Lottery winner faces jail for benefit fraud
Last Updated: Friday 18th June 2010, 12:12
A lottery winner who continued to claim state benefits has been jailed for two months. David Smith scooped £164,000 back in 2005 but despite his new found wealth he continued to claim more than £21,000 in state benefits. The fraud came to light when authorities did routine computer checks leading to Mr Smith’s appearance this week in the Magistrates court where he was jailed.
Smith stashed his lottery win in a separate bank account, hoping that officials wouldn’t know about the win, however since the win he has continued to claim income support and council tax benefit. He claimed his father had bought the winning ticket but due to problems with identification he hadn’t been able to open a bank account but a photograph of him collecting his cheque showed he hadn’t collected it for anyone else.
Mr Smith’s father died in 2007 and had by then started making arrangements to pay back the cash. The lottery winnings had been spend on holidays, a vehicle and various things, which in his defence were used to make his fathers life comfortable.
Mr Smith has launched an appeal against his sentence but bail has been refused. It seems that this lottery winner just got a little bit too greedy.
In other news, three players shared the £4.5 million jackpot in last night’s UK Lotto draw and each of those will collect almost £1.5 million. The midweek draw on Wednesday evening has an estimated jackpot of £2.5 million and you can buy lottery tickets for that draw now.