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High Wycombe benefit cheat given suspended prison sentence

3:37pm Thursday 29th July 2010 in


A 51-YEAR-OLD woman who fraudulently claimed more than £75,000 has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Yvonne Higgins, of Ogilvie Road, High Wycombe, will have to pay back all the money she claimed over a period of six years.

She pleaded guilty to eight charges of dishonestly making false statements in order to obtain a total of £76,234.92.

She claimed £29,599.16 in housing benefit and £9,675.26 in council tax benefit from Wycombe District Council and £36,960.60 of income support from the Department for Work and Pensions.

A joint investigation by the council and the Department for Work and Pensions revealed Mrs Higgins had been claiming benefits as a single person for six years, even though her partner - who worked full-time - had been living with her throughout.

She married her partner in August 2008 but still did not declare a change in her circumstances to either the Council or the DWP, Wycombe District Council said today.

Yesterday she was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid community work when she appeared at Aylesbury Crown Court.

She was also ordered to pay costs of £1,634.20.

The offences, which date back to 2003, came to light following an anonymous tip-off to the council.

Cllr Roger Wilson, Wycombe District Council's Cabinet Member for Performance and Finance, said today: "This sentence sends out a strong message that Wycombe District Council does not tolerate benefit cheats.

“It also should serve as a reminder to all of those who claim benefits and have had a change in their circumstances to let us know as soon as possible, because we will find out."

Anyone who suspects that someone is committing benefit fraud can email fraudinvestigations@wycombe.gov.uk or phone 0800 015 8995.

Comments(17)

TheT0nemeister says...
4:00pm Thu 29 Jul 10

Good stuff another benefit thieving toe rag rounded up!

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hondo says...
5:01pm Thu 29 Jul 10

Waste of money in jail - just recover the cash!
More publicity required in these cases.

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Slimster says...
5:19pm Thu 29 Jul 10

I think we should look into employing some of these types of individuals. A bit like the Police using ex-burglars for crime prevention. They could be put to good use in the public sector looking for ways to improve cashflow. Plus with a job they can then start paying back what they owe.

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MCarey says...
9:06pm Thu 29 Jul 10

she will never pay back all that money, who is going to enforce it, the lazy scumbag

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678 says...
9:30pm Thu 29 Jul 10

I hope her neighbors shun her, but I bet they are all at it down that road!!!

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MikeWil says...
9:53pm Thu 29 Jul 10

Why not just send her to train to be a politician?

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tigeran says...
12:01am Fri 30 Jul 10

Pay it back? What with?!! Benefits she already gets?!!!!!!!!!!! She is paying nothing back! This system sucks.

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tigeran says...
12:15am Fri 30 Jul 10

This is the problem with benefits, most of benefit claiments dont deserve it and live life claiming it all their life. There should be a time limit set of say 2 years max and unless they have real good reason for not getting a job it should be stopped. you should not be able to have children if you are on benefits either as most who do are scum who just have children because it gets them more money. Most people on benefits with families of more than two, not all, but most are parasites.

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kcooper98 says...
1:18pm Fri 30 Jul 10

678 wrote:
I hope her neighbors shun her, but I bet they are all at it down that road!!!
I resent that comment how type cast can you get?

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J B Blackett says...
6:02pm Fri 30 Jul 10

kcooper98 wrote:
678 wrote:
I hope her neighbors shun her, but I bet they are all at it down that road!!!
I resent that comment how type cast can you get?
Don't worry kc - stupid people always use offensive abuse - they have no other way of communicating usually because they have nothing positive to say about anything.

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Gailxx says...
6:04pm Fri 30 Jul 10

I agree with Tigeran and there should be a limit of how many children you have, if you're on benefits (2)!

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ferrellcat says...
12:06am Sat 31 Jul 10

There are many that need the benifits this system provide and as a caring society we do.Type 1 diabetis and ceoliac sufferers find it hard to hold down jobs due to tiredness.No one wants to employ them. There are always people that will ruin the privalage but do not deny those that really need it

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tigeran says...
1:02pm Sun 1 Aug 10

I totally agree. The benefit system is there to help the needy. Unfortunatley There is FAR more people claiming it that should not have it than legitemate claimants. We need a total revamp of the system and come down hard on the vast amount of people who could work but choose not to.

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tigeran says...
1:02pm Sun 1 Aug 10

I totally agree. The benefit system is there to help the needy. Unfortunatley There is FAR more people claiming it that should not have it than legitemate claimants. We need a total revamp of the system and come down hard on the vast amount of people who could work but choose not to.

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Tony5922 says...
7:12am Wed 4 Aug 10

The benefits culture in this country is destroying our society, more than immigration, the economy, terrorism or religious intoloerance. There is a whole sub-culture out there based on living off the state. I do not like the US system but there has to be a balance, help those who need help, those who can help themselves should not have the option to live long term on state benefits. All children should get a good education, health cover, food and shelter (even if that means housing their lazy parents), but this does not mean handing cash to their parents.

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steph1981 says...
4:13pm Fri 27 Aug 10

MCarey wrote:
she will never pay back all that money, who is going to enforce it, the lazy scumbag
how do you know that she wont pay back the money she could feel guilty and if the courts have ordered her to then she has no choice, i dont in anyway condone what she has done but atleast unlike most of the people who commit benefit fraud she has admitted it and faced upto her deceit

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steph1981 says...
4:20pm Fri 27 Aug 10

J B Blackett wrote:
kcooper98 wrote:
678 wrote:
I hope her neighbors shun her, but I bet they are all at it down that road!!!
I resent that comment how type cast can you get?
Don't worry kc - stupid people always use offensive abuse - they have no other way of communicating usually because they have nothing positive to say about anything.
i take offence to that remark aswell as i used to live in that road and i am on benefits but only because i have a life threatening illness, but i am in no way a benefit cheat and atleast she knows she has done wrong and i bet there are a few people down every road that do what she has done but the only difference is unless they get caught they wont admit to it either

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