A CALDERDALE woman committed benefit fraud when she failed to tell the council that she was living with her partner.
Kirklees magistrates heard that Harriot Brown’s claim for housing benefit when she moved to a new address was fraudulent from the outset.
Vanessa Jones, prosecuting, said that between July 2014 and June 2015 she was overpaid £3,142 by Calderdale Council as a result of the fraud.
The 30-year-old, who runs her own cleaning business, pleaded guilty to dishonestly making a false statement to obtain a benefit.
She applied for housing benefit on the basis that she was single parent of three children, Mrs Jones said.
Brown explained that her relationship was on/off and at the time when she made the claim to the council her partner had left and she didn’t think that he would be back.
She said she didn’t consider herself to be in a relationship but admitted that when her partner came back to the house she should have informed the authorities.
Brown, of Chester Terrace in Halifax, was sentenced to a community order with 80 hours of unpaid work.
She will have to pay £85 costs and £85 victim surcharge.
