£100k benefits cheat who 'killed off partner' in 10-year scam gets suspended sentence
A cheating mother of two who repeatedly lied during a near £100,000 benefit fraud was warned she would be jailed if she did not tell a judge the truth about her health when she appeared before him in a wheelchair.
Wendy Robinson, who admitted the 10-year racket, was ordered to give evidence under oath before sentence was passed at Birmingham Crown Court.
The 52-year-old 'killed off' her partner to illegally pocket state payouts – intended for the seriously disabled and single parents – while the couple bought two houses and lived together with their children as 'brother and sister'.
Judge Patrick Thomas QC had no written medical evidence and told her yesterday: "It is very plain you have lied, lied and lied for years in complicated ways.
"Because of the level of deception in this case I am going to get you to give evidence on oath. If you now tell lies about your medical condition you will be liable for prosecution for perjury and will go to prison."
Robinson told the judge: "My mobility is pretty limited now."
She maintained she was suffering from a string of complaints, including spastic cerebral palsy and a degenerative spine condition.
Judge Thomas ruled: "On the basis of that being true I will pass a suspended prison sentence. The sole basis on which I have made this order is the state of your health. If it turns out that you have lied about that, then to prison you will go."
Prosecutor Mr Henry Skudra said Robinson was overpaid £98,388 in benefits and continued: "She claimed her husband was dead and then said he was her brother. Although she had medical difficulties she was not as disabled as she claimed to be. In fact she attended a leisure centre.
"When her lies finally caught up with her, and she was found out, she persisted with the 'husband deception' until the day of her trial when she pleaded guilty. Half her benefit claims were fraudulent from the outset."
Robinson told officials in 1998 she had been left to bring up her two girls alone after the death of her partner David Spite. But he was alive and changed his name to that of her brother, David Robinson, allowing the couple to live together with the children.
The defendant claimed to be a single parent in rented accommodation while the couple first bought a house in Hayes Street, West Bromwich in 2000 before selling it for £78,000 and purchasing another £93,000 property in Meldon Drive, Bilston.
The racket unravelled after a 2013 query over her council tax claims
Robinson, now living in Goole, East Yorkshire, admitted illegally getting income support, council tax, housing and disability benefits by failing to reveal she was living with her partner as man and wife and not disclosing her physical capabilities had improved.
She was given an 18 month jail sentence suspended for two years.
