A Wigan woman who fraudulently obtained over £40,000 in benefits while taking multiple foreign holidays has been spared a prison sentence, with her defence citing her as 'not very bright'.
The 'Miss Holiday' scam uncovered
Susan Pearson, 58, from Platt Bridge in Wigan, was dubbed 'Miss Holiday' by friends who joked she had accumulated 'more air miles than Air Force One' due to her extensive travels. While claiming to be broke and unemployed, Pearson was secretly funding holidays to destinations including Tunisia, Cyprus, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Tenerife, and even a Mediterranean cruise.
Over a five-year period, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) fraudster pocketed £40,334.21 in Universal Credit payments while also receiving a £536.22 discount on her council tax. During this time, she had concealed more than £40,000 across two savings accounts that she failed to declare to authorities.
How the DWP investigation unfolded
Welfare officials eventually caught Pearson after a routine data matching exercise revealed she held undeclared savings with Nationwide and a Co-Funds investment account. The investigation uncovered one particularly large lump sum withdrawal totalling £13,000 from her accounts.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Martin Pizzey described his client as 'rather fragile' and 'overwhelmed by what is going on around her'. He stated: 'She wants me to stress that she knows she did something wrong. She was very worried and frightened by the whole process.'
Pizzey attributed some of Pearson's actions to her marriage breakdown, suggesting she 'was not prepared for the single life'. He also noted she has 'substantial responsibility looking after her mother' and has no siblings or children.
Outcome and wider context
Speaking from the dock, Pearson herself claimed she was 'not very bright'. The court heard that she had attempted to repay the money to the DWP, but the department had refused direct payment and is instead taking small deductions from her carer's allowance.
This case emerges against a backdrop of record levels of Universal Credit claims, which have soared from 6.9 million last July to over 8 million currently. The steep rise in the past year has been driven almost entirely by people not required to work, with 3.7 million in this category in July – representing a 39% increase or 1 million more people than the same time in 2024.
Universal Credit is designed as a payment to help with living costs and is available for people in work who are on low incomes, as well as those who are out of work or cannot work.
