Surfleet pensioner dishonestly claimed £10,000 in disability benefits after her condition improved
A woman illegally claimed thousands of pounds in disability benefits after failing to tell the authorities that her condition had improved, Lincoln Crown Court was told.
Ann McIntee had initially made a genuine claim for benefits but subsequently hid the fact that she had improved.
Edna Leonard, prosecuting, said: "She was claiming that she had to use a walking stick and crutches. She said she could fall at any time and that she needed help to prepare a meal.
"There were observations carried out and it was clear that the defendant had over-exaggerated her disability.
"She was seen to be shopping, taking items from a vehicle and lifting her arms above her head to close the boot."
McIntee (70), of Seas End Road, Surfleet, admitted a charge of dishonestly failing to notify a change of circumstances to the DWP between July 1, 2015 and March 14, 2017. The total amount involved was £10,016.
Neil Sands, in mitigation, urged that McIntee should receive a suspended jail sentence.
McIntee was given a 16 week jail sentence suspended for 12 months. A hearing to deal with confiscation of her assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act was adjourned until March 2019.
Judge Simon Hirst, passing sentence, told her: "It appears that over a period of time your disability was not as bad as had been claimed. You received £10,016 that you were not otherwise entitled to.
"It is always desperately sad when someone who has never been in trouble before appears in the Crown Court."