Mother guilty of benefits fraud

Annette Slater pleaded guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court

A mother-of-four who cheated a benefits agency out of almost £23,000 has told a court she used the money to buy her children gifts.

Annette Slater, 42, claimed income support for three years after getting a job as a debt collector in Midlothian.

She pled guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to gaining income support which she was not entitled to by knowingly failing to notify the Job Centre Plus.

Slater will be sentenced later this month.

Slater, of Penicuik, pled not guilty to further charges of obtaining £5,800 in carers allowance and £104 in housing benefit and council tax and this was accepted by the Crown.

We are dealing with a very, very substantial fraud effectively from the common purse Sheriff Kenneth Maciver

The court was told Slater, who is the carer of her mentally handicapped daughter, had been the subject of a lengthy investigation into her fraudulent claims after it was discovered she began working as a debt repayment collector and selling loans in Penicuik in October 2003.

Jim Grant, defending, said divorced Slater had been trying to compete with her ex-husband to buy their children gifts and holidays.

"Her plan was to keep this going for a few months but she found it too easy," said Mr Grant.

Sheriff Kenneth Maciver called for background reports on the first offender and said it was unlikely Slater would ever manage to repay the money.

"We are dealing with a very, very substantial fraud effectively from the common purse," said the sheriff.

"The more that this happens the less money there is for genuine needs and it is important that the courts deal with this type of situation effectively and in a way that will discourage people from considering defrauding the public purse," he added.