A PENSIONER who had more than £16,000 in savings fraudulently claimed more than £2,000 in benefits.
Sharon Wagstaff, of Hatherley Road, Sidcup, was fined £500 by Bromley magistrates after pleading guilty to benefit fraud on January 4.
The court heard how the 77-year-old failed to declare the true extent of her savings while claiming council tax benefit, which cannot be claimed by anyone with savings of more than £16,000.
The fraud eventually came to light during information sharing between Bexley Council and a government department.
Magistrates were told the case was a long-standing one which had first begun in the 1990s.
The court heard Wagstaff, who received the cash between 1993 and August last year, had already repaid all the money she had claimed.
She was ordered to pay £250 costs.
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