A woman defrauded the public purse of almost £26,000 by lying to the authorities about having a disability which prevented her from working.
Fiona Roache, also known as Fiona Morrison, has been warned she faces being sent to prison after admitting two charges of taking benefits she was not entitled to at Dundee Sheriff Court on Friday morning.
Morrison, 51, failed to inform the Department of Work and Pensions of a change of circumstances, namely that she was in employment, which would have affected the amount she was entitled to in employability support allowance over the course of a three-month period.
By failing to tell the authority in a prompt enough manner, she obtained £17,000 to which she was not entitled.
She also admitted making a false statement about the limitations of her physical capabilities, telling the DWP she was unable to take employment and required help while filling out an application for personal independence payments.
It transpired Morrison was in full time employment and had given the impression to the DWP she was less abled than she actually was.
As a result of this she took £8,900 over the course of nearly three years.
Morrison, of South Baffin Street, pleaded guilty to two charges before Sheriff John Rafferty.
She admitted that between November 3 2016 and January 17 2017 she failed to give prompt notification to the Department of Work and Pensions of a change of circumstances which she knew would affect her employment support allowance and she obtained £17,000 she was not entitled to.
She further admitted between November 5 2014 and August 24 2017 to making a false statement to the Department of Work and Pensions on an application for personal independence payments that she required help and was unable to work, when the truth was her physical capabilities were greater than reported and that she was in full time employment. In doing so, she obtained personal independence payments of £8,900 she was not entitled to.
Sheriff Rafferty deferred sentence until May 11 for criminal social justice reports and a restriction of liberty order.
He said: “In view of the amount involved, you must be prepared for a custodial sentence when you come back to court.”
