A woman has appeared in court charged with £47,500 of benefit fraud after allegedly claiming she was a single mum while living with her husband.
Ruth Ford, 36, of St Michaels Yard, appeared in private before Sheriff Tom Hughes charged with two offences of knowingly defrauding state agencies of public cash.
She is said to have told staff at the Department for Work and Pensions and Dundee City Council that she was living alone with her children.
Prosecutors allege that she was knowingly concerned in fraudulent activity with a view to obtaining the tax credits as she declared her single parent status while living with her husband Allan Ford.
Ford stands accused of fradulently claiming £37,129.99 in tax credits from the Department for Work and Pensions.
She is said to have told benefit chiefs she was a single parent living with her children, making her eligible for both Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.
Ford is also facing a second charge of declaring the same circumstances to staff at Dundee City Council, the body responsible for administering housing benefit.
She is accused of failing to notify the local authority of a change in circumstances which affected her entitlement to housing benefit – namely that she was living with her husband at home.
>>Keep up to date with the latest news with the Evening Telegraph newsletter
As a result she is said to have claimed £10,312.58 from the council that she was not entitled to.
Both offences are alleged to have occurred between November 1 2013 and 24 July 2017 at an address in Helmsdale Avenue, Downfield, or elsewhere.
Ford made no plea or declaration during the short hearing after she appeared on petition.
Sheriff Hughes continued the case for further examination, and granted Ford bail in the meantime.
She will appear again at a later date.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.