The pensioner had a property in Bulgaria, owned land in Carmarthenshire, and had other assets he failed to mention when claiming benefits
The defendant said his failure to declare he owned land near Llandeilo was an ‘oversight'(Image: John Myers)
A pensioner didn’t tell the authorities he owned land and a property abroad when he claimed benefits, a court has heard,
Over an eight-year period, George Tatlow pocketed more than £70,000 in benefits he was not entitled to as a result of his failure to declare his true assets. The 75-year-old’s barrister told Swansea Crown Court that his client might need help managing his finances.
Matt Murphy, prosecuting, told the court that in 2015 Tatlow applied for pension credits followed three years later by applications for housing benefit and council tax reduction, and that in each case had to declare the assets he held.
He said a subsequent investigation revealed Tatlow owned land near Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire, a property in Bulgaria, and other assets which he had not declared when making the applications.
The court heard that as a result of his failure to truthfully declare his assets the defendant received £39,821 in pension credits from the Department for Work and Pensions, and £26,355 in housing benefit and £4,363 in council tax reduction from Swansea Council.
The prosecutor said that when interviewed, Tatlow denied the offences, saying his failure to declare the assets was “an oversight”. For the latest court stories sign up to our crime newsletter
The court heard that of the £70,540 in wrongly-claimed benefits received by the defendant he had so far paid back £1,083, some £85 of which had gone to Swansea Council.
George Tatlow, of Creswell Road, Clase, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of fraudulently obtaining benefits when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has four previous convictions for seven offences, none of which are for like matters and the last of which is from 1999.
Jon Tarrant, for Tatlow, said it was accepted that the offending crossed the custody threshold but he invited the court to follow the recommendations of the pre-sentence report which included a rehabilitation course “which will no doubt be of assistance in financial management – something which appears to be lacking”.
Judge Huw Rees told the defendant he had received money from the state which he should never have received, and should feel ashamed of his actions. He said it was a sadness for him to be sentencing a man of Tatlow’s age for such offending.
With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas, Tatlow was sentenced to 10 months in prison suspended for 18 months and ordered to complete a rehabilitation course.
A proceeds of crime investigation will now be launched into the defendant’s finances, and the court heard the land in Carmarthenshire could now be worth as much as £160,000 though that figure is disputed.
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