New “tough stance” means all benefit fraudsters face increased sentences of up to 10 years in jail

SOURCE BBC NEWS: Benefit fraud could lead to 10-year jail terms, says DPP

Keir Starmer QC said it was time for a "tough stance" on the £1.9bn annual cost of the crime. Suspects can now be charged under the Fraud Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. In the past, benefits cheats were commonly charged under social security legislation carrying a maximum sentence of seven years. In 2012, the number of offenders jailed for benefit fraud was 262 and the average sentence length was six months and one week. Last year, the CPS saw more than 8,600 prosecutions in benefit and tax credit cases. The changes meant welfare cheating would now be classed alongside offences such as money laundering and banking fraud. Earlier this year, MPs on the Communities and Local Government Select Committee called on the government to give a "swift assurance" that the introduction of its new welfare system, known as universal credit, would not cause a rise in benefit fraud.

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