George Mathias
A BRITISH woman has been caught claiming disability benefits in the UK whilst helping to run a property business on the Costa Blanca.
Louise Jones, 53, spent at least half of her time in Spain working for a property development company with her husband, despite claiming she spent her time between Cleethorpes and Hull.
Facebook photos she posted showed her living a luxurious lifestyle in Alicante, meanwhile, she was claiming disability allowance for almost a decade.
Jones was ordered to pay £92,500 to HMRC from the sale of a house and an additional £7,500.
Photo: Google Maps.
She had been living with her boyfriend Bruce McHardy, who she later married, himself the operator of a high-flying property business, in Spain.
Her marriage with McHardy ended when her benefits payments were finally stopped and she was forced to return to her hometown of Devon on her own.
They were officially divorced in April 2021 though she claims she is waiting on a £16,000 settlement from the divorce.
In 2019, she received a six month suspended jail sentence and was also charged under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Jones told the court that she is now living on universal credit and is unable to work due to severe arthritis
Jones claimed a total of £46,867.14 in disability and housing benefits and employment support allowance between 2007 and 2016 and £33,000 in severe disability allowance.
On her social media, she listed her job as managing director of McHardy Spanish Properties.
READ MORE:
- Cheeky thief overturns getaway car and reports it as stolen to police on Spain’s Costa Blanca
- Abandoned shopping centre in popular expat urb’ on Spain’s Costa Blanca to be transformed
- Beleaguered town with as few as one policeman on duty recruits seven new officers on Spain’s Costa Blanca
