A Dundee woman who lied about her husband living with her has been found guilty of fraudulently claiming more than £15,500 in benefits.
Sheriff Tom Hughes found Eileen Fleming (44), of Ballindean Terrace, guilty of lying to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and claiming her husband Lionel Fleming was not living with her to gain jobseekers allowance she was not entitled to.
She was also found guilty of failing to tell Dundee City Council of a change in circumstances that her husband was living with her and fraudulently claiming housing benefit and council tax benefit she was not entitled to.
Maureen Andrews, a fraud investigator with the DWP, said Fleming had signed the declaration on a jobseekers allowance application and a further jobseekers allowance rapid reclaim form, stating that all of the information provided was correct.
She confirmed that Fleming had claimed she was single and only she and her daughter were living at the address. She also said that if she had declared Mr Fleming was living with her she would have been entitled to less.
Fleming was found guilty of on January 14 2009 knowingly making a false statement to officials at the DWP stating she was single when in actual fact her husband Lionel Fleming was living with her, and fraudulently obtaining £1,366.82 in jobseekers allowance.
She was also found guilty of on October 1 2009 knowingly making a false statement to DWP to fraudulently obtain £3,698.78.
She was further found guilty of between April 23 2007 and December 5 2010, at Balmoral Gardens, knowingly failing to give prompt notification to Dundee City Council of a change of circumstances she knew affected her entitlement to housing benefit and council tax benefit and received £10,498.56 to which she was not entitled.
The court heard from two of Fleming’s former neighbours who claimed they were under the impression that Mr Fleming was living in her flat.
In her defence Fleming told the court she had not lived with her husband since they separated in April 2007 and that to her knowledge he spent his time staying with their daughter Ashley, her daughter Claire and friends.
However, giving evidence Ashley’s partner John Jackson said he stayed at their house ”no more than two nights in a week”.
Taking the witness stand, Fleming said after the separation her husband did not live with her but she had allowed him to use her address as a mailing address.
She also admitted acting as a guarantor for him and letting him use her address for a car finance agreement.
Depute fiscal Emma Stewart said: ”So you lied to that finance company but you are definitely not lying here? That’s what you expect us to believe?”
Fleming replied ”Yes.”
She also admitted under cross-examination that applying for a job at the Overgate Centre she had named her husband as an emergency contact and gave the address at Ballindean Terrace as his address.
Sentencing, Sheriff Hughes warned her the court services have strict guidelines with reference to benefits fraud of over £14,000 and she was in a ”very difficult situation”.
He deferred sentence to August 23 for reports and a restriction of liberty order assessment.