A WYTHALL woman will have to pay back more than £4,000 of cash she was not entitled to after pleading guilty to council tax benefit fraud.
Maria Parmar, of Silver Street, failed to disclose to Bromsgrove District Council that her husband started working in April 2013 while she was claiming council tax benefit.
Following an assessment by the authority it was found there were overpayments of £4,370.67 handed to Parma between April 22, 2013 and May 23, 2016.
It came about when, after informing the council in May her employment had ceased the previous December but her husband had started work in April, 2013, she was asked to produce her P45 as proof of earnings.
She told investigators they had not claimed JobSeekers Allowance (JSA) but had been living on cash received from her daughter and that the money was paid into their bank account and used to cover bills and living expenses.
The following day Parmar again contacted the council to say she had provided false information the previous day and in fact her husband had been employed since 2013 on a full-time basis.
Parmar was interviewed in July 2016 when she confirmed that at the time the application was made she was working part time as a nanny earning approximately £90 a week.
She confirmed she understood how the benefit was assessed and that if the family income increased it would be more than likely that the benefit being paid would be reduced.
She also acknowledged she should have notified the change immediately her husband started work and on examination of the information provided regarding Mr Parmar’s salary, it appeared his salary was between £24,000 and £27,000.
On Thursday (November 24) at Redditch Magistrates Court, as well as being ordered to pay back the £4,370.67 at £200-per-month, she was also fined £80 and was ordered to pay a £30 victim surcharge and £250 towards the costs.
A council spokesperson said: “It is the claimant’s duty to let us know as soon as their circumstances change so the appropriate changes to their benefits can be made.
“Failure to do so is fraud and will result in court action.”
