Benefit cheat jailed after £31k fiddle

A benefits cheat in Dudley has been jailed for fraudulently claiming more than £31,000.

Mark Beese, aged 57, of Collindale Court, Kingswinford, wrongly claimed council tax benefit and job seekers' allowance.

It took place between December 2002 and June 2007 and he was given a nine-month prison sentence.

Dudley Council and the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP) started an investigation of Beese's claims.

It followed an anonymous call which stated that Beese had failed to declare that both he and his wife were working.

He was jailed when he appeared before Wolverhampton Crown Court on July 1.

In a separate case, Sarah Rose, 29, of Saltwells Road, Netherton, fraudulently claimed more than £15,000 in housing benefit, council tax benefit and income support between August 2006 and May 2008.

An anonymous contact from a member of the public alerted the DWP that Rose had a partner living with her while claiming benefits as a single parent.

Rose was found guilty following a trial at Dudley Magistrates Court on June 29. She received an 18-month supervised community order and was ordered to pay £400 costs. In each case, the council is seeking to recover the money.