Benefit Fraud Investigator Found To Have Falsified Witness Statement

What sort of behaviour would you expect to see from a benefit fraud investigator? If you’re lucky enough to never have had the experience of being investigated for your benefit claims, then you may be thinking of an impartial professional, patiently sifting through facts, collecting statements from witnesses, and then forming conclusions based on a careful analysis of all the available data.

For the most part this is still likely to be true with many fraud investigators showing honesty and integrity to use these time-proven methods to unearth the facts in the case and rule one way or the other. However, it is possible that as these investigators are increasingly pushed to the limit with an increasing workload due to the increase in investigations, and an expectation of more cases leading to a successful conviction to help HMRC balance the books.

There is an inherent greed and necessity in our modern political system which is increasingly geared towards cost cutting, austerity, and globalisation. Investigators who have faithfully spent years building a reputation for honest, reliable results may find themselves being increasingly pushed to get ‘results’ at all costs. Perhaps it is our modern world that is to blame – in this age of computers and the Internet; people have come to expect instant answers and fast solutions. Much like the Little Britain sketch in which “Computer says NO!” constantly to whatever question is asked. There is possibly too much trust placed on these machines to crunch numbers and be judge, jury and prosecutor without ever considering the human implication. We make mistakes, we tick the wrong boxes, we miss others and at times we may not realise we’ve done something wrong.

Whatever the reason, something we can all benefit from is awareness that the investigators have a difficult job to do, especially when case notes stack against you. Do they see the human side of the situation and understand that mistakes have occurred? Or do they simply see another newspaper headline where another “cheat” has scammed the benefits system to the tune of many tens of thousands of pounds!?

Sure there are devious tricksters out there, but typically they are sat on the side of the table where the benefit claimant is sat. Not on the side of the investigators who are supposed to be impartial and work to gain a clear understanding of all of the facts. So when this very situation was brought into the public spotlight recently with the case of a Benefits Fraud Investigator from Plymouth who is now facing disciplinary action for witness tampering. It has caused an embarrassment and only raises the suspicions of many as to how ‘impartial’ many of these investigators really are.

Is this an Isolated Incident?

Although we’ll never know for sure since these types of instances rarely hit the headlines like those of a successful prosecution of a benefits cheat. What we do know is case in Plymouth involving the defendant Raymond Watts was eventually dropped after 18 months. He had to suffer the public humiliation and media scandal resulting from the allegations against him, while the wayward investigator has not been named and it has only been stated in the media that he will face “disciplinary action”.

The message this sends to the public is that if you commit crimes on behalf of the Government, you will be dealt with differently to those who commit crimes on anyone else’s behalf. But according to Watts the problem could extend a lot further than just this one investigator. He contends that officers of DWP also appeared to have tampered with the transcript of his interview that they conducted with him.

Media Report Fails to Address Key Issues in the Case

When this story originally broke in The Herald in April 2015, little information was given or known about the investigator(s) or any punishment that he can expect to face as a result of the revenue the government will lose as guilty suspects walk free due to their cases having to be dropped.

Of course there is no hint about the potential worry and emotional damage this could have potentially had on many other innocent people who could have been put through the same emotional ordeal as Mr Watts. Is this a problem made worse with the media’s hyping of the issue of benefit cheats getting away with billions a year, or the Government and HMRC pushing investigators ever more to get the evidence they need to be seen by the public to be bringing successful prosecutions to court.

The wording of the article makes the government’s response seem as though the investigator was guilty of little more than inappropriately parking in a handicapped space or something equally small. Yet it is clear that there are several crimes he could be guilty of and should certainly face criminal charges for.

It seems a logical conclusion that while the investigator has been caught in this instance, there could potentially be many other occasions where he stepped outside the bounds of professional conduct, and certainly many other investigators may be doing the same.

This incident could potentially give hope to many who are facing court on the basis of evidence provided by investigators, if it can be proved that their tactics and methods were deceptive. This is exactly why investigators should be held to the highest standards, and the government should be selecting them much more carefully.

The Solution – Avoid Benefit Fraud Interviews Altogether!

So now that it’s out in the open just how sneaky and unscrupulous some investigators are prepared to be in order to get their result, what should you do if you receive a letter asking you to attend a benefit fraud interview?

We always advise you contact us here at Hylton-Potts as soon as you receive a letter. The sooner you get in touch, the easier it will be for us to help you and prevent you from ever having to attend one of these interviews. For many who have attended them, they have said that they can be very intimidating and scary, especially when being asked to recount facts that may have occurred many weeks or months before.

Far too often people talk themselves into trouble while trying to talk their way out of it. It is essential to understand that benefit fraud investigators are not police, they have no real power, and the best response to give them is to politely decline to be interviewed, telling them that you have been in touch with us here at Hylton-Potts and that we are advising you on your course of action.

This applies whether you are being asked to talk about your own circumstances or to make a statement about somebody else’s. Think about it… The responses you give them could lead to bigger issues for you later on if the case does go to court. So having the time to think about what your statement should include and what you wish to get across will be more beneficial to you being able to prove your innocence.

We have been helping people just like you since 1999, helping many thousands of people for over 15 years to successfully win their appeals against the benefits fraud. We work hard to protect our client’s best interests, and to ensure that they are fully protected and taken care of. We won’t allow them to erode a single one of your rights as they try to build a case against you, and we’ll ensure they don’t overstep any of the bounds that they are meant to remain within.

If you’ve been asked to attend a Benefit Fraud Interview, we advise you to act quickly to get the right legal help. You can call us on 020 7381 8111, talk to us on Skype or through email – [email protected].

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