Former Heywood resident guilty of defrauding council

A former Heywood resident was sentenced to a 12 month Community Order and 100 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to three charges of falsely claiming £3,958.68 in Housing and Council Tax Benefit from Rochdale Council.

Nigel Pryce, 40, from Hull, was sentenced at Rochdale Magistrates Court last week.

Pryce previously occupied a property on Jeffrey Walk in Heywood. He declared he was unemployed when actually in full-time employment. He had failed to attend Court in March this year, and a summons was issued for his arrest. Having been taken into custody, Pryce gave a full admission of his dishonesty and pleaded guilty at Court.

Councillor Greg Couzens, Finance Portfolio Holder for Rochdale Council said: “Fraudsters such as Pryce will be traced and dealt with by the Courts, no matter the area they move to. Rochdale Borough Council’s policy to prosecute any claimant who is blatantly committing fraud will continue, and our campaign of ‘No Ifs, No Buts’ will safeguard the honest taxpayers of the borough.”