Benefit-cheat grandad surveilled by Leeds City Council conned £38,000
A plasterer who swindled almost £38,000 in benefits was caught out after being watched by council workers.
Grandad Andrew Eason spent more than four years claiming for cash he was not entitled to, Leeds Crown Court heard.
The 67-year-old was handed a suspended sentence after admitting fraudulently claiming personal independence payments (PIP).
Prosecutor John Hobley said Eason started his claim, legitimately, in March 2016.
But suspicions grew in November 2019 that he had been working. Eason, of Wyther Park Hill, Armley, had previously worked as a plasterer.
Surveillance was set up to catch him, and he was seen “doing physical activities” that would have affected the payments he received.
Mitigating on his behalf, Andrew Semple said Eason had no previous convictions, was a grandfather who had been with his wife since he was 17.
He said: “He has thrown away the respect they had for him by his decision.”
However, he said Eason did not “set out to defraud the system”, and had persistent ill health issues, such as severe arthritis.
Mr Semple said he would have been entitled to some benefit payments, but did not inform the authorities of his “fluctuating condition” that would have affected the amount received.
Judge Neil Clark conceded Eason’s claims were “not entirely false” but he failed make the declaration when “things did improve”.
He gave him a 10-month sentence, suspended for 18 months. He was also told to complete 25 rehabilitation days with probation.