Benefit fraudster avoids jail over £37,000 scam after claiming she couldn’t bathe herself
Tina Farnsworth was filmed serving drinks at pubs, having previously insisted she couldn’t perform basic tasks to claim £37,000 in personal independence payments (Picture: DWP)
A woman who claimed she couldn’t dress herself cheated the taxpayer out of £37,000 in benefits after she was caught serving at pubs.
Tina Farnsworth insisted she couldn’t perform a variety of household tasks, including bathing and preparing food, in order to get herself an enhanced personal independence payment (PIP).
She received the benefit having alleged that she couldn’t meet others, drive, walk more than 50 metres unaided, use public transport, or manage her finances without support.
However, a tip-off that she was serving patrons at two bars and had even jetted off to Florida and Dublin without assistance cast doubt on her claims.
Under questioning, Farnsworth, 57, insisted her evidence submitted was based on her worst days.
But footage taken in 2024 showed her routinely performing tasks she had claimed she was unfit to do, including pouring drinks and taking payments from customers at Pour House 22 and Black Velvet Bar in Barnsley.
Farnsworth is shown loading items into the boot of her Range Rover in a car park (Picture: DWP)
Another video showed her loading boxes into the back of her Range Rover in a car park, the Sun reported.
Despite telling the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) she required her husband for food shopping trips, she was filmed driving her car alone.
Vanessa Saxton, defending Farnsworth, said the former restaurant owner had lived with multiple sclerosis (MS) since the age of 36.
Farnsworth was handed a suspended jail sentence for fraud at Sheffield Crown Court.
She has also incurred a loss of benefit penalty, which will apply for a minimum of 13 weeks if she claims benefits.
Former restaurant owner Farnsworth had told DWP she couldn’t stand in one place for more than a few seconds (Picture: DWP)
She has been handed a suspended jail sentence (Picture: DWP)
DWP has said it will now look to recoup the £37,089 overpaid across five years between 2019 and 2024 through its powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Andrew Western, the minister for transformation, said: ‘The message is clear – don’t think you can steal from hardworking taxpayers.
‘Whatever your reasons for committing benefit fraud, know that our investigators are wise to every trick in the book, and we will find you.
‘And if you know somebody is fleecing the system, report it.’
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