An Elstree woman has been ordered to pay back more than £1,260 of fraudulently claimed benefits.
On Wednesday, St Albans Crown Court sentenced Julie Bedford to 150 hours of unpaid work and told her she must return the money.Last month she was found guilty of charges of dishonestly making a false statement under a section of the 1992 Social Security Admin Act 1992 following a two-day trial.Bedford, 40, of Beethoven Road, faces a jail term if she fails to pay back the money.The court was told how she had failed to declare more than £50,000 made from the sale of a property she owned in Bushey.As a result, she received £1,262.82 benefit she was not entitled to between October 2005 and the following January.She claimed the money had been used to repay a £22,000 loan to a friend, said to be a 'Miss Rich', who she claimed had given her the money years earlier.When asked to provide proof of the loan, Bedford submitted a letter said to be from the woman, but which was unsigned and had no address.Miss Rich did not attend the trial to confirm the claims.
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