A benefits cheat who spent taxpayers’ cash on plastic surgery and luxury holidays has been ordered to pay back less than a third of the money she scammed.
Tammy Gunter, 41, lived a lavish lifestyle after fraudulently claiming tax credits and applying for an NHS bursary to become a nurse.
A court heard she went on holidays to Las Vegas and Florida and had a $30,000 timeshare apartment in America.
The former corner shop worker splashed out on Dior and Chanel designer clothes and owned a Rolex watch.
Gunter also flew to Eastern Europe for a breast enhancement operation and to have a gastric band fitted.
The mum-of-two, who is serving a two-year-jail sentence, swindled a total of £91,436 over nine years.
A recent Proceeds of Crime hearing at Merthyr Crown Court ordered her to repay £23,358 – her available assets.
Gunter, of Central Avenue, Cefn Fforest, will spend a further 12 months behind bars if she doesn’t pay up within three months.
The NHS will receive £9,545 of the money after she was given a bursary to do a three-year nursing degree.
The court heard she quit the course after just one term.
Prosecutor Nuhu Gobir said: “Gunter claimed tax credits between January 2007 and August 2016, and received £76,008.63.
“She stated that she had two children and no other income.
“The defendant dishonestly maintained she was single. She enjoyed a lavish lifestyle.”
In September 2011, Gunter applied for a grant to do a three-year criminology and law degree at the University of Glamorgan.
Mr Gobir said: “She stated on the application form she was single.
“When information about her marital status was requested, Gunter was not forthcoming and her claim was rejected.”
Three years later Gunter claimed she was separated from husband Neil when she applied for funding to do a nursing degree at the University of South Wales.
Mr Gobir said: “She stated that she was a single parent with two dependent children.”
The court heard Gunter tried to cover her tracks by submitting a fraudulent letter to Caerphilly Council which was “cut and pasted” from the internet.
The letter claimed to be from HMRC but contained spelling mistakes and aroused the suspicions of a council office worker.
The court heard that if the letter had been accepted as genuine, the defendant would have received £24,593 between 2011 to 2014.
Gunter was jailed for two years in October last year after admitting four charges of fraud and fraudulent activity with a view to obtaining tax credits.
Her husband Neil Hart, 45, was jailed for six months.
The hearing was told she plans to repay the money by taking out a loan against her marital home.
Benefit fraud should carry a minimum 5 year prison sentence, or a 12 month sentence on condition that every penny is paid back. Benefit fraud is not a victim-less crime, it costs the UK an estimated £1.2 billion a year – that’s money that could be usefully spent on the NHS.
Benefit payments are there as a safety net for those in need of help, sadly it is all too easy for despicable individuals like Tammy Gunter to falsely claim benefit payments that they are in no way entitled to.
Totally agree with you – I also think that random home visits to see claimants in their own homes woukd deter such fraudulent claims because their lifestyle would show up concerns.
It is a pity the courts did not make this parasite pay the entire amount back. Anyone who steals money that they are not entitled to should be made to pay it all back, no ifs, no buts, plus a long jail sentence. Benefit fraud is theft from the tax payer, not the government. I personally have no time for these types of scum who steal from the tax payer they are the lowest forms of life.
Benifit fraud is the reason why so many genuine claims get disregarded. The con artists will always have benifts while the ones who really need it fall below the required standard. More checks more checking on peoples habits should be monitored. If found guilty they should go to prison.