Wycombe woman sentenced after fraudulently claiming over £75,000 in benefits

30 July 2010

A High Wycombe woman was - on Wednesday 28 July - sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid community work, after pleading guilty to fraudulently claiming over £75,000 of benefits from Wycombe District Council and the Department for Work and Pensions.

51 year old Yvonne Higgins had pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to eight charges of dishonestly making false statements in order to obtain £29,599.16 in housing benefit and £9,675.26 in council tax benefit from Wycombe District Council, as well as £36,960.60 of income support from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). She was handed her sentence - which includes paying costs of £1,634 - at Aylesbury Crown Court..

A joint investigation by Wycombe District Council and the DWP revealed that Mrs Higgins had been claiming benefits as a single person for six years, even though her partner - who worked full-time - had been living with her throughout. She married her partner in August 2008 but still did not declare a change in her circumstances to either the Council or the DWP.

Cllr Roger Wilson, Wycombe District Council's Cabinet Member for Performance and Finance, commented: "This sentence sends out a strong message that Wycombe District Council does not tolerate benefit cheats. It also should serve as a reminder to all of those who claim benefits and have had a change in their circumstances to let us know as soon as possible, because we will find out."

Anyone who suspects that someone is committing benefit fraud can email fraudinvestigations@wycombe.gov.uk or phone 0800 015 8995.