Bristol woman handed suspended jail term for benefit fraud

Natalie Newcombe must hand back £6,507 to a council

A woman who claimed benefits for her father after his death has been handed an 18-month suspended jail term and told to repay more than £6,000.

Natalie Newcombe, 35, of Emersons Green, near Bristol, acted as her father's carer and personal assistant without telling South Gloucestershire Council that he had died.

She was told to repay £6,507 at Bristol Magistrates' Court on 28 March.

Newcombe was also ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.

South Gloucestershire Council said it was committed to taking action on fraud.

The court heard she falsely claimed to the council that the money was for her father's funeral.

Newcombe's father received a care plan via the council, which allowed him to appoint his own carers.

He employed his daughter, Natalie Newcombe, as his personal assistant and she would get paid by the council for the hours that she cared for him.

Newcombe did not tell the council that her father died on 2 April 2020, and in August that year she confirmed she was supporting him and claimed funding from April to October that she was not entitled to.

'Harm prospects'

The council prevented further payments when it became aware of her father's death in November 2020.

In February 2021, the authority's trading standards team found her and she admitted to the fraud and agreed with the council to repay the £6,507.

Shaun Fudge, service manager for trading standards at South Gloucestershire Council, said: "It is important that the council's limited funds go to those that are entitled to them and, where we identify fraud has been committed, we will take action to recover any money that has been wrongly claimed.

"A fraud conviction on your record will not be viewed favourably and can seriously harm your employment prospects."