'Greedy' mum in Leeds claimed to have extra children to swindle £51,000 in Universal Credit
She later failed to inform authorities she was receiving student finance
A mum who lied about how many children she had to claim £51,000 in extra benefit payments has avoided custody.
Penda Thioune also lied about having permission to remain in the UK, then later failed to mention that she was receiving student finance after signing up to a university course.
She admitted a charge of fraud by false representation at Leeds Crown Court.
The court was told she claimed £51,541 she was not entitled to over a three-and-a-half-year period.
Prosecutor Tayo Dasaolu said she began to claim Universal Credit in September 2021, telling the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that she was a single parent with three children, was a Spanish national with leave to remain in the UK and worked 20 hours a week, receiving £800 in wages.
The 32-year-old even provided passports for the three children as evidence.
In truth, she only had responsibility for one child, was not working and was not permitted to stay in the UK, therefore not permitted to claim Universal Credit.
She later began a university course which would also would have affected any claim.
During an interview, she confessed what she had done, and even admitted paying a person to help her fill out the form, to whom she would give 10 per cent of the benefits.
Thioune, of Ash Tree Garth, Gipton, has no previous convictions.
Mitigating, Thomas Doyle said she entered her guilty plea at an early opportunity and “fully accepted” the offence.
He added: “It goes without saying that she is devastated by what she has done. She has let herself down and let her daughter down.”
He said it was possibly a “combination of greed and desperation”. She is now two years into a four-year business management degree at Arden University.
Mr Doyle said if she was jailed, it would have a serious impact on her young daughter with no other family to take care of her.
The judge, Recorder Ruwena Khan, acknowledged Thioune had shown remorse.
She gave her a 24-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered her to complete 15 rehabilitation days with probation.
A Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) timetable was set for April next year in a bid to recoup the money she had illegally claimed.