What happens if fraud is found?
The council's Investigation Team uses a variety of methods to detect fraud.
If we are satisfied that there are grounds for legal proceedings against someone who has committed benefit fraud, we can consider sanctioning that person. Sanctions are legal measuresused todeter people from committing further benefit fraud.
There are three possible sanctions:
- Prosecution
- Administrative penalty (an extra amount of money that must be paid back with your overpayment)
- Formal caution
We use strict criteria to decide whether or not somebody should be sanctioned and each case is considered on its own merits.
This is the most serious outcome of a fraud investigation. The person will be taken to court and prosecuted for the offence they have committed. A guilty verdict can result in a range of sentencing, from costs and a fine, through community service, to imprisonment. The table below shows maximum sentences for some of the more common benefit offences:
| Offence | Sentence |
| Dishonestly making a false statement to obtain benefit | Up toseven years in prison and/or an unlimited fine, and/or costs |
| Dishonestly failing to report a change of circumstances | Up toseven years in prison and/or an unlimited fine, and/or costs |
| Knowingly making a false statement to obtain benefit | Up tothree months in prison for each offence (maximumsix months in total) and/or a maximum £5000 fine, and/or costs |
| Knowingly failing to report a change of circumstances | Up tothree months in prison for each offence (maximumsix months in total) and/or a maximum £5000 fine, and/or costs |
An Administrative Penalty is offered when the case is not so serious that it should be considered for prosecution to start with. The penalty is an extra amount of money to pay, which is calculated at 30% of the total overpayment. In other words, if the person was overpaid £1200 Housing Benefit, their Administrative Penalty would be £360, so the total amount they would have to pay back would be £1560.
If the person accepts the offer of a penalty, they will not prosecuted for the offence they have committed. They do have the right to refuse the offer, but this may result in them being taken to court instead.
A Formal Caution can be given if the person admits they are guilty of the offence. The caution will stay on Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) records for five years. If the person commits a further benefit offence while they have a caution on record, it is almost certain that they will be prosecuted for the new offence. Like the other sanctions, a caution is still very serious and if the person does not accept it, they are likely to be taken to court instead.
No further action
Some cases are not appropriate for any sanction action. However, the person will still have to repay any overpaid Housing Benefit they have received.
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