Laurence Dollimore
A BRITISH expat who stole more than €90,000 in UK benefits while living in Spain has been given almost 1,000 years to pay the cash back.
Jayne Kitchen, who is believed to live on the Costa del Sol, will pay back £7.65 per month, meaning her debt would not be repaid until the year 2977.
The mother-of-two, from Grimsby, claimed income support, disability living allowance and carers allowance but failed to reveal she had left the country.
The 53-year-old admitted in court to falsely taking money from the government between July 2013 and August 2016.
She also admitted taking tax credit from HMRC and failing to tell the UK authorities her children had been taken into care in Spain, the Metro reported.
Prosecuting, Nigel Clive said: “The money she claimed was used for ordinary day-to-day living costs and to pay Spanish legal teams over her childcare claims.
“There was no lavish lifestyle.”
She has so far paid back £400, the court heard.
“She gets £2,000-a-month now. She is repaying at £7.65 per month and there is no indication that she has any form of assets,” said Clive.
The court was told she is currently the registered carer for one of her teenage children.
She was given a 12 month prison sentence suspended for 12 months as ‘an act of mercy towards her children’ so they would avoid going into care recorder Abdul Iqbal QC said.
“I hope you are thoroughly ashamed of your dishonesty,” he said.
A DWP spokesperson said today: “Only a small minority of benefit claimants are dishonest, but cases like this show how we are stopping those who cheat the system and divert taxpayers’ money from the people who need it.
“There are a range of penalties for benefit fraud, and those found guilty have a criminal record. Last year we prosecuted around 5,000 fraudsters and recovered £1.1bn in overpaid benefits.”
