Benefit con exposed

Published 18 Mar 2010 10:01

By Jennifer Black

A JOHNSTONE man has been locked up for a benefits con - of more than eighteen grand.

Brian Lafferty, of Finch Place, pocketed £18,486 by claiming Working Tax and Child Tax Credits he was not entitled to.

And despite offering to repay the full amount Finch was jailed for 15 months - sent out as a warning to other would-be benefit thieves.

Lafferty was told that jail could not be avoided as he had deliberately set out with others to commit fraud by setting up a bank account and making false claims for non-existent children.

And Sheriff James Spy added that it would take years for all of the money to be repaid.

This week, Paisley Sheriff Court heard how Lafferty, of Spateston, a painter and decorator, had met others in a pub who had told him about a loophole in the system and encouraged him to get involved.

In court, he pleaded guilty on indictment to obtaining £18,486.48 by fraudulent means between April 2005 and March 2006.

Lafferty claimed he was responsible for four children, one of whom was disabled, and that they attended a local nursery for which he paid childcare costs.

John Gardner, defending, said his client had been sucked into the scheme and allowed himself to be used by others and he now deeply regretted doing so.

Sentencing him to 15 months' imprisonment, Sheriff Spy said he accepted that the accused was not the main benefactor, but nonetheless, he had been "an important cog" in the elaborate scam.

He added: "Substantial sums were defrauded from the public purse and given the nature of the fraud and the fact that it was a deliberate course of conduct, custody cannot be avoided."

Welcoming the sentencing HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) assistant director of investigation in Scotland, John Fitzcharles told the Gazette: "Lafferty repeatedly lied about his circumstances to claim a substantial sum of money to which he knew he was not entitled.

"He callously abused a system, which aims to support the most vulnerable in our society, with the sole aim of self enrichment.

"Most claimants are honest and claim only what they are entitled to.

"But those who believe that they can beat the system, and gain an advantage over everyone else without second thought, should think again."

An appeal has been issued by the organisation asking anyone with information about this type of fraud to call the HMRC Tax Credit hotline on 0845 300 3900.

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This article appeared in The Gazette 17 Mar 10

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