A mother-of-four, who swindled over £80,000 in benefit payments, by deliberately failing to tell Tandridge District Council she was living with her husband was jailed for six months today.
Lorraine Swain, 37, pleaded guilty to three charges at Croydon Crown Court (pictured) of failing to notify a change of circumstances in relation to income support, housing benefit and council tax benefits.
Prosecutor Mr. Alex Chalk told the court the claim dated back to June 2002 and in March 2009 and January, last year she was questioned about evidence she was living with a partner, but denied the allegations.
However, investigators discovered her partner had given the Holly House address to his bank and local G.P. and used the address when obtaining a loan and had registered a vehicle there.
It was calculated since May 2005 Swain had illegally claimed £81,430, with just £10.20 recovered by housing benefit and £335 by council tax.
Her husband, a Territorial Army volunteer, is currently on jobseekers allowance, but will travel to Afghanistan for an 11-month posting in May, next year.
"I find sentencing you deeply depressing, but the amount means you have to go to prison and you have to go to prison today," Recorder Connell told Swain. "This was something you did that was dishonest over a long period."
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