A benefit cheat, who continued claiming despite having £153,000 in his bank account, was told yesterday he faces imprisonment when he returns for sentencing.
Builder Jeffrey Hearn, 55, received £87,000 in Employment and Support allowance and Housing and Council Tax benefit for six years and two months.
He told Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court he does not want a lawyer to defend him because he wants to keep as much as the money he defrauded to himself.
“The money I saved was for my children. I don’t want to pay two thousand pounds to a solicitor,” he said from the dock.
Hearn, of Cromwell Place, Station Road, Redhill pleaded guilty to dishonestly making a false statement in a benefits application on June 19, 2009 to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).
He also pleaded guilty to dishonestly making a false statement in a housing benefit application to the London Borough of Merton on July 1, 2009.
Hearn also admitted dishonestly making a false statement in an Employment & Support Allowance application to the DWP on August 6.
All three charges relate to him lying about the amount of savings he had at the time.
“This was fraudulent from the outset,” said prosecutor Francesca Levett.
Hearn, who claims to have a £300 per week cannabis addiction told the court he repaid Merton Council £21,000 and has been making £50 payments to the DWP for 18 months.
The judge told him: “You are at grave risk of custody, a prison sentence,” bailing him until November 6 for a Drug Rehabilitation Requirement assessment.
“This is not an indication of the sentence the judge will pass. The sentencing guidelines suggest a custodial sentence because of the amount of money involved.
“This is a serious case. I can only advise you as strongly as I can to get representation.”
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