Brentwood woman receives community order for false benefit claims worth �18,000

A Brentwood woman has admitted to making more than �18,000 worth of false claims in housing and council tax benefits when she appeared in court.

Lauretta Borris, 33, pleaded guilty to three offences of making false statements to Brentwood Borough Council.

Borris, of Alexander Lane, Shenfield, made a false claim and obtained �11,878.56 in housing benefit and �6,180.10 in council tax benefit. She deliberately didn’t reveal that she owned a property in London.

She appeared at Basildon Crown Court on October 2, where she pleaded guilty under the Social Security Administration Act.

She was sentenced at Southend Crown Court on November 7 to a community order of 12 months and to 200 hours of unpaid work.

Cllr Chris Hossack, chair of the audit committee for Brentwood Council, said: “Let no one be in any doubt that we will prosecute anyone who falsely claims benefits from the council.

“And those considering such behaviour should also understand that as well as the punishment they will receive from the court, they will also inevitably be ordered to pay us back all the money they have wrongly obtained. Don’t do it.”