'Housebound' £25k benefit cheat jailed after being filmed working out in gym and running a 10k
A benefit cheat has been jailed after swindling £25,000 by lying that she was housebound.
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Helen Green, 49, claimed she was housebound due to severe rheumatoid arthritis and said that she had slipped a disc in order to falsely claim Personal Independence Payments.
She said her mobility was dramatically affected and that she struggled to feed herself. She claimed she could not walk for more than five minutes without crutches.
But she was caught out after she was seen exercising at the gym and was exposed as a member of a local running club who even competed in 10k races.
She was also filmed taking part in a body combat class.
She was caught on CCTV at a gym taking part in Zumba, Body Combat, Body Pump, Core Blast and Spin classes.
After admitting dishonestly failing to notify DWP of a change in circumstances she has been jailed for seven months.
Between January 2020 to March 2023, she told the DWP she needed assistance with washing, bathing, dressing, preparing meals, eating and drinking.
Investigators found Green working out in the gym, doing crunches and stretching and taking part in a spin class.
She also placed 120th in a 10k race while under investigation.
Minister for Transformation, Andrew Western said: “This is a slap in the face to taxpayers and the genuine claimants who depend on PIP to live their lives.
“Helen Green wasn’t just burning calories at the gym, she was also peddling lies and our investigators caught up with her.
“Let this be a warning – you can’t outrun the DWP.”
Mandy Tobias of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “ “Helen Green pretended she had limited movement, but instead was a regular runner and active in gym classes. She did this for her own greed and lined her pockets with fraudulently obtained money.
“The Crown Prosecution Service presented strong evidence thanks to the investigation work of the DWP showing Green’s deception, resulting in her guilty plea.”