Benefit cheat claimed £5.5k (From York Press)
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Benefit cheat Paul Schmitz claimed £5.5k
9:10am Tuesday 16th October 2012 in News
A YORK man who claimed more than £5,500 in benefits which he was not entitled to has been punished.
Paul Schmitz, 39, of Union Terrace, failed to declare his earnings while fraudulently receiving £3,398.22 in housing benefit, £428.63 in council tax benefit and £1,734.50 in Jobseekers’ Allowance.
He has now been sentenced to do 80 hours of unpaid work and pay legal costs of £85 following an investigation by City of York Council and the Department for Work and Pensions.
York Magistrates’ Court heard Schmitz, who admitted the offences, had been working through an agency over several months while receiving the benefits, earning up to £575 a week.
To report benefit fraud, phone 01904 552935 or email fraud@york.gov.uk
