.
However, she kept claiming Disability living Allowance, Incapacity Benefit and employment Support Allowance. She claimed her husband and sister Karen Taylor, 62, were paid carers, and got a disabled parking permit.
The fraudster and her husadded: band Andrew White, 56, ran two cafes and kept a secret seafront apartment in Broadstairs, Kent.
The couple enjoyed five nights on the Qe2 cruise liner, a 21-day Mediterranean cruise, a £5,500 26-night Caribbean cruise and a 28-night £9,000 New York and Caribbean cruise. Judge owen ‘I’m not convinced your remorse is genuine. There was no reaction from you that the game’s up.’
An investigation began in June 2014 because her carer husband lived in Broadstairs, while she claimed to live with her 84-year-old mother in a council flat in eltham, South east london.
Mrs White pleaded guilty to nine counts of fraud – three of failing to notify a change in medical circumstances and one of money laundering.
Mr White admitted aiding and abetting his wife to make a false representation and laundering £12,800, and was given a suspended ninemonth sentence.
Her mother, Angela Dempsey, and sister were also charged with aiding and abetting fraud and money laundering respectively, but the prosecution offered no evidence against them.