im writing this on behalf of a friend ive known for years, she has been so stupid its unreal. she was a single parent claiming benefits for housing, council tax, and tax credits. in mid 2010 her partner moved in with her but she didnt inform the benefits agency of her change in circumstances until early this year. making it at least 18 months of benefits over payments she received, totaling up to anywhere between £14000-£16000. from what i can understand she thinks she is being investigated, her partner moved all of his possessions into her house in 2010 and used to travel 40+ miles each day to work. he had no mail sent to the address, but bearing in mind he used to live 40 miles away where he worked all his bank statements show 99% of the transactions made during the time they were together were done in her hometown, his work had her address and phone number as an emergency contact from about a week after he moved in. plus the fact all the neighbors knew he was there and for how long. she said she is going to say he didnt "live" there, but just "stayed " a lot! ive told her that by saying this she is admitting guilt straight away as there has been a crackdown on benefit fraud. just wondered if anyone had any ideas on what could happen if she is found to have commited benefit fraud (which in my eyes to be fair she has) bearing in mind she has a 10 and 13 year old. cant believe how stupid she has been! any views/advice greatly appreciated.