Benefits cheat spends birthday in court
Published 24 Aug 2012 15:30
A benefits cheat celebrated his 28th birthday last Wednesday with an appearance at Fermanagh Court.
Louis Kersley was given 100 hours of community service after he pleaded guilty to three charges of making false statements to claim Jobseekers Allowance.
A prosecutor told the court that on three occasions in 2010, Kersley, from Churchill Road, Drummeragh Beg, Derrygonnelly, contacted the Social Security Agency claiming he hadn't received his benefits cheque. On each occasion he was issued with a replacement, cashing both it and the original. In total he obtained £341.73 to which he was not entitled.
The court heard that the money was being deducted from Kersley's benefits and that £309.73 remained outstanding.
Defence solicitor, Miss Julie Cooper, said the father of two was in regular contact with his children. He knew that what he did was wrong and had taken steps to rectify the matter. He was struggling financially at the time.
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