Benefits cheat claimed thousands pretending he had 20 children-including 10 who were BLIND
A BENEFITS cheat claimed thousands of pounds in bogus welfare by claiming to have 20 children - 10 of whom were blind.
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The Department for Work and Pensions paid out more than £2,000.
Swindon Magistrates Court heard how Kill, of West Tockenham, near Swindon, came up with the scam so he could move out of his parents’ house.
Jeremy Griffiths, mitigating, said his client had been a carer but gave up his job to look after his father.
After his father died in 2017, Kill was left living with his step-mother.
The two did not get on well but, because Kill was not working, he had no money to help him find somewhere new to live.
That was when the idea of making false benefits claims came into his head, Mr Griffiths said. His plan was to build up a fund to get out of the family home.
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He used old addresses or addresses where he had never lived.
Kill confessed he found it “embarrassing” and felt disgusted with himself.
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Mr Griffiths said Kill was now working and lived with a new partner.
The court heard the money has already been recovered by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Chairman of the bench Alison Auvray said: “It is all of us that you are defrauding.
Kill was ordered to complete 90 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
He was also made to pay £135 in costs and surcharge.