Landlord faces jail for £60,000 benefits fiddle

Landlord faces jail for £60,000 benefits fiddle

20:14 PM, 18th January 2011, About 13 years ago 1

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Landlord Lynne Hampson faces jail for cheating the benefits system out of thousands of pounds and even spent some of the cash on extending her luxury home with a swimming pool to take in more paying tenants.

Hampson, 48, declared income of £20 a week so she could fiddle benefits claims of more than £60,000 while she was living an already lavish lifestyle by collecting £540 a month per room from paying guests in her home.

Then, she cheekily spent some of the stolen cash on extending her home to seven bedrooms with a loft conversion so she could take in even more tenants and pocket more tax-free cash.

Her six years of fiddling benefits came to an end after an upset tenant tipped off the local council and benefits office.

They found she had falsely claimed income support and council tax benefit while renting out the rooms in her home.

Council wants to sell luxury home in compensation claim

Hampson, of Langley Avenue, Worcester Park, South London, could face a jail sentence when a judge at Croydon Crown Court sentences her on January 21.

She pleaded guilty to two benefit charges at the court.

Sutton Council has already announced they intend to seek compensation even if it means forcing a sale of Hampson’s home.

Other inquiries may be launched by the council for breaches of HMO regulations and by HM Revenue and Customs relating to tax on rental profits.

Councillor John Drage, Sutton Council’s Executive Member for Finance and Efficiency, said: “Wrongfully deceiving the taxpayer out of such a large amount of money is a serious matter, especially at a time when pressures on our budget are so great.

“We will push for the full amount to be repaid promptly so that the money can be used for those in genuine need.”


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21:12 PM, 18th January 2011, About 13 years ago

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The Money Centre. The Money Centre said: Landlord faces jail for £60,000 benefits fiddle: Landlord Lynne Hampson faces jail for cheating the benefits sys... [...]

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