Kenley benefit cheat jailed for £30,000 scam
A HOLIDAY-LOVING gran whose elaborate benefit fraud involved a £15,000 Greek wedding has been jailed for six months.
Theresa Aldous, 62, of Godstone Road, Kenley, lied to authorities to claim widow's benefits despite having remarried, as well as housing benefits on a council house she didn't live in.
Croydon Crown Court was told last week that, despite marrying Richard Martin in Crete in 2002 and moving to his Caterham home, Aldous continued to claim widow's benefit and housing benefit on a Croydon Council house – netting about £30,000.
She failed to tell the council that she had moved out of the house, and instead continued to claim benefits while letting her daughter live there rent-free.
Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk
View detailsOur heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.
Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk
Contact: 01858 468192
Valid until: Friday, May 31 2013
When quizzed by council fraud investigators, she said she was not married and that Mr Martin was a friend of the family.
Later, when a marriage certificate was produced by the Greek authorities, she changed her story, claiming the wedding was a sham and not legal in the UK.
The investigation, however, was able to prove that she knew her marriage was legal and that she had booked a £15,000 wedding package from a UK travel agency.
She had also declared herself to be Mr Martin's wife and next-of-kin when he died in 2006, receiving £43,000 from his estate and his work pension, which she paid into a bank account using her married name.
Aldous claimed she had spent the money on paying off debts and had given some away to her children to buy cars, holidays and other luxuries.
Jailing Aldous for six months, Judge Ruth Downing said the message was that the court treated such offences seriously.
She said Aldous had "lied and lied" and had shown a complete lack of remorse for her crimes.
Councillor Dudley Mead, cabinet member for finance, said: "I hope this serves as a warning to other benefit cheats – we can and will prosecute you, and you could go to jail for your crimes.
"Croydon Council works to ensure benefits are paid to those who really need them and not to those who see the system as a lifestyle choice."
Comments
by Wanda_Rinn
Wednesday, May 09 2012, 10:42AM
“And its thanks to people like that, is why the genuine ones struggle to get any benefits.”
by Jimmy2011
Tuesday, May 08 2012, 11:29PM
“She didn't do too bad out of the marriage either. £43k after four years!! I venture to say abuse of the benefits system is rife and it's no use just having a fraud team uncover abuses of a flawed system. If they can't determined if a person is married or is having her daughter live in her house whilst she lives somewhere else, you have to wonder if any checks are made before handing out thousands of pounds.”
by swsquires1
Tuesday, May 08 2012, 5:03PM
“If only she had done it at a younger age whilst she still had kids at home, she would have got a suspended sentence.
I am fed up of these stories. Good on Croydon council who seem to be one of the best in the country at catching these crooks but... and there is a big but. If you stole £30,000 from the bank you would go down for 10 years. Steal £30,000 from the state and you get six months (or less if you have a family). There should be no difference in stealing from a bank or the state (that is all of us tax payers essentially). Theft is theft and should be treated the same if not more harshly.
The problem always seems to be the raft of excuses used and accepted. Normally it is play dumb, say you didn't realise, blame someone for forcing you to do it (normally the 'controlling' husband) or say you had no choice.
I would be keen to know if this lady is actually going to spend time behind bars, I would be surprised. Either way, 3 months (only serve half time) in a low security institution isn't bad for £30k. She is retired so doesn't need to find a new job and her kids have all the new toys that she lavished on them.
The answer is compulsory sentences for these crimes (i.e. set number of years over £x stolen), repayment required in full with interest (I do no see this mentioned in the article). If they don't have the money, sell their house and possessions. If you want to stop people from cheating, offer a decent example as to the implications if you do.”
by peachycat
Tuesday, May 08 2012, 11:25AM
“Both Mother and Daughter should be locked up. They both deserve to be punished. After all stealing is slealing.”
by CuppaTeaPlz
Tuesday, May 08 2012, 10:00AM
“Could depend on what brief you get. Some are good, some are not so good.”
by roomster
Tuesday, May 08 2012, 9:43AM
“Whislt it is clear that this lady has got the punishment she deserves why then have others who have been involved in "stealing" even more got far lighter punishments?”