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Jail for benefit cheat who failed to declare inheritance

Tue, 10 Nov 2015

A mother who pocketed almost £64,000 in benefits she wasn't entitled to has been sent to prison for six months.

Between 2010 and 2015 Joleen Ryan lied repeatedly to the Treasury about where she was living, when she was working and the fact she was receiving maintenance for her children.

The 38-year-old claimed benefits to her mother's house in Anagh Coar and then took on the tenancy despite the fact she was actually living with her husband in Port Erin.

She also failed to declare that she received an inheritance payment of almost £90,000 when her mother died.

At Douglas Courthouse on Friday Ryan sobbed as she was sentenced to immediate custody after pleading guilty to 15 counts of dishonestly obtaining benefits.

The court heard she'd spent the money on a family holiday to Florida, two cars and was at times spending £500 a week on bingo.

Sentencing her Deemster Montgomerie said he considered her actions were a mix of "escapism and greed" saying it was a "very difficult case to deal with".

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