Supply teacher sentenced after benefit fraud

A supply teacher from Manchester has been sentenced to 3 months in prison, suspended for two years, after admitting a £20,000 benefit fraud.

42-year old Shaheen Khanum, of Clee Avenue in Longsight was sentenced on Friday 4 March after pleading guilty, at an earlier hearing, to fraudulently obtaining housing benefit, council tax benefit and income support amounting to £20,607.59.

Khanum had failed to declare that she periodically worked as a supply teacher and as a result was overpaid benefits from Manchester City Council and the Department for Work and Pensions between September 2003 and March 2008.

The fraud was uncovered by officers from Manchester City Council and the Department for Work and Pensions as part of an exercise using intelligence gathered by the DWP Hidden Economy Team.

Councillor Bernard Priest, Manchester City Council's Executive Member for Finance said: "This is a stark warning to people who are working and continue to claim benefits they are not entitled to - you will be found out and prosecuted."

Richard Paver, City Treasurer, said: "The whole community suffers when individuals commit benefit fraud. It reduces the money available to those with a genuine claim and also increases the burden on the council taxpayer. This case demonstrates our determination to prosecute offenders and ensure that they do not profit from their crime."

Manchester has a free, confidential benefit fraud hotline, which members of the public can use to report benefit fraud. The number is: 0800 783 9668.