A woman claimed £33,000 in benefits despite inheriting £280,000 from her stepmother.
Aimee Jeffrey, 37, came into the inheritance a year after she had started Universal Credit in 2020.
According to the Department for Work and Pensions, the mother of five spent the money on expensive clothing and holidays.
She then went on to claim £33,000 in benefits, even though she no longer qualified, and used this money to clear her debts and start a business, a court was told. However that business failed, and the fraudster is now “in the throes of debt”.
Jeffrey, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, pleaded guilty to one count of dishonestly failing to notify change of circumstances affecting entitlement to social security benefit.
At Portsmouth magistrates’ court, Jeffrey appeared to be carrying a designer Chloe handbag thought to be worth £650.
Noel Watkins, prosecuting, said: “There is a Universal Credit payment to her for a declaration she made in 2020. But she had a significant change to her circumstances, in inheritance from her late step-mother.
“From 2022 she received an overpayment of £33,000 – it’s a substantial amount to take from the public purse. All of that money has gone now.”
Lewis Foster, defending, said: “She pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, and accepts responsibility.
“She was appointed as executor for her stepmother, and was responsible for the funeral arrangements, while also keeping employment and looking after her five children.
“All of the money inherited was used to clear existing debts and establish a business. That business failed, and she finds herself back in the throes of debt.”