East Pallant House, 1 East Pallant, Chichester PO19 1TY Tel: 01243 534679 Email: chawkin@chichester.gov.uk Date of Release: 12 May 2015 Ref: 3520 Benefit cheat from Chichester receives fine A woman from Chichester has been ordered to undertake 200 hours of community work after falsely claiming almost £19,000 in benefit. Myra Norris, 71, of Kingsham Road Chichester claimed Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Pension Credit after telling Chichester District Council that she was unemployed. But a join investigation by the council and the Department for Work and Pensions found that during this time Norris had undertaken three separate periods of employment which she failed to declare to either authority. Norris claimed £9,606.92 of Housing Benefit of, £2,391.40 of Council Tax Benefit and £6,813.30 of Pension Credit. During a hearing at Worthing Magistrates Court on 14 April 2015, Norris pleaded guilty to three charges of dishonestly failing to promptly notify the authorities about a change of circumstances that she knew would affect her benefit claims. She was ordered to complete the community work within one year and was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £65. All the overpaid benefit will be recovered directly. Chris Dring, Benefits Manager at Chichester District Council, said: “The vast majority of benefit claimants are honest. However, there are a few people determined to cheat the system. That's why we always take action when we can prove that claimants have deliberately broken the law. This conviction shows there’s no hiding place for benefit cheats who rip off our honest taxpayers.” Any residents across Chichester District who suspect someone of committing benefit fraud can contact the council’s investigation team on the confidential, 24-hour fraud hotline number 01243 534590. They can also log a report online at www.chichester.gov.uk ENDS For further information, please contact Clare Hawkin, Public Relations Officer, on 01243 534679