Woman admitted £7,000 Universal Credit rent fraud for empty home

Summarised from 4 outlets · Updated 8 Nov, 04:58 · Archive

A Carlisle woman admitted dishonestly claiming nearly £7,000 in Universal Credit rent for a property she had left.

Laura Georgiana Nica, 30, of Fusehill Street, Carlisle, admitted dishonestly claiming almost £7,000 in rent payments as part of her Universal Credit for a property she was not living in. Carlisle's Rickergate court heard that she was claiming the benefit on the basis that she worked in a low-income job and her Universal Credit covered her housing costs including rent.

Nica moved out of the property in Bowman Street in May 2022, the same month her dishonest claim began. Yet in repeated declarations to the DWP, she told the department she was still living there. Prosecutor Diane Jackson said: 'She failed to declare that she no longer lived at that address.' The fraud continued until August 2024.

Nica claimed monthly rent that varied from £600 to £650, totalling £6,895 over more than two years. When interviewed about her dishonesty in August last year, she admitted knowing she would not have been entitled to the rent payments had she declared her true situation.

The case comes as the Department for Work and Pensions is stepping up efforts to uncover benefit fraud, including cases across Swindon, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. Investigations can be triggered by tip-offs, information from other government departments and data-matching designed to identify discrepancies in claims. Investigators can examine financial records and relevant publicly available social media activity, whilst suspected fraudsters may be called for a formal interview under caution.

Sentencing is adjourned until 2 February.

How it is being reported

• DWP caught woman claiming nearly £7,000 in rent for home she had already leftCarlisle woman Laura Nica admitted dishonestly claiming £6,895 in Universal Credit rent payments for a home she had left. Sentencing adjourned until February 2.Wiltshire Times · 8 Nov, 04:32
• DWP caught woman claiming nearly £7,000 in rent for home she had already leftCarlisle woman Laura Nica admitted dishonestly claiming £6,895 in Universal Credit rent payments for a home she had left. Sentencing adjourned until February 2.Swindon Advertiser · 8 Nov, 04:32
• DWP caught woman claiming nearly £7,000 in rent for home she had already leftCarlisle woman Laura Nica admitted dishonestly claiming £6,895 in Universal Credit rent payments for a home she had left. Sentencing adjourned until February 2.This Is Wiltshire · 8 Nov, 04:32
• DWP caught woman claiming nearly £7,000 in rent for home she had already leftCarlisle woman Laura Nica admitted dishonestly claiming £6,895 in Universal Credit rent payments for a home she had left. Sentencing adjourned until February 2.Gazette & Herald · 8 Nov, 04:32

In this story: Laura Nica · Department for Work and Pensions · Carlisle

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