Yoga teacher spared jail after pleading guilty to £7,000 benefit fraud

A yoga teacher accused of fraudulently claiming £7,000 in benefits has recently been cleared, after claiming that she suffered from ‘cluster headaches’ in the wake of her divorce.

45-year old Emma Howard had £45,000 in savings when she made a claim for income support and council tax, yet was proven to have falsely stated that she had just £300 in the bank.

The mother of three accepted over £7,000 in benefits before her misdeed was discovered following an investigation by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Ms. Howard began claiming soon after splitting from her husband in 2010. The split left her as sole carer to their three young children, including a 10-year old son who suffered from both learning difficulties and autism.

Shirlie Duckworth, defending, explained that:

“The defendant has a catalogue of personal circumstances which makes her extremely vulnerable and caused her to make these false claims.”

The defendant, who pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court, vowed to repay the money in total and was given a 12-month conditional discharge by the judge.

Ms. Howard’s sentence was largely decided upon the grounds of her difficult personal circumstances. As well as caring for a severely disabled child with the mental age of a three to four-year old, she had also been suffering from both cluster headaches and anxiety.

Beset by health problems, and struggling to manage on a care allowance of £50 per week, her defence team argued that her personal dilemma and on-going responsibilities should both be taken into account.

Prior to her trial, Ms. Howard had already started to pay back some of the money she claimed from the council, using funds left to her by her recently deceased father.

Considering this, alongside her lack of previous convictions, guilty plea, and commitments to her family, Judge Martin Steiger QC stated:

“There is no useful purpose of any penalty other than a conditional discharge. Daily demands to complete unpaid work would be unfair on the boy [her son] himself.”

Should you find yourself in a similar situation, contact our team of benefit fraud solicitors today and see how we can help you.