8:49am Thursday 9th October 2008
A BENEFIT cheat who pocketed nearly £40,000 has been spared an immediate jail term.
Lorraine Morgan, who failed to tell the authorities that she had a partner who was in work, was handed a 34-week prison sentence, suspended for two years.
The 28-year-old mother-of-two from Cherwell Crescent, Southampton, admitted making false statements to obtain benefits over a four-year period.
Southampton Crown Court heard that she had received a total of £37,866 to which she was not entitled, including £23,000 in income support and £11,554 in housing benefit.
Judge Jeremy Burford said only a fraction of the money had been repaid.
He told the defendant: “You claimed large sums over the years but your principal motive was to support your two young children. For that reason I’m proposing to suspend your prison sentence.”
After the case, a Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman issued a warning to anyone else tempted to cheat.
She said: “We are taking positive action to prevent fraud before it happens, deter those who are thinking of committing fraud, detect fraud when it does happen and punish the fraudsters.
“Calls to the National Benefit Fraud Hotline show how strong the support for our campaign is.”
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