Sandwell man Gary Cooper jailed for fiddling more than £42,000 in benefits over ten-year period

Nov 22 2008 by Chris Henwood, Birmingham Mail

A FIFTY-YEAR-OLD Sandwell man who fiddled more than £42,000 in benefits over a ten-year period has been put behind bars for 14 months.

Judge Hilary Watson told Gary Cooper it was a serious fraud because he had cheated the state out of a substantial amount of money.

“You thought it was alright to earn a few extra pounds,” she told Cooper at Wolverhampton Crown Court. “You made these claims on a totally false basis.”

She said Cooper of Ethel Street, Oldbury, had maintained he was a lone parent with no work and he was totally unsupported but that was not the case.

“You compounded this fraud by continuing to make these false claims,” said the Judge. “You thought you had got away with it because you then launched further false claims.”

Scott Coughtrie, prosecuting, said that Cooper was paid income support when he had a partner who was in full-time employment and added that the total amount he illegally picked up was £42,061.

Cooper, a man of previous good character, admitted one charge of benefit fraud and he was thoroughly ashamed of the way he had behaved, said Miss Blondelle Thompson defending.

She stressed to the court the offences did not result in any luxury living for Cooper who was “remorseful” for his actions.