Valentine's fraud WARNING: Crackdown issued on couples who pose as single to cheat taxman

MINISTERS have issued a St Valentine’s Day fraud alert in a crackdown on couples who pose as singles to cheat the taxman. Falsely claiming to live alone is one of the commonest ruses used by benefit swindlers, says the government. Lovers on benefits who fail to reveal the other half has moved in risk arrest and jail.

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Lovers on benefits who fail to reveal the other half has moved in risk arrest and jail.

Convicted fraudsters face shame and being ordered to pay back stolen funds, the Department of Work and Pensions said.

Latest annual figures show the DWP paid out around £175 billion in benefits in 2016/17.

Fraud and error accounted for about £3 billion.

The DWP says it unmasks thousands of benefit fraudsters every year.

Investigators recovered a record £1.1 billion in overpaid benefits in 2017.

James Blake, of the DWP’s Counter Fraud and Compliance Directorate, said: “Relationships have their ups and downs but not telling us when your circumstances change is a crime and the shameless few involved are deliberating diverting money away from those who really need it.

“True love may be hard to come-by but benefits cheats aren’t difficult to track down.

“Our fraud investigators are committed to bringing criminals to justice.”

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Falsely claiming to live alone is one of the commonest ruses used by benefit swindlers

Married Kelly Delaney paid the price for living a lie for eight years. 

She raked in £83,370 in various benefits by falsely claiming she was a single, unemployed mother-of-two.

But Delaney’s husband was still living with her in Leicester for one or two nights-a-week, Leicester Crown Court was told.

He was also giving her financial support but she failed to inform the authorities.

Delaney, whose marriage crumbled five weeks after her wedding, admitted fraud.

Judge Nicholas Dean, QC, handed her a 15-month suspended sentence last October. 

He also ordered her to repay the stolen cash and do 150 hours of unpaid work.

Judge Dean said it was benefit “cheats” like her that unfairly gave genuine claimants a bad name.

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One woman got found out after she was paid £35,000 in benefits by posing as single for three years

CCTV shows 'benefits cheat' working as a courier

Charity worker Jodie Broad got found out after she was paid £35,000 in benefits by posing as single for three years. 

Mother-of-three Broad claimed she was a single parent when in fact she was happily married and living with her husband.

Broad, 30, of Hyde, Greater Manchester, was given a 12-month suspended sentence and 150 hours unpaid work. 

She admitted fraud at Manchester’s Minshull Street Court last December.

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