A WOMAN who falsely claimed more than £15,000 in state benefits has been given a suspended jail sentence and ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work. Sandra Fox, 32, of Church Fields, Headley, appeared in front of Aldershot Magistrates' Court on November 28, after claiming £62 in Income Support in 2003 and a further £15,124 from December 2003 to March 2006, amounting to a total of £15,186.87. Mrs Fox was given a four months prison sentence, which is suspended for 18 months and ordered to pay costs of £100, after admitting that she had failed to declare a change of circumstances to the Department for Work and Pensions and had falsely received the money. As Fox is a married woman and was living with her husband at the time, she was not entitled to receive these benefits. Fox admitted one charge of failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions of a change in circumstances, after getting married in December of 2003. The magistrates were satisfied that a serious case such as this, which involved a large sum of money accepted over a long period warranted a prison sentence. Magistrates gave the defendant credit for an early guilty plea, and the fact that she is now working and has two children. The sentence was therefore reduced from six months to four. Anti-fraud minister James Plaskitt said: "Benefit cheats take money intended for the most vulnerable in our society. "The public rightly get angry about such anti-social behaviour and with their support we will track down the fraudsters. "If you suspect fraud, call the National Benefit Fraud Hotline on 0800 854 440. Your calls will be treated in total confidence."
