A 51-YEAR-OLD woman who claimed more than £46,000 in benefits for a rented house for three and a half years that she was not living in has avoided immediate jail time.
Tracey Goodfield, of Northfield Road, Tetbury, moved out of Bromford Housing accommodation to live with a partner in Bristol in 2017 but did not notify the Department of Work and Pensions or Cotswold District Council so continued to receive benefits.
Goodfield admitted defrauding the Department of Work and Pensions out of £19,470 between August 21, 2017 and April 9, 2021 and housing benefit of £23,031 and council tax support £3,869 from CDC between the same dates two months before her trial date.
She has since been repaying the £46,370 at a rate of £30 a month.
Goodfield was sentenced to one year in prison suspended for 18 months at Gloucester Crown Court on Tuesday, October 3.
Prosecutor Lucy Stoker said: “The property in Northfield Road is a housing association property run by Bromford Housing group and the organisation received Goodfield’s housing benefit directly from CDC.
“As well as the monetary loss to the public purse it also meant that a housing association property was unavailable for use by anybody else whilst Goodfield was still the tenant.
“One of the neighbours near Goodfield’s property made notes whenever she returned to the Northfield Road address which, over time, was seen to be irregular.
“Goodfield initially denied the fraudulent activity, claiming she spent limited time living at her partner’s address in Bristol."
Mr Steven Young, defending, said the reason Goodfield moved to Bristol was because she could not find employment in the Tetbury area.
Mr Young said: “She did however obtain a job in Bristol and to her it made financial sense to stay with her partner in the city, but she claims she didn’t stay with him full time.
“Goodfield was informing the Benefits Agency about her employment income, but she didn’t inform the department of the new address because in her mind she was still technically resident at Tetbury.
"She didn’t realise she was being dishonest.
“She has since returned to her Tetbury address and her partner has moved in with her there.”
Judge Ian Lawrie told Goodfield: “You indulged in concerted exercise in dishonesty over a substantial period of time.
"You knew your obligations, but chose not to inform the various bodies about the changes in your circumstances.
“You chose to skim the system and walked away with more than £45,000.
“If you should ever do anything like this again, I will have no hesitation in sending you to prison."
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