Benefit fraud prosecution

My client has just this week received notification that he is to be prosecuted for fraud (‘dishonestly made a statement or representation to the DWP which was false’) and has to attend Magistrates Court on 10 April.
Aged 60 he is a qualified electrician.  He had an accident at work fell into an open manhole. His spine was damaged and he has ended up in a wheelchair. When he had to give up work he received a pay out for his mortgage. He took financial advice and was told to reinvest the money so there would be enough to pay off the mortgage at the end of the term. This is what he did but rather than put it in trust he put it in ISAS.

When he applied for income support he did not declare that he had this money. He viewed it as not being his because it was to pay off the mortgage. He has appealed the overpayment decision- no tribunal date yet.

It seems to me he has a case against the fraud charge in that the statement was not made ‘dishonestly’. He genuinely did not believe the money to be his.

I know he needs to find a solicitor specialising in benefit fraud cases as soon as possible. I have contacted one firm of solicitors but not heard back from them. Could anyone advise on any solicitors they know of in the Bradford area? Any other advice also appreciated. For anything to be sent privately my email address is .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

This man’s life and livelihood have been devastated by the accident. He gets high rate care & mobility disability living allowance and is in the support group for ESA. He and his wife have enough to contend with coming to terms with their changed life. Now they have the added worry and stress of an impending prosecution. They are frantic with worry about all this.

What was the situation regarding the Interview Under Caution. Did anyone from DWP suggest that he didn’t need a Lawyer present? do he admit guilt?; for example.
Also, I would suggest that you check the overpayment figure with care, this should be quite easy in the case of the IS but if there is Housing Benefit/Council Tax reduction involved it requires slightly more thought. The levels of sentencing are dependant on the amounts of overpaid benefit is Scotland and it is similarly significant in England and Wales I believe.
Oh and good luck with finding an expert lawyer in the Social Security Administration Act 1992!

From transcript:
Int: Do you wish to obtain any sort of legal advice?
Cl: Well I don’t know what I’m, I’m….
Int: Fair enough. If at any stage you do and you decide you do want legal advice, let us know..
Cl:Yeah

I don’t think he realised the seriousness of the situation. He thought he had done nothing intentionally wrong and just wanted to get the interview over with. In the middle of the interview the District Nurse comes to change a dressing. The interviewer offers to suspend the interview but cl declines saying ‘I want to get this sorted’.
He also says in the interview that wife probably filled in CT claim form. His wife gives him a lot of support & she is his carer (gets CA). Why didn’t they offer to interview him & wife together? It does say in transcript ‘we might need to speak to your wife at a later date’. But nothing further happened about this. The interview was carried out in client’s home. Wife was in the house but not in the room (except when dealing with the district nurse!).

“From transcript:
Int: Do you wish to obtain any sort of legal advice?
Cl: Well I don’t know what I’m, I’m….
Int: Fair enough. If at any stage you do and you decide you do want legal advice, let us know..
Cl:Yeah”

That might be a breach of PACE code of guidance C as it’s arguable that his right to a solicitor was not properly explained to him.  Furthermore, if he has any problems with cognition, concentration or understanding because of his injuries, pain levels or medicatioin then it’s also arguable that he should’ve had an appropriate adult present.

You could try Davis Gore Lomax solicitors. They are experienced in this area -

http://www.dgllaw.co.uk/