Results of Merseyside major tax credit fraud investigation
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Issued 20 April 2009
Five people across Merseyside have today been sentenced in
relation to tax credit fraud totalling over £150,000.
The court action follows an investigation by HM Revenue
& Customs (HMRC) into a number of unrelated false claims
involving understated household income, undeclared marriage or
partnership status, falsified working hours or income and inflated
childcare costs.
His Honour Judge Holloway QC, presiding over all the
sentencing hearings today said: I have sentenced a number of similar
cases this week very few that had such levels of high dishonesty."
Nick Shaw, HMRC Criminal Investigations, commented:
"Tax credit fraud is theft of money from the public purse and
those falsely claiming tax credits face prosecution as in these cases.
We have robust and effective teams in place to investigate and to
ensure this illegal activity is detected. Those involved in this form
of crime are exploiting the tax credit system for purely personal
gain."
He added: "We recognise it is only a minority that are
exploiting the system but would encourage anyone with information
relating to tax credit fraud to call the Benefits Anti Fraud Helpline
on 0800 854 440 in total confidence."
Eight women in total were charged with fraudulently claiming
Tax Credits contrary to the Tax Credit Act 2002 following a series of
arrests across Merseyside in May 2008 and related investigations over
the following months. Five were sentenced today including:
* Laine Campbell aged 26 from Anfield, Liverpool was in fact
living with her partner during the majority of her claims for tax
credits and had falsified her claims over a five-year period. Campbell
should have declared her full household income throughout the claim
periods. Campbell fraudulently claimed over £30,642 in tax credits by
stating she lived alone. Campbell was sentenced to six months in jail
for each count of fraud (four in total) and the sentences are to run
concurrently.
* Katharine Rachel Gershman aged 28 of Prenton, Wirral was
living with her partner (later her husband) during her claims for tax
credits and had falsified claims over a five-year period. Gershman
should have declared her full household income throughout the claim
periods when in fact she fraudulently claimed £26,274 in tax credits by
claiming she lived alone. Gershman was sentenced to six months in jail
for each count of fraud (four in total) and the sentences are to run
concurrently.
* Kerry Lavery, aged 29, of Birkenhead, Wirral was living with
her partner prior to and partly during her claims for tax credits and
had falsified her household income for the claims over a five-year
period. Lavery should have declared her full household income
throughout the claim period but fraudulently claimed over £26,036 by
saying she lived alone and had separated from her partner. Lavery was
sentenced to six months in jail for each count of fraud (four in total)
and the sentences are to run concurrently.
* Julie Mead aged 43 of Liverpool was living with her husband
prior to and during the claims for tax credits and had falsified her
claims over a four-year period. Mead should have declared her full
household income throughout the claim periods but fraudulently claimed
over £20,426 by claiming to live alone. Mead was sentenced to six
months custodial suspended for two years and must serve 150 hours of
unpaid work for the community.
* Tracey Swindlehurst aged 40 of Birkenhead, Wirral was living
with her husband prior to and during her claims for tax credits and had
falsified her claims over a six-year period. Swindlehurst should have
declared her full household income throughout the claim periods but
fraudulently claimed £21,776 by claiming she lived alone. Swindlehurst
was sentenced to six months custodial suspended for two years and must
serve 150 hours of unpaid work for the community.
One woman has already been sentenced - a 41-year old midwife
from Whiston in December 2008 after admitting her guilt in court in
October. She has paid back £30,519 and £500 court costs. Two women, one
from Greasby, Wirral and one from Speke, will appear again in court
next month. Further investigations into other suspected tax credit
fraudsters in Merseyside are ongoing. All the five women sentenced
today also face a confiscation hearing in July 2009.
Tax Credits are based on total household income and are
designed to help lower income families and individuals. All Tax Credit
claims are subject to routine checks and claims are regularly monitored
for errors or fraudulent activity and flagged to investigators as
appropriate as in these cases.
This case was prosecuted by the Revenue and Customs
Prosecution Office.
Note
1. If people suspect someone of a similar fraud they can
report it to the HM Revenue & Customs hotline 0800 59 5000 and
if they require assistance with their own tax credits they can ring the
Tax Credit Helpline 0845 300 3900 or visit the HMRC website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk
for more information.
2. The Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) was
created by the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005. An
independent prosecuting authority, RCPO reports directly to the
Attorney General and is responsible for prosecuting cases for HMRC and
SOCA. It prosecutes some of the largest drug and fraud cases in the UK.
For further information about RCPO, visit http://www.rcpo.gov.uk.
Issued by HM Revenue & Customs Press Office Team
Website http://www.hmrc.gov.uk
About the Author
© Crown Copyright 2009.
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Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2009-04-22 01:27:11 in Tax Articles
