A BENEFIT cheat has been sentenced to unpaid work after he stole thousands of pounds from taxpayers.
Anthony Berkeley, of Clacton, wrongly claimed £4,893 in housing benefit and £1,078 in council tax after he began new employment.
He pleaded guilty to failing to notify the council of his new job at Colchester Magistrates' Court today.
The court heard when questioned by Tendring Council at an interview in July the 45-year-old claimed he had only worked a few hours for the company and didn’t think it would affect his benefits.
When presented with evidence Berkeley, of Thorpe Road, admitted had been working for Peartree Cleaning Services for almost a full year.
Speaking at court yesterday Berkeley said: “I was working but only doing a few hours and then it got more and more.”
Berkeley was sentenced to 50 hours of unpaid community work and ordered to pay £300 towards prosecution costs.
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