A Cupar woman who fraudulently obtained more than £8,000 in benefits narrowly avoided a jail sentence at Cupar Sheriff Court.
Helen Gracie, 52, of Lyall Place, admitted failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions between November 30 2011 and June 8 2012 that she was in receipt of a private pension from Dundee City Council and that between June 6 2012 and August 1 last year she obtained £8,263 in income-related benefit, namely employment and support allowance to which she was not entitled.
She further admitted failing to notify Fife Council that she was in receipt of a private pension between November 21 and May 6 2012 and fraudulently receiving housing and council tax benefit.
The court previously heard that Fife Council was informed by fraud investigators that Gracie, a former social care worker, may have been in receipt of a private pension from Dundee City Council.
She was asked to attend an interview and payments were suspended pending an investigation. Inquiries were made and the authority confirmed Gracie had been receiving the pension from November 2011.
Gracie initially told council officials she was unaware she was in receipt of the pension until March 2012 but later stated she did not realise she had to declare it.
Her solicitor told the court she struggled with depression after her husband’s death in November 2011 and she had a number of health difficulties including arthritis and problems with her lungs.
“Prior to this she was an upstanding member of the community and had no previous convictions,” he added.
Sheriff Charles Macnair said that according to High Court guidelines, unless there were exceptional mitigating circumstances only a custodial sentence was appropriate for benefit fraud offences.
He added: “It seems to me that just, and only just, your health difficulties are mitigating circumstances and, because of your guilty plea I am prepared to reduce that to a high end non-custodial disposal.’’
Gracie was ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work within nine months and placed on a restriction of liberty order forcing her to remain in her home between 7pm and 7am for 12 months.