Mum pocketed £75,000 in benefits overpayments after claiming partner was homeless from breakup

A benefits cheat mum who pocketed more than £75,000 in overpayments said her partner had moved out and was homeless after they broke up.

Kelly Clews was actually still living with her boyfriend and enjoying trips to Pontins with him.

Clews, 41, insisted she and Matthew Corbett, who had a job, were ‘not a full-on relationship’ and said they ‘just shared kids’.

Manchester Crown Court heard there were times they were ‘estranged’, but they were living together when she fraudulently claimed multiple benefits.

Between 2018 and 2023, Clews claimed Universal Credit, income support and housing benefit from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP); tax credits from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC); and council tax support from Salford council.

Some of Mr Corbett’s earnings were paid into Clews’ bank account. They went on holiday to Pontins, the court heard.

Clews, from Salford, pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud by false representation. Today, she stared at the floor as she was handed a suspended prison sentence.

Katy Appleton, prosecuting, earlier said that the mum-of-four received benefits to the sum of £75,000, including over £42,420 in Universal Credit; £8,097 in housing benefits; £9,500 in income support; £12,850 in tax credits and a council tax reduction of £2,207.

She said Clews would have been entitled to some benefits had she been claiming correctly.

In an interview with DWP officers in January 2024, she confirmed she was aware of the requirement to notify them of her change in circumstances.

She said Mr Corbett visited ‘regularly’, denying he lived with her.

‘She said Mr Corbett was homeless, but he was registered with the GP and the hospital at that address,’ Ms Appleton said. ‘She went on to describe their relationship as ‘not a full-on relationship…. we just have kids’.’

The court heard Clews said their relationship ended in March 2018, when he had moved out. She was unable to explain why Mr Corbett’s wages were paid into her bank account.

Judge Sarah Johnston said she would not send Clews to prison due to her ‘personal circumstances’, citing references in a pre-sentence report to mental ill-health and her care-giving duties to her partner and children.

Mark Friend, mitigating, said Clews had ‘complex circumstances’, which she would manage under ‘financial strain’.

The judge told Clews: ‘You have pleaded guilty to five offenses of fraud related to your failure to notify the relevant agencies charged with the distribution of benefits to individuals in the community who need them.

‘You are one such individual, and I accept your initial claim many years ago was a genuine and honest one. Benefits available to our communities are limited, and they are to be distributed fairly, only if those applying are honest and open about their financial circumstances.

‘You have lost your good character when you failed to be open and honest about your personal circumstances. You could have informed the Department for Work and Pensions, and you didn’t do so.’

Clews, of Gus Risman Street, Salford, was handed a 48-week sentence, suspended for 18 months.

She’s been ordered to complete eight rehabilitation activity requirement days; a 12-month mental health treatment program, and 60 hours of unpaid work.

Speaking after the hearing, Minister for Transformation Andrew Western said people who defraud the benefits system are ‘taking from their neighbors and communities’.

He said Clews chose to lie repeatedly, adding: ‘Let this be a warning to others, we will continue working together across organisations to catch criminals, and there will be consequences.’

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