Benefit fraudster loses £36 from Universal Credit payments after pocketing £53,000

A woman who incorrectly claimed thousands of pounds in benefits has been ordered to pay back the cash. Marie Buchanan, originally made a legitimate benefits claim over a decade ago, but ended up wrongly claiming over £53,500 that she wasn't entitled to across four years. Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that her initial claim was valid as neither she nor her partner were fit for work and had no other income.

She was receiving employment support allowance (ESA) and housing benefit. However, she neglected to inform the DWP and Stoke-on-Trent City Council when her circumstances changed, as her partner began working on a self-employed basis between April 2019 and April 2023. The 50 year old Middleport resident was overpaid £21,837.63 in housing benefit between April 2019 and July 2023, and was overpaid £31,694.35 in ESA, according to Stoke-on-Trent Live.

Buchanan is repaying her debts by having her Universal Credit payments reduced by £36.97. She pleaded guilty to two counts of benefit fraud. She has now been sentenced to 21 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, along with a rehabilitation activity requirement for 15 days.

Judge Graeme Smith suspended the sentence, noting that Buchanan posed a low risk of re-offending or causing harm due to her remorse and absence of relevant convictions, he added: "You would find custody particularly difficult because of your ill health."

Prosecutor Harry Dickens highlighted that the defendant had been claiming ESA since October 2009 until February 2023 and was duty-bound to inform the DWP of any changes in her situation.

Dickens explained: "It transpired that her partner had worked on a self-employed basis between April 2019 and April 2023. Had she informed the DWP that he had been working she would have received a reduced benefit or no benefit payments."

During her interview, Buchanan conceded that she had buried her head in the sand regarding telling the department about her change in circumstances and highlighted that her partner’s work was inconsistent.

In mitigation, Steve Hennessy emphasised that his client was reimbursing the funds, with £36.97 being deducted from her Universal Credit. Hennessy commented: "She is making repayments. It hurts her to do that as she is already in financial difficulty with debts.

"She has accepted responsibility for her actions. She is ashamed to be before the court and how her family might view these proceedings."

Judge Graeme Smith said: "You are not the sort of person that I usually see sitting in the dock. I am surprised to see you sitting there at all. I accept what you did was more putting your head in the sand than making a deliberate decision to defraud anybody.

"You received in excess of £53,000 to which you were not entitled. That is money that could have been spent on other public services."