A man who fraudulently claimed more than £7,000 in benefits after claiming his wife was only his landlady has been ordered by a court to repay the money – and do 150 hours' unpaid community work.
The court heard Mustapha Hachelfi, 43, formerly of Blackden Walk, Wilmslow, received housing benefit after claiming he lived alone and was on low income.
In fact he was married and his wife, Souaad Abaidia, worked.
Hachelfi had claimed Abaidia was his landlady. However, the couple had a son together during the time Hachelfi was unlawfully claiming benefits from January 2011 to December 2012.
Cheshire East Council benefits fraud investigators discovered the pair had married in October 2009 – more than a year before the benefit claims started.
Hachelfi pleaded guilty at Macclesfield Magistrates' Court on April 30th to one offence of obtaining benefits by making false representations.
The overpayment of benefits totalled £7,812.
Magistrates sentenced Hachelfi to a 12-month community order with a requirement to do 150 hours' unpaid work. He was further ordered to repay the overpaid benefits, pay £350 for the Council's court costs and also a victim surcharge of £60.
Hachelfi has now separated from his wife and is living out of the area.
Councillor Peter Raynes, Cheshire East Council Cabinet member in charge of finance, said: "Benefit fraud is quite simply wrong – and will not be tolerated by Cheshire East.
"We are an enforcing Council and are committed to ensuring these people are brought to justice. Since April 1 alone, we have successfully prosecuted eight people for benefit fraud. This follows our 48 successful prosecutions for similar offences in the year to April 1.
"This prosecution, and others like it, makes it crystal clear that we will take robust action to protect our communities from those who cheat the system at the expense of honest taxpayers."
If you think someone is committing benefit fraud, you can ring the confidential freephone fraud hotline on 0800 389 2787. You don't have to give your name and your call will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Alternatively, you can report suspected fraud via the Council's website at www.cheshireeast.gov.uk.
Photo: Councillor Peter Raynes.
