Scam man used dead brother's ID

A Shropshire man who falsely claimed more than £28,000 in benefits in his dead brother's name was today jailed for a year.Isiah Finney, from Marsh Road, in Edgmond, near Newport, claimed benefits for more than nine years in the name of his brother Lee, who had died aged just seven months in 1969, Shrewsbury Crown Court was told today.

Finney, 43, admitted theft, dishonestly obtaining wrongful credit, making false representations and supplying an article in the use of fraud.

He was jailed for 12 months for each charge, to run concurrently.

Miss Natalia Cornwall, prosecuting, said the claims had been running since July 1998.

"The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) identified a claim to benefit being made by Lee Finney," she said.

"The birth and death certificates were obtained and they confirmed he died on April 30, 1969, when he was seven months old."

Miss Cornwall said Finney was interviewed by Jobcentre staff in October and provided a birth certificate, a provisional driving licence and bank details in his brother's name. She said he also signed a declaration in which he declared there were no changes in his circumstances that he wished to report.

She said he was arrested on November 21 last year and admitted using his brother's identity to obtain benefit.

"He used his birth certificate to obtain a National Insurance number and obtained a provisional driving licence to open a bank account for the benefit to be paid into," she said. "He was also claiming benefit in his own name."

Miss Cornwall said the overpayment amounted to more than £28,000 and said Finney had been making repayments.

Mr Julian Tutchener-Ellis, for Finney, said: "These offences were committed out of sheer desperation, not greed."

He added: "Finney was trapped in a vicious circle of alcohol, physical pain and depression."

Sentencing Finney, Judge Robin Onions said he had admitted the theft of £21,512 from the DWP and dishonestly claiming £6,837 of credit.

"This is a sad day for you and a sad day for your parents," he said.

By Suzanne Roberts