Ex-Army benefits cheat given suspended sentence
An Army veteran who claimed almost £45,000 in benefits he wasn’t entitled to has been handed a suspended prison sentence at Nottingham Crown Court.
John Cornet, 68, of Abbey Road, Edwinstowe, was prosecuted by Newark and Sherwood District Council after he failed to declare his Armed Forces’ Pension while in receipt of Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Income Support and Pension Credit.
The amount of benefit illegally claimed totalled £44,272.01.
The council also prosecuted Cornet for the offences against the Department for Work and Pensions.
Cornet was due to stand trial on November 2 on five counts of dishonestly making false statements between 2001 and 2009.
However, he changed his plea to guilty, and was sentenced on November 23 2011 at Nottingham Crown Court to 18 weeks’ imprisonment on each count, suspended for 15 months, to run concurrently.
The sentence also included a requirement for Cornet to reside at his current address for the next six months.
On sentencing, His Honour Judge John Milmo QC said: “It is a thousand pities to see you here and would be a shock to your former colleagues.
"Take full account that the prosecution accept that the claim was not fraudulent from the outset but you did bluntly go away with £44,000 which could have been paid to a more deserving person.
“As I have said, you are of good character and service record and stand in good stead at this stage. Your punishment is that you have lost your good character.”
Newark and Sherwood District Council’s director- resources, David Dickinson, said: “The benefits system exists to help people who are not in a position to support themselves financially.
“Unfortunately, the system is sometimes abused by people often of previous good character, but it is always incumbent upon the council and its partners, regardless of who has committed the crime, to prosecute those who abuse the system, and we will continue to do so.”
For more information on benefits and entitlements, go to www.newark-sherwooddc-gov.uk/benefits
