Benefit fraud IUC what happend now?

[saraloui69]

hello,

I have had a IUC and they have put an alleged allagation to me. My husband and i was claiming HB CT IS IC CT and WT not all constantly. My husband handles all claims and i just sign mainly without reading them. They have all payment going into my bank account and also have proof that he worked, which i didnt understand as he told me he informed them. But it was all there in black and white for about 3 years, now he has the benefit paid into his bank which i thought we wasnt claiming anything and it turns out he never stopped our claim (or told them of work since 2002).

What will happen if im found guilty as it was only me at the iuc, and i am really worried about this, will the give me a custodial sentance or can my husband take the blame?

Can they make us sell the house?

worried saraloui69:(

[ErikaPNP]

Hi Sara.

 

If any of the claim forms were made in your name and signed by you, then I'm afraid that you will be held responsible, because when you sign the form you are signing the declaration. The declarations are all similar, but as an example, I've given the declaration for income support:

 

I understand that

● if I knowingly give information that is incorrect or

incomplete, I may be liable to prosecution or other

action.

● I must promptly tell the office that pays my benefit

of anything that may affect my entitlement to, or

the amount of, that benefit.

I declare that the information I have given on this

form is correct and complete as far as I know and

believe and I have included all my income and

savings.

It also states on the income support documents:

 

Under sections 111A and 112(1A) of the

Administration Act 1992 it is an offence to fail to notify

a change of circumstances promptly. Failure to tell us

about a change in your circumstances promptly may

result in action being taken against you.

Any correspondance that is sent reminds the claimant of their responsibility to inform of a change of circumstances, and what those changes might be. If you were named as the claimant, the responsibility falls on you to inform them, unless your husband has been appointed by the secretary of state to act on your behalf for benefit purposes or otherwise legally handles your affairs (power of attorney for example). They may well chase him too, if he was a joint claimant.

 

What also needs to be established is whether, when your husband asked you to sign these forms is whether the claims were fraudulent from the outset - i.e you indicate that they became fraudulent due to an undeclared change in circumstances - but because you didn't read what the forms were about, there may never have been an entitlement to some of the benefit at all. For example in order to claim income support back then, you would either have needed to be a lone parent, claiming on the grounds that you were in incapacitated (and failed to secure IB due to a lack of contributions) or a carer. You would also have to have had periodic contact with the jobcentre and signed things there (work focussed interviews, for example).

 

What happens now is that they will send all documents they have and the recorded interview to the decision maker. They will work out how much has been overpaid. If the amount of the overpayment is more than £2000, it is automatically referred to the prosecution division to commence prosecution proceedings. If this happens, I would strongly recommend you seek legal advice from a solicitor dealing in criminal law. You can get some free advice here also.

 

I've attached the sanction policy on benefit fraud and the sentencing guidelines to this message. In the sentencing guidelines, you need to scroll down until you find the category of "benefit fraud" otherwise you will be reading guidelines for other types of fraud, which are different.

 

In addition to the criminal case, the department will seek to recover all monies overpaid via the civil route.

sentencing guidelines.pdf

sanction-policy.pdf

[kk3852]

As you were at the IUC I am assuming that the claims were in your name. I then get a bit confused as to when your husband worked and when payments changed from your bank account to his.

 

Are you saying that the benefit was paid into your account until he started work in 2002, who changed the payments over to his account. You will have had to sign a form giving a change of bank account details.

 

The fact that you have signed paperwork without reading anything isn't a defence. Its your claim, its your responsibility to make sure its correct.

 

Depending on what you said during your interview it may be that a decision is made to interview your husband as well. If he has completed the claim forms and payment went into his bank account he can be charged with aiding and abetting, or knowingly allowing someone to make a false benefit claim.

 

Either way, the documents that they hold relating to his work will be sent to a decision maker, they will decide whether or not an overpayment has occurred and a calcualtion will be made.

 

If the overpayment is in excess of £2,000 (which I am guessing that it will be) then the case will be referred for prosecution. You should also be aware that if the overpayment is over £10,000 that a referral will be made to the financial investigators who will consider whether or not to press for compensation under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

 

If the court decide that you have sufficient resources then an order could be made by that court that you realise the funds from your property to repay the overpayment within a given time period.

 

I know that this wont put your mind at rest, but whatever happened is done. It needs to be sorted out.

[saraloui69]

Thanks for this info.. its really helped me out... i will update and let you know

[saraloui69]

As you were at the IUC I am assuming that the claims were in your name. I then get a bit confused as to when your husband worked and when payments changed from your bank account to his.

 

Are you saying that the benefit was paid into your account until he started work in 2002, who changed the payments over to his account. You will have had to sign a form giving a change of bank account details.

 

The fact that you have signed paperwork without reading anything isn't a defence. Its your claim, its your responsibility to make sure its correct.

 

Depending on what you said during your interview it may be that a decision is made to interview your husband as well. If he has completed the claim forms and payment went into his bank account he can be charged with aiding and abetting, or knowingly allowing someone to make a false benefit claim.

 

Either way, the documents that they hold relating to his work will be sent to a decision maker, they will decide whether or not an overpayment has occurred and a calcualtion will be made.

 

If the overpayment is in excess of £2,000 (which I am guessing that it will be) then the case will be referred for prosecution. You should also be aware that if the overpayment is over £10,000 that a referral will be made to the financial investigators who will consider whether or not to press for compensation under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

 

If the court decide that you have sufficient resources then an order could be made by that court that you realise the funds from your property to repay the overpayment within a given time period.

 

I know that this wont put your mind at rest, but whatever happened is done. It needs to be sorted out.

 

 

Hello

 

the original claim in 2002 went into my bank account until 2005 then he started to work and the benefit stopped into my bank, but he had phoned them up giving his bank details, and i thought we was ligitimate. He has already had 4 interviews over the past 12 months but he says no comment and they haven't issued him with a alergation.

 

Thanks for your help in this matter i will keep you posted