A Perthshire fraudster conned taxpayers out of nearly £30,000 by pretending he was living alone, despite being involved in a long-term relationship.
Graeme Dewar, 68, spent years duping a local authority and the Department of Work and Pensions into paying him thousands in benefits.
An investigation was launched when an eagle-eyed agency worker eventually noticed payments were being made into a joint bank account.
Dewar was found guilty of conning the DWP out of £11,647.80 between June 1 2014 and May 3 2018 at West Culmalundie Farm Cottages in Tibbermore.
He was found guilty of knowingly failing to give prompt notification of a change of circumstances while he was living in a common household with Sally Hamilton.
He obtained £11,647.80 in Employment Support Allowance.
Dewar was also found guilty of fraudulently obtaining £16,418.95 of housing benefit from Perth and Kinross Council between June 1 2014 and May 6 2018.
No need for ‘romantic relationship’
Fiscal depute Rebecca Kynaston told Perth Sheriff Court the same situation had persisted since 2001, when the couple had started living together.
However, she said due to the limited availability of financial paperwork prior to 2014, the charges had to be limited to the period between then and 2018.
Sheriff William Wood said: “I have heard quite a lot of evidence designed to elicit whether or not the romantic relationship between Mr Dewar and Ms Hamilton was ongoing throughout the period.
“However, that does not appear to be a requirement, as the requirement is for people to live together in a common household.
“The only question is what constitutes living together.
“It simply means shared expenses and regardless of whether there was a romantic relationship, they would appear to have continued to maintain a common household.
“They shared a bank account.
“She retained the address for all purposes, including her employers and for post.
“She continued to contribute to the upkeep of the household.
“You should have told the DWP and Perth and Kinross Council that she was living there and helping with the bills.
“I find you were maintaining a common household.”
Family claim
The couple had claimed they had stopped living together during the period of the con, and Ms Hamilton – who worked for Perth and Kinross Council – claimed she had moved out.
She said she had been living with another family member but the relative denied she ever lived with them and told the court they had not spoken since she made the claim.
Mrs Kynaston said: “It was quite clear they were maintaining a common household.
“She was contributing to household bills and rent.
“The accused made it known to the agency worker that he was the sole occupant of the property, which was clearly not true.”
Sentence was deferred to a later date.
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