A BENEFIT cheat has been fined for falsely claiming more than £7,000 after failing to declare she had got a job.
Serena Eakins, of St Gregory’s Crescent, Gravesend, was fined £1,000 at Dartford Magistrates’ Court after admitting three charges of benefit fraud.
The court heard the 43-year-old claimed £4,786 in income support, £1,507 in housing benefit and £1,367 in council tax benefit between March and December last year despite having a job.
Eakins told the court she had sent Gravesham Council and the Department for Work and Pensions a letter notifying them she had found a job.
However, the court heard neither authority had received the letters from Eakins, who is now repaying the money she falsely claimed.
To report a suspected benefit cheat, call the council on 01474 337231.
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