A 60-year-old woman from Maryport collapsed onto the floor of the dock at Carlisle Crown Court, sobbing loudly, moments after learning she would not be sent to prison for an £85,000 benefits fraud.
Louise Stuart, a former care worker who resided on Edinburgh Road, had pleaded guilty to two charges relating to her failure to disclose circumstances affecting her benefit entitlements over an eight-year period.
When Judge Michael Fanning announced that her 11-month prison term could be suspended, Stuart immediately slumped to the ground.
Court proceedings were halted for approximately five minutes whilst staff attended to her and helped her recover.
Once she had returned to her seat, the judge told her: “You are going home.”
Stuart had submitted her benefit claims stating she was a single woman with no additional income, entitling her to Employment Support Allowance and housing benefit.
However, investigators from the Department for Work & Pensions discovered she had been sharing a household with her partner Russel Harrison since September 2016.
Evidence gathered during the probe revealed Harrison had registered the Edinburgh Road property as his address with multiple banks and various employers.
A 60-year-old woman from Maryport collapsed onto the floor of the dock at Carlisle Crown Court, sobbing loudly
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GOOGLEThe couple’s Facebook accounts provided further proof of their relationship, including confirmation of their engagement and photographs of holidays taken together.
Prosecutor Kim Whittlestone told the court that whilst the fraud may not have been dishonest from the very beginning, the pair had been living together for nearly eight years.
The total sum illegally obtained comprised £49,059 in ESA and £36,785 in housing benefit overpayments.
Harrison, an army veteran described by the judge as “greedy,” received an immediate 18-month custodial sentence for his own benefits fraud totalling £36,000 over six-and-a-half years.
Despite receiving personal independence payments on the grounds that he was too unwell to work, he had been employed as a lorry driver throughout this period.
Judge Fanning branded Harrison’s conduct as “outrageous” and “brazen,” noting that he had claimed he could barely walk whilst regularly climbing into lorries for his job.
However, the judge drew a clear distinction between the two cases, explaining that Stuart’s offending involved failing to disclose information rather than the active deception her partner had engaged in.
“It’s dishonesty, and you knew it was,” Judge Fanning told Stuart.
Defence barrister Emily Wilson presented character references she described as “positively glowing”.
Testimonials also portrayed Stuart as “trustworthy,” “selfless,” and possessing “integrity”.
The court heard Stuart had worked for 18 years as a healthcare assistant before ill health forced her to stop, and that financial hardship had been her primary motivation for the offending.
Ms Wilson explained her client had been unable to afford basic necessities for survival and also served as a carer for both her mother and her partner, who was now imprisoned.
Louise Stuart, a former care worker who resided on Edinburgh Road, had pleaded guilty to two charges relating to her failure to disclose circumstances affecting her benefit entitlements over an eight-year period
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The barrister noted Stuart suffered from PTSD, anxiety and depression, and had recently experienced suicidal thoughts.
Judge Fanning observed that at Stuart’s current repayment rate of £50 monthly, clearing the £85,000 debt would take 141 years.
“I don’t think we’re going to get that money back,” he remarked.
Finding realistic rehabilitation prospects, the judge suspended the sentence for 18 months and imposed an eight-month curfew between 8pm and 7am.
