A 59-year-old woman has been sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to a £23,000 benefit fraud.
Florence Lynne Simms, formerly of Baynard Walk, Higher Blackley, was sentenced on Monday 13 December at Manchester Crown Court of fraudulently obtaining housing benefit, council tax benefit and income support totalling £23,639.
Simms, who now lives in Polefield Circle, Prestwich, pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining benefit between July 2006 and November 2009 after failing to declare that both she and her partner had worked for various periods throughout the claims for benefits.
Along with the suspended sentence Simms was given a 200-hour unpaid work community punishment order, a 56-day curfew and a two-year supervision order.
Councillor Bernard Priest, executive member for finance for Manchester City Council, said: “This fraud was uncovered by the council’s counter fraud officers working closely with colleagues from the Department for Work and Pensions. It is a clear warning that people who claim benefits they are not entitled to will be caught and prosecuted.”
Richard Paver, City Treasurer, said: “The whole community suffers when people commit benefit fraud. It reduces the money available to those with a genuine entitlement and it also increases the burden on the council taxpayer. This case demonstrates our determination to prosecute offenders and ensure that they do not profit from their crime.
“I can assure the residents of Manchester that in addition to the penalties handed down by the courts we shall use all methods at our disposal to vigorously recover the money she has fraudulently obtained.
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