Former model must repay £50,000 following benefit fraud trial

A renowned glamour model has been asked to repay at least fifty thousand pounds, following the revelations that she continued to claim thousands in benefits despite starring in a Playboy film.

Julia Martinez, who is 45, is believed to have claimed over forty-four thousand pounds in benefits across three years. During the claim period, it’s believed she was earning money from photo shoots and running a successful camera company alongside her movie work.

Police raided her home in Cheltenham back in 2012 after discovering that Martinez held bank accounts in both the UK and overseas, including in the Isle of Man and Jersey.

Martinez claimed over twenty-seven thousand pounds in income support, fourteen thousand pounds in disability benefit and also claimed over two thousand pounds in relief against making payments on her council tax.

At her initial trial in January 2015, Martinez pleaded guilty to five charges of falsely claiming benefits. She was then given a nine-month suspended sentence.

Today, however, Bristol Crown Court doled out a confiscation order to the sum of fifty thousand pounds, under the 2002 Proceeds of Crime act.

The prosecuting QC, George Threlfall, said that Martinez had demonstrated a “pattern of mendacity” in the two years following her initial conviction. He noted that her current assets were much greater than she had initially declared to the courts, and that she had since profited from the sale of a Spanish property inherited from her father. It was also claimed that Martinez had other offshore bank accounts that she had not given details of during the initial trial, based in the Isle of Man, Jersey and Spain.

He noted that the fact Martinez had been hiding her assets “really cast a shadow” over the case, and that the courts had no record of what had happened to the six-figures Martinez had profited from the Spanish property.

Mr Threlfall also noted the prosecution’s belief that Martinez’s assets were “much greater” than could be established.

The prosecution stated that Martinez was also still in breach of a restraining order made in September 2012, which first called on her to return the relevant sums of money, and noted that the whole affair could have been resolved “some years ago” if Martinez had simply chosen to repay her tax debts.

Lisa Freeman mitigated on behalf of Martinez, and claimed that it wasn’t possible to make “assumptions” on the extent of the defendant’s wealth. He noted that the sentence Miss Martinez had been given was made on the basis that her initial application hadn’t been fraudulent.

William Hart, the judge in the case, agreed that the defendant’s application was “not dishonest from the outset,” and said that there was no evidence to substantiate that accusation.

During the case, the court was told that inspectors had discovered Martinez’s role in a Playboy film as part of their investigation against her, but details of the film – other than the fact it had appeared on DVD – were not released.

It’s believed that Martinez had used an alias in order to send some of her earnings to Spain as part of her aim to avoid being detected.

During her period of claiming benefits, she had told benefit officials that she was unable to work as a result of sickness.

Under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, Martinez has three months to pay back the fifty thousand pounds. The judge ruled that two thousand, one hundred pounds of the amount will be returned to Cheltenham Borough Council, and that Martinez will also have to pay eight thousand and fifty pounds in legal costs.

Should she fail to repay the money, Martinez will be sent to prison to serve a nine month sentence.