Birmingham Mother Receives Suspended Sentence for £14k Benefit Fraud
A Birmingham mother-of-eight has been handed a suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of fraudulently claiming more than £14,000 in benefits for children who were no longer living with her.
Substantial Overpayments Discovered
Carla Hunt, aged 38, was convicted of two charges of dishonestly failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions about significant changes in her circumstances that affected her entitlement to benefits. The court heard that between January 2022 and January 2023, Hunt received £13,487.96 in Universal Credit payments for eight children who had been removed from her care.
Additionally, she received £1,254.60 in Carer's Allowance between May and October 2022 for a son she was no longer caring for, bringing the total overpayment to £14,742.56.
Court Proceedings and Sentencing
At Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Friday, January 30, Hunt was sentenced to 12 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. She was also ordered to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activity and pay a £154 victim surcharge.
Prosecutor Savithru Wijeratne presented evidence showing Hunt had failed to notify Universal Credit that her children were removed from her care between January 6 and June 6, 2022. Hunt was arrested and interviewed in March 2023 regarding the discrepancies.
Defence Arguments Presented
Defence solicitor Peter Ricketts presented mitigating circumstances, stating that Hunt had been a victim of long-term domestic violence and suffered from mental health and learning difficulties that affected her ability to understand official paperwork and procedures.
"She's a lady who has suffered a number of issues throughout her life," Mr Ricketts told the court. "She became pregnant very young and left school without completing examinations."
The defence maintained that Hunt's benefit claims were initially valid and that she believed the children's removal was temporary. "Ms Hunt maintained one of the reasons she didn't tell the DWP is she thought the children were going to be returned and it was only a matter of time," Mr Ricketts explained.
Reasons for Non-Disclosure
During proceedings, Hunt claimed that notifying the DWP about her changed circumstances had "slipped her mind" and that she had been unable to access her Universal Credit journal. She also stated that a social worker had advised her not to notify Universal Credit about the children's removal, suggesting it was a temporary measure pending court proceedings.
Hunt told the court she had been using the benefit money to improve her home's condition, hoping that better living conditions would facilitate her children's return. "She tells me she was using the money received to improve the state of the house as it had been in a bad state," Mr Ricketts stated. "She was hoping that, in an improved state, her children would be returned."
Court's Final Remarks
The Chair of the Bench addressed Hunt directly during sentencing, stating: "We have thought long and hard about this today. We are not going to lecture you, you know what you did was wrong. We are going to suspend the prison sentence. Keep your nose clean, keep out of trouble and you won't go to prison."
Hunt has accepted that she made mistakes and has already agreed to a repayment schedule for the substantial overpayments. The court noted that she had no previous criminal convictions and did not deliberately lie to the DWP according to her defence team.
