Financial penalty for woman who cheated benefit system

35-year-old overpaid more than £4,400

A Douglas woman who claimed thousands of pounds in benefits she wasn’t entitled to has been fined £500.

Kirsty Louise Williams, of Julian Road, had previously denied two offences of benefit fraud and one of making false representations to obtain benefits.

However the 35-year-old changed her pleas to guilty during an appearance at Douglas Courthouse.

Williams had claimed incapacity benefits between 1 October 2023 and 16 May this year but on 30 occasions failed to tell Treasury her circumstances had changed.

The court heard she’d been working for a bitcoin company and, on a voluntary basis, for the Isle of Man Football Association; in total she was overpaid £4,485 she wasn’t entitled to.

Williams has also been ordered to pay prosecution costs of £50.