A FATHER and son have been sentenced to Community Punishment Orders after being found guilty of making a false claim for benefits from East Hampshire District Council. William Martin, 29, of Whitedown, Alton, was receiving benefits from the district council after claiming that he was renting his house from his father, former Waverley councillor for Ewhurst, Richard Worby, 63, of The Green, Ewhurst. The pair appeared for sentencing at Aldershot Magistrates Court on Wednesday. The court was told by East Hampshire District Council's solicitor, Nick Leach, that Mr Martin filled in a benefits claim form from EHDC in March 2005. With the benefit claim the council also received a Landlord/Agent's Declaration form signed by Martin's father, Richard Worby, declaring that he rented the Whitedown premises to his son. The Housing Benefit claim was activated by EHDC. However in June 2005, the council carried out a Land Registry check on the ownership of the property in Whitedown and discovered that it was in fact owned by Mr Martin (the claimant) and not his father as had been declared to the council. EHDC's senior investigation officer for revenues and benefits, Sue Hall, said: "This case illustrates East Hampshire District Council's continued commitment to ensuring that Housing Benefit is claimed and paid correctly. "I hope that this will serve as a warning that we will take tough action against anyone who is found to be trying to cheat the system and falsely claim benefits they are not entitled to. "In this case, the fraud was discovered extremely quickly, thanks to our vigilance." Because of the quick action by the council, the total amount received by Mr Martin was only £45.17. The pair were sentenced after being found guilty of offences under Section 112 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 in a two-day trial. William Martin was sentenced to 100 hours' Community Punishment Order. Richard Worby was sentenced to 80 hours' Community Punishment Order and ordered to make a contribution towards the council's cost in bringing the prosecutions in the sum of £250. Five days prior to the court hearing on February 3, Richard Worby resigned as a Waverley councillor for the ward of Ewhurst for personal reasons. He had been a councillor since 1999.
