A mother who fraudulently obtained more than £56,000 in Universal Credit has dodged jail.
Sumira Amin, 36, deceived the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for over three years by claiming she was a single parent renting accommodation.
The benefit cheat insisted she possessed no savings or assets whilst receiving payments between July 2019 and October 2022.
However, investigations revealed she co-owned a property in Salford with her partner, having purchased it in 2018.
Amin admitted two counts of dishonestly submitting false statements to secure payments at Manchester Crown Court.
The fraudulent claims totalled £56,124 across a 40-month period.
The fraud began when Amin initially registered for benefits in July 2019, declaring herself as a single mother in private rental accommodation.
She later informed the DWP in August 2019 that her daughter resided with her whilst maintaining she paid rent to a private landlord.
Sumira Amin appeared at Manchester Crown Court
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Land registry documents exposed the deception, confirming that Amin and her partner had acquired the Salford property in 2018. During police questioning, she initially maintained she merely lodged at the address, renting a single room.
By July 2024, Amin altered her account, acknowledging she held two current accounts, an ISA, and confirmed her name appeared on the property’s mortgage documentation.
Defence barrister Simon Leong argued his client had been coerced into the fraudulent scheme by her children’s father.
“He pressured her to have her name on the mortgage to make it easier for him. She is the sole carer of her children, her children’s father is not a supportive gentleman,” Mr Leong told the court.
Amin, who lives on Northallerton Road in Salford, has avoided jail
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Judge Paul Lawton acknowledged Amin appeared vulnerable rather than calculating in her offending.
“Looking at all of your references and your pre-sentence report, it is clear that you are the sort of individual who is not the driving force or the planning mind behind this sort of benefit fraud,” he stated.
The judge concluded: “You were put in place and pushed on by somebody else to make these claims.
“It seems to me you are a woman who needs help at this stage in your life.”
The court imposed a 12-month community order on Amin, who has no prior criminal record, requiring her to complete 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
She avoided immediate imprisonment despite the substantial sum defrauded from public funds.
Prosecutors scheduled a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing for February 4, 2026, where authorities will seek to recover the fraudulently obtained money.
Amin, who lives on Northallerton Road in Salford, faces potential asset seizure to repay the £56,124 she wrongfully claimed.
It comes as the DWP has confirmed it will be bringing in new measures to clamp down on benefit fraud and welfare.
The trio of measures includes “stricter checks for customers altering personal details, including bank accounts”, according to the DWP.
It also involves “conducting awareness sessions for case managers and healthcare professionals, emphasising the necessary actions when suspicious cases are identified”.
The final measure will see the DWP “bolster the identity and verification process to prevent fraudulent cases from entering the system,” it says.
Nearly four million people currently claim Pip from the DWP under the Labour Party government.