An Arnold man has been jailed for four months after illegally pocketing more than £8,000 in benefits.
Timothy Wood, 53, of Darlton Drive, Arnold, had been claiming housing and council tax benefits on and off since 2011 while failing to declare at any point that he was in employment or when circumstances changed.
He was yesterday given a four month custodial sentence at Nottingham Magistrates Court for falsely claiming £8979.71 of benefits from Gedling Borough Council and the Department of Work and Pensions across six false claim forms since November 2011.
Information from Gedling Borough Council’s taxi licensing department revealed that Mr Wood had renewed his taxi license in 2011, 2012 and 2013 but had not informed the council or the DWP of his employment. Further investigation found that Mr Wood in fact worked as a mini bus driver for Arrow Specialised Transport, who confirmed that he had been working on a self-employed basis at the business and had received wages since April 2011.
As well as the housing and council tax benefits, Mr Wood received money through Carer’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance fraudulently, as he was working and did not declare multiple changes in his circumstances.
Mr Wood has a previous conviction for failing to declare a change of circumstances earlier in 2011, for which he received a conditional discharge of 12 months.
Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor John Clarke said: “Reports of benefit overpayment by councils partly due to fraud have been highlighted recently so I’m pleased that another offender has been caught. These individuals are the reason for many of those overpayments. Anyone who thinks they can fraudulently claim benefits should take this sentence as a warning of the consequences. When you’re caught you could end up in prison.”
