Warmley benefit trickster jailed for four years after sophisticated fraud

A Warmley man has been jailed for four years for what a judge described as the most sophisticated and well-thought out fraud he had ever seen.

South Gloucestershire Council brought the successful prosecution against Donald Watson who after an eight-week trial was found guilty of benefit fraud totalling nearly £40,000.

Watson, formerly of Hardwicke Close, was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on benefit fraud charges and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Annabelle Ballinger, who also appeared before the court, was found guilty of benefit fraud and will be sentenced later this year.

Watson had been a benefit claimant for a number of years and claimed to have been living at an address which he rented from Ballinger who was said to live elsewhere.

He claimed Income Support, Housing and Council Tax Benefit on the basis that he had no income, capital or assets of any kind.

But following receipt of information that Watson had undeclared capital and was actually the partner of his alleged landlady Ballinger, an investigation was carried out and both were arrested at the Warmley address in October 2007.

Further enquires established that Watson also had capital and/or a part interest in another property, none of which had been declared to either the council or the Department for Work and Pensions, which pays Income Support.

As a result Watson had been overpaid £23,892 in Housing Benefit, £3,401 in Council Tax Benefit and £13,518 of Income Support from 2004 to 2008.

A trial started last year but had to be stopped after the defendant introduced false documentation (claim forms). When the trial started again in June this year, both Watson and Ballinger again faced benefit fraud charges, with an additional indictment relating to perverting the course of justice.

The trial lasted eight weeks and Watson was found guilty, unanimously, on all eight counts, and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for each of the seven benefit fraud counts, to run concurrently.

In relation to perverting the course of justice he was sentenced to two years to run consecutively.

Ballinger was found guilty of benefit fraud but not guilty in respect of the perverting the course of justice charge. Sentencing has been adjourned until September 17 to enable pre-sentence reports to be prepared.

During sentencing, the judge Julian Lambert said this was the most sophisticated and well thought-out fraud he had ever seen, that it had been planned professionally, been carried out over a significant period of time, involved multiple frauds and a defendant who had been dishonest throughout.

He said frauds such as this ate away at society, causing people to be suspicious of genuine claimants and those contributing to the system properly to suffer, and that Watson had "woven a terrible web of deceit throughout", adding that during the first trial he had launched a 'full frontal assault' on the criminal justice system by producing forged documents that had been manufactured by him.

Recovery of the overpaid benefit and any profit Watson is considered to have made from his crimes will be  dealt with under the Proceeds of Crime legislation at a later date.