Pensioner’s false £48,000 benefits claim for house she owned

Ramsbottom pensioner Josephine Conway wrongly claimed £48,000 in housing benefit when she was actually the owner of the house.

Conway (aged 69), of Bolton Road West, denied the charges but she was convicted by a jury at Bolton Crown Court on all nine counts of fraud.

Conway initially made a genuine claim for benefit in April 1987 for the house she rented from a friend, Mr John Disney. However, in August 1998, ownership of the property was transferred into joint names with Mr Disney. At that point, Conway should have ended her claim as she had become joint owner and was therefore no longer eligible for help as she was no longer required to pay rent.

In August 2004, Conway became the sole owner of the property but she still continued accepting payments of £70 per week from the council despite being the outright owner with no mortgage even on the property.

When challenged about the facts, Conway stated that despite having had the property transferred into her name, she didn’t consider it was hers.

Conway was convicted on 24 July and was sentenced on Friday 13 September by Judge Knopf. He stated that Conway had, for more than 14 years, deliberately and dishonestly made claims to her local authority for housing benefit knowing full well she was not entitled to receive them. He stated that the court and the public took a serious view of benefit fraud as it affected the state’s ability to help those with a genuine need.

He sentenced Conway to a 12-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered her to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work. She was further ordered to pay costs of £5,000 within six months.

In addition, Bury Council has already taken steps to recover the full amount Conway had stolen. A charging order has been placed against the house, which has been valued at more than £130,000 and the authority is in the process of forcing sale of the property to recoup the full amount from the equity.

Councillor John Smith, cabinet member for finance, said: “We take benefit fraud extremely seriously. It’s wrong, and it’s also unfair to people who are genuinely in need and entitled to benefits. We will continue to take action against people who abuse the system.”

ENDS

Press release issued: 16 September 2013.