Ciaran Magennis claimed £16,904 in universal credit and jobseekers allowance,
One person has been convicted in Northern Ireland for claiming a total of more than £16,000 in benefits they were not entitled to.
The defendant was found guilty at Armagh Magistrates Court on Monday.
Ciaran Magennis of Mullanasilla Road in Armagh, claimed £16,904 in universal credit and jobseekers allowance while failing to declare income from employment.
The 30-year-old was given 100 hours community service.
Magennis will be required to repay any outstanding money wrongfully obtained to the Department for Communities (DfC).
It comes after the department reintroduced its naming and shaming policy as part of its new “zero tolerance” approach to benefit fraud.
Earlier this year, communities minister Gordon Lyons outlined his intention to bring back publicising cases of those convicted of fraudulent claims.
The proposals were outlined in the Assembly days after the Belfast Telegraph reported a whistleblower’s concerns about “mass abuse” of the system.
Benefit fraud in NI costs over £160m a year.
Mr Lyons warned that “welfare fraud is not just a financial issue” but “a moral one”.
“When individuals cheat the system, they are not stealing from a faceless entity; they are taking from their neighbours, their friends, and their fellow citizens,” he said.
“They are undermining the very safety net that so many rely on. Therefore, let me be unequivocal: I am taking a zero-tolerance approach. I am personally committed to rooting out fraud and ensuring that those who exploit the system face the consequences.”
However campaigners and anti-poverty activists have argued the approach being taken is “misguided” and warned it increase fear among benefit claimants.
DfC urges the public to report those they suspect of benefit fraud which can be done anonymously online, by phone or in writing.