A Nantwich woman has been found guilty of fraudulently claiming more than £7,000 in benefits – when she had £16,000 savings stashed away.
Tracy Wrench, of Blagg Avenue, Nantwich, admitted fraudulently obtaining £7,067 in housing benefit, council tax benefit and council tax support.
The 42-year-old had failed to declare she had savings totalling £16,000.
Wrench was sentenced to a 12-month community order with a requirement to do 130 hours’ unpaid work.
She was also ordered to pay £395 court costs and a £60 victim surcharge.
Wrench is one of three people recently found guilty of benefit fraud, totalling more than £30,000 of taxpayers’ money.
Joanne Phillips, 49, of Fanshawe Walk, Crewe, admitted fraudulently obtaining £20,823 in housing benefit, Council Tax benefit and Council Tax support. Phillips claimed she was a lone parent on a low income.
Phillips was sentenced to a 12-month community order with a two-month curfew imposed from 7pm to 7am. Magistrates also ordered her to pay £575 court costs and a victim surcharge of £60.
Sophie Giles, of Peckforton Walk, Wilmslow, admitted fraudulently obtaining £6,636 in housing benefit and council tax benefit. She claimed she was living alone and on a low income.
The 26-year-old was sentenced to a 12-month community order and ordered to do 130 hours’ unpaid work. She was also ordered to pay court costs of £575 and a £60 victim surcharge.
Steph Cordon, head of communities at Cheshire East Council, said: “Benefit fraud will simply not be tolerated by this authority.
“Cheshire East is an enforcing council and our investigations team works hard to track down offenders to protect our communities from those who abuse the rules at the expense of taxpayers.”
If you think someone is committing benefit fraud, you can ring the confidential freephone fraud hotline on 0800 389 2787.
Alternatively, you can report suspected fraud via the Council’s website at www.cheshireeast.gov.uk
Don’t believe everything you read
I’m sure she would of paid it back in full out of her saving
Why would she pay it back voluntarily, she scammed the system with that money in the bank. Doesn’t matter what you read, the facts are she’s a cheat and admitted the offence, so she guilty of her own admision, don’t understand what you mean by “don’t believe all you read”
I’m utterly disgusted by this woman, I know about her she drives a fancy car aswel, probably bought with her job on the side I hope HMRC chase her now for tax avasion
Where is this woman now? According to her Facebook account she’s off sunning herself with her Copper boyfriend! Flew out day after court appearance! Has more than one holiday abroad each year!
I hope Edward Timperly reads this, it’s about time something was don about benifit cheats, what has she got? A slap on the wrist that’s all, she should of got a month in prison that would be a better punishment
So us tax payers have to keep her why she is in their
130 hours unpaid work is better
Think about it
We work hard every day of the week, we cannot afford to take kids for weekend break let alone save so much money, she should be ashamed of herself, I hope she has to pay it all back and interest, why do people want to cheat the system so much?
Yep I’ve heard she does cleaning on the side for old people cash in hand, does she have to pay all the money back out of her savings? She got copper boyfriend as well
How do you manage to have £16000 in the bank if your on benefits, my guess she works on the side aswell. My Mrs & I both work full time and would never be able to save this amount. Come on Mr Cameron sort this out.
The article says she had the money in the bank before she started claiming. Maybe she was working, managed to save some money and then lost her job. Or maybe she had an inheritance.
It doesnt say anything about already having savings before. It just says she didnt declare them. .. Anyway she shouldnt be claiming with those savings, shes just a thief and should go to prison.
Mr Cameron he’s a joke
He isn’t bothered just look how many people have come here to live
Just to get our benefits
Perhaps Tracey Wrench should share her savings with the imigrants instead of us tax payers paying for them. Most imigrants i know of work hard for a living.