main content Sydenham woman pleads guilty

A woman who pleaded guilty to two charges of benefit fraud against Bromley Council was ordered to pay compensation of £5,438 in respect of the housing benefit overpayment and fined £100 costs.

Petronilla Agu, 36, of Chulsa Road, Sydenham appeared at Bromley Magistrates Court on 25 June 2008 where she was also given a 12 month conditional discharge.

The fraud of housing and council tax benefits against Bromley Council totalled £6,314 covering a period from January 2007 to February 2008 during which Agu had failed to declare that she was in full time employment.

Bromley Council is also in the process of recovering the council tax element of the overpayment.

Councillor Michael Tickner, Chairman of Bromley’s Audit Sub Committee, said: “This is a blatant case of fraud. We will not tolerate any attempt to steal our residents’ public money. Such cases will be vigorously pursued.”

This is the 152nd successful prosecution since Bromley and Greenwich Councils started work in partnership to track, trace and prosecute benefit cheats.

Anyone with information about a suspected benefit fraud should contact (in strict confidence) the Fraud Hotline on 0800 169 6975 or audit@bromley.gov.uk  

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• Since the local elections in 2002, the council has been led by a Conservative administration. Full council is made up of 60 elected councillors – 49 Conservative, 7 Liberal Democrat and 4 Labour – representing 22 wards across the borough. 
  
• For media enquiries, please contact Luis Remedios , Audit Manager, on 020 8313 4886 or email luis.remedios@bromley.gov.uk  
• For party political comment please contact:
  Conservative - michael.tickner@zip-mail.co.uk
   Labour – john.getgood@bromley.gov.uk 
   Liberal Democrat – david.mcbride@bromley.gov.uk
• Further information is available on our finance pages