Financial strain linked to fraud
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A Blenheim woman who falsely claimed nearly $40,000 in benefits has been sentenced to community detention.
Marcia Joy Collins, 55, earlier admitted wilfully omitting to provide relevant details affecting a benefit and was sentenced to four months community detention when she appeared in the Blenheim District Court yesterday.
She was also ordered to complete 100 hours community work.
Collins admitted receiving $38,882 in state benefits over five years while she had a job.
Defence counsel Kent Arnott said Collins was under "considerable financial strain" when she first applied for the benefit in 2006 because of a family situation.
The money was already being deducted from her at $50 a week, he said.
Most people would say the amount of money was significant, but it was accumulated over five years, he said.
There were no lump sum payments and the money was not sitting in a bank account, he said.
Collins was still in financial difficulty, he added.
Judge David McKegg said Collins may have applied for the benefit in an "emotional haze", but it became a pattern of behaviour.
- The Marlborough Express
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So is she working from home to pay back the stolen money or is it coming out of a benefit? Five years is a long enough time to feel some guilt at committing an offense but she didn't did she? Pointless sentence.
Just another slap on the wrist with a wet fish. When will NZ law get real and hold these THIEVES accountable.
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The benefit system in this country is a joke! more people need to be employed to investigate people that might be dodgy and scamming the system! We have reported someone about benefit fraud and we got told FOUR different people have to report that person as defrauding the system before they will investigate!! $450 a week of our hard earned tax payer money going to someone who SHOULDN"T be getting it! it's to easy for them!