Leeds kitchen worker claimed £21,000 in benefits while owning second home
She claimed language barrier made it difficult
A woman who claimed Universal Credit while collecting rent from a second home she owned has been spared immediate custody.
Shahnaz Bibi spent four years collecting more than £24,000 in benefits that she was not entitled to.
The 55-year-old kitchen worker admitted two counts of failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about circumstances.
Leeds Crown Court heard that Bibi had first applied for supplementary finances in November 2020.
She told the DWP that she had no other form of income, but following a tip-off they began to investigate Bibi and found that she was collecting rent from a second home that she bought and was worth almost £100,000.
By November 2024 it was found she had received £24,363 in benefits.
She was interviewed and maintained she had no changes she wanted to make to her claim.
Bibi, of Silk Mill Road, Horsforth, claimed she did not know she had to declare her income from the second home.
She has no previous convictions.
A probation officer reported that Bibi, who works as a kitchen assistant, claimed responsibility and was remorseful.
She said she was the primary carer for her daughter and struggled with English. An Urdu interpreter translated the proceedings in court.
Mitigating, Thomas Doyle said that Bibi was “by and large” illiterate having grown up in Pakistan.
He said she had suffered at the hands of an abusive husband and found herself on her own, but had since re-married.
Mr Doyle said she now wants to pay back the money she owes.
Judge Kate Rayfield acknowledged that desperation had contributed to her committing the offences, but said she “can’t accept” that it caused her to buy a second home.
She gave Bibi a four-month sentence, suspended for 18 months. She was ordered to complete a probation requirement and 150 hours of unpaid work.
A Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) timetable was set for March next year, when Bibi will return to court where it will be decided how she will repay the cash owed.