A MAN who fraudulently claimed benefits while getting an income from renting out two houses in one of the most expensive parts of the country has been sentenced.

A judge at Preston Crown Court also heard that Stuart William Barclay had committed other fraud offences and sentenced him to a total of six months custody, suspended for two years.

South Lakeland District Council (SLDC) prosecuted Barclay, of Meadow Vale, Low Greaves, Pennington, near Ulverston, for two offences, one of dishonestly making a false representation with a view to obtaining benefit, contrary to section 111A of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, and the second of making a false representation or statement which he knew to be false with a view to obtaining a reduction under the council tax reduction scheme. 

MORE TOP STORIES:

Barclay, 42, claimed the benefits and told the council he had no assets or income, but in fact he and his wife owned two houses in Woking, Surrey, that they were renting out and getting an income from.

In total Barclay was overpaid housing and council tax reduction benefits of £4,388.54 that he was not entitled to. 

Barclay was sentenced at Preston Crown Court to two months custody, suspended for two years, for the SLDC offences and was also made the subject of a 12 month supervision order.

In addition he was ordered to carry out 240 hours unpaid work, and pay SLDC’s costs of £750.

At the same court hearing Barclay was also sentenced for three counts of making false representations to make gain for himself or others or causing loss to others/ expose to risk contrary to section 1(2) and 2 of the Fraud Act 2006, in a separate prosecution brought by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

For those offences he received a four month prison sentence, suspended for two years, to run consecutively with the SLDC sentence. Barclay was also ordered to pay the DWP’s costs of £510.

Nicola Hartley, Senior Solicitor at South Lakeland District Council, said: “The council will always take any kind of benefit fraud very seriously. 

“People need to be aware that the council will always prosecute where deliberate fraud is uncovered. The council has a responsibility to protect public funds and SLDC will continue to take a tough stance on any type of benefit fraud. 

“The vast majority of people are law abiding council tax payers and claim benefit they are entitled to correctly. It is only fair that we take action when benefit is claimed fraudulently.”