Date: 18/06/2010
A High Peak woman fraudulently claimed more than £3,600 in benefits after she failed to declare she was working in a pub, a court heard.
Fifty one-year-old Jacqueline Kunica, of Manchester Road, Chapel-en-le-Frith, appeared before Buxton Magistrates on Friday (18 June) when she admitted charges of failing to report a change in circumstances, and making a false declaration by not declaring work.
Magistrates sentenced Kunica to a Community Punishment Order of 270 hours' unpaid work. The sentence was the maximum allowed, recognising that she had been cautioned back in 2004 for not declaring work. She was also ordered to pay court costs of £1,125 to take into account the fact that she had pleaded not guilty at a hearing on Friday 5 March, putting the court to the cost of a trial at which she had changed her plea.
The case was brought by High Peak Borough Council and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after they received information that Kunica was working in The Shoulder of Mutton.
Investigations found that she had worked at the pub from July 2008, making a false statement in October 2008 about the hours she worked. Although her actual hours varied from 20 to 45 a week, she had admitted to just 16 hours. Then, on Wednesday 4 March 2009, she provided false income details.
As a result, she fraudulently received Income Support of £3,184.06, Housing Benefit of £398.84 and Council Tax Benefit of £59.44. The council and DWP are recovering the full debt.
Said Emily Thrane, Executive Councillor for Corporate Services: "This conviction is the latest in a long list secured by the council and DWP. Together, these successful prosecutions send out a strong message that we won't tolerate benefit cheats who take money from the hard-working taxpayer.
"Anyone who suspects that people are receiving benefits to which they're not entitled should call the council in confidence on (01298) 28433, safe in the knowledge that we'll always take action", she stressed.
The DWP's fraud hotline is 0800 854 440.