Benefit cheat ordered to do unpaid work

A benefit cheat who falsely claimed over £5,000 has been ordered to carry out unpaid work.

Ryan Stockton, 27, of Langley Lane, Middleton pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining benefit payments after failing to notify Rochdale Borough Council and the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP) that he had been employed by an agency and had been working full time for a period of 12 months whilst living at Hopwood Court, Middleton.

He had received Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Jobseekers Allowance and Employment Support Allowance totalling £5,226.92 which he wasn’t entitled to.

A joint investigation was launched after an anonymous referral was received and Mr Stockton admitted the offences during an interview under caution with fraud investigators from the council and the DWP.

At Rochdale Magistrates Court he was sentenced to a 12 month Community Punishment Order and will have to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work, in addition to repaying the £5,000.

Councillor Farooq Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Finance said: “This serves as a warning to others who are withholding information in order to dishonestly receive benefits they are not entitled to.”