James Stephen Barley, 37, submitted 157 fraudulent claims over two and a half years by using personal information he “harvested” from social media sites such as Facebook, Carlisle Crown Court heard.
At an earlier hearing, Barley admitted three charges: fraud by false representation, making articles for fraud – the documents which he used in his claims; and possessing criminal property.
This was the £169,045 in emergency Universal Credit payments he secured.
The defendant carried out the fraud between December 2018 and March 2021. When eventually confronted by investigators from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), he said: “Whatever you think I’ve done, I admit it.”
He cooperated with the probe, explaining to investigators how he exploited the system for emergency payments.
To do that, he generated 68 hijacked identifies, the court was told.
When asked how he got round not knowing the National Insurance number of the people he posed as, he said: “I could talk my way out of a plastic bag.”
The fraud unravelled, the court heard, after one of the people whose identity he used complained to the DWP about a change to his benefits status. Barley was arrested on February 8 last year.
He confirmed that the identities he used included former school friends, people from his local area, whose Facebook pages he had examined, and even a family member. He used the local library to print off fake documents.
These included fake tenancy agreements to back up his claims.
Because he was unrepresented, Barley, a £700 a week steel galvaniser, addressed the judge from the dock, saying there were “two sides” to his character: he was both a man who worked and earned a living honestly, and a gambling addict.
“I’m sorry for what I’ve done,” he said.
His primary concern, he said, was the welfare of his two pet boxer dogs at his home in Ladyburn Street, Paisley, Renfrewshire.
He told Judge Michael Fanning: “I have a severe gambling addiction. It’s ruined my life. I need closure from this. I can’t sleep, I can’t think straight.
“My head is an absolute car crash.
“This has to come off my back today so that I can start my life again. I have a good job, two dogs I adore, and I want to start my life again.
“Whatever punishment is coming may, I’ll take it.
“What I’ve done is wrong and I hate myself for it. Addiction is a killer. I lost everything. The people I defrauded – a lot of them were very good friends, even my brother.”
Judge Fanning noted Barley’s previous good character and that he had acted from a need to “feed a desperate addiction.”
But he had stolen £169,000 from the state, using real people’s identities to make 157 fraudulent benefit claims.
Describing the method of fraud as “unbelievably simple,” the judge noted that the claims required Barley to supply the DWP with only three basic pieces of information: a name, a date of birth, and a previous address.
The clear vulnerability of the system did not, however, excuse Barley’s actions as he systematically exploited the weakness in the claims process.
Jailing Barley for two and a half years, the judge said there was never a prospect that any jail term – even if low enough to be suspended – would have been suspended for such offending.
“The financial system of this country relies on people being honest,” said the judge, concluding that there had to be a deterrent sentence. The defendant is likely to be released after serving 40 per cent of his sentence.
Gam-Anon UK & Ireland offers help and advice for people struggling with a gambling problem.