A shop worker claimed over £7,000 in benefits she wasn’t entitled to, a court heard.
Theresa Joce, 30, appeared before Swindon Magistrates’ Court this afternoon charged with dishonestly failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of a change in circumstances.
Crown prosecutor Keith Ballinger said the defendant, of Munro Close, Old Walcot, was granted Carer’s Allowance after legitimately registering as the main carer for her mother in July 2015. At the time, she had no other income.
But a government investigation in July 2019 found that between 2016 and 2019, Joce was working – over various periods – at B&M Bargains.
The defendant failed to declare to the DWP said employment and as a result, she was paid more than £7,000 of taxpayer’s cash she wasn’t legally entitled to.
Despite repeated attempts by the DWP to contact Joce regarding the discovery, phone calls were ignored and letters were not responded to. Furthermore, she failed to attend interviews arranged by the agency.
She was later charged with the offence and convicted in January this year.
Hearing that the mother-of-two has anxiety and no previous convictions, magistrates fined her £130 – a sum which amounts to less than two percent of the amount she was paid out.
She was also told to pay a victim surcharge of £34 and costs of £85.
