Benefit Fraud Guilty Plea Produces Excellent Result

Hylton-Potts - London Based Law Firm Helping People Across the UK since 1999

Many of our clients consult us who have received a summons to go to a Magistrates Court to answer a charge of benefit fraud. It is sometimes possible to have the prosecution dropped and a civil or admissive penalty imposed instead.

If this is not possible the case proceeds to a Court hearing. Ms G worked for HMRC and over 10 years received about £30,000 of benefit to which she was not entitled.

She took up our fixed fee package of a top specialist private barrister briefed by us. Although she pleaded guilty she was given a conditional discharge for two years and ordered to pay £1,931.22 compensation only. This was far less than the overpayment but more important a conditional discharge is not a criminal conviction and therefore she had no criminal record.

This is the sort of result that can be achieved even when there is expert help and thorough preparation. Even when everything looks grim.