A benefit scammer hid an inheritance from Government welfare chiefs so he could get more than £13,000 in handouts.
Stephen Campbell received tens of thousands of pounds in 2012 after his father died, but despite having the huge windfall in the bank he continued to claim money from the state.
He was finally rumbled in February 2014, almost two years after his fraud began, by which time he had obtained £7,186.70 in unemployment benefit, £5,250.79 in housing benefit and £627.01 in council tax benefit.
Depute fiscal Trina Sinclair told the court Campbell had repaid all the money he had illegally obtained since authorities discovered his scam.
Campbell, 62, of Barnes Avenue in Dundee, pleaded guilty to two charges under the Social Security Administration Act.
Gabriella Notarangelo, defending, said: “He had received an inheritance from his father. He was unemployed and on benefits at the time and his expectation had been he would soon be in employment again.
“However, as time went on he didn’t get a job and he continued to bury his head in the sand.”
Sheriff Alistair Carmichael imposed a community payback order and 200 hours of unpaid work in the community.
