Benefit fraudster pays penalty
by Hammersmith and Fulham Press Office
29/04/2008
Another fraudster brought to justice
A 51 year-old woman has been sentenced to 240 hours of community service after being found guilty of benefit fraud following an investigation by Hammersmith and Fulham Council's Corporate Anti Fraud Service (CAFS).
Jacqueline Genus, of Conningham Road, W12, was sentenced at Blackfriars Crown Court on Friday 25 April and Judge Ian Kaerten said that she was lucky to avoid a custodial sentence.
Genus was found to be working while in receipt of benefits. She fraudulently claimed £12,186 in housing benefit, £2,834 in council tax benefit and was overpaid £25,000 in benefits from the Department of Work and Pensions.
When she was interviewed under caution, Genus stated that she had been a victim of blackmail and it was due to this that she had to continue claiming while she was working.
No trace was found using the description she gave for the person blackmailing her. Both local and national police databases were utilised in this search.
Cllr Greg Smith, Cabinet Member for Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour, said: "Benefit fraudsters need to be aware that they will be caught and they will have to pay the price for their illegal behaviour. We will not tolerate fraud of any kind and will continue to clamp down on those who think it is acceptable."
During the investigation Genus' expenditure was calculated and it became apparent that she was not living a life of someone that was being blackmailed. She had a number of payments from her account that added up to nearly £30,000 during the period of the overpayment. The investigation established that this money could not have been paid to the alleged blackmailer.
The investigation also uncovered that even though it was from 2002 that Ms Genus claimed to have been blackmailed it was not until February 2006 that she went to report her situation to the police, days after she first became aware that she was being investigated for benefit fraud.
When she went to the police to report this alleged blackmail she said she did not want to make a formal complaint. The details she gave were very sketchy and she said she just wanted to let it be known to the police. No evidence to support the blackmail allegations has been discovered.
Genus was also ordered to pay costs of £250.
