Tax worker jailed for swindling £92,000 of benefits after st

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Tax worker jailed for swindling £92,000 of benefits after stealing clients' identity

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Emily Barrass was employed as a call centre adviser at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs offices in Dundee.

A tax worker who stole the identity of two women and invented four children to steal claim more than £90,000 in benefits has been jailed for two years.

Emily Barrass was employed as a call centre adviser at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs offices in Dundee in March 2004.

Around a year later she began to intercept mail belonging to Susan Lindsay after moving into her former address in Arbroath.

Ms Lindsay, who was unknown to Barrass, had a claim for tax credits which were being paid into her bank account. She advised HRMC that she was emigrating to the USA, but payments continued to be made.

The mother-of-three then amended Ms Lindsay's file to claim a higher rate of child tax credit - then changed her bank detais twice.

Barrass also updated the telephone contact history on Ms Lindsay's file to indicate she had processed a call from her and removed the bank account details.

That generated a letter, sent to Miss Lindsay's old address - where Barrass was now living - inviting her to open a post office account for payments to be deposited.

Barrass then opened an account in Ms Lindsay's name to access the tax credit funds.

The court heard from 2006 Barrass repeatedly contacted the tax credit help in claiming to be Ms Lindsay.

Over a three-year period she updated the account to claim Ms Lindsay had informed her of two separate children being born and increased the payments.

In 2009 suspicions were raised over the account and an investigation launched.

Fiscal depute Vicki Bell told Dundee Sheriff Court that Barrass's fraud on Ms Lindsay's account amounted to £77,401.

It also emerged that in 2009 Barrass had accessed the tax credit account of the former partner of a relative and amended it to make payments into Ms Lindsay's post office account and stole a further £15,493.

Barrass went on to access the HMRC account of Bianca Klekovic, her brother's former partner, adding two fake children to her details. She had moved to Germany in July last year.

The court was told Barrass embezzled a total of £92,589.

Barrass, 39, of Lingard Street, Carnoustie, pleaded guilty to two charges of repeatedly accessing and amending tax credit claims in the name of two women.

Defence lawyer Joseph Myles said the fraud had started because Barrass, who now works as a slimming consultant, was struggling with household bills.

He said: "She moved into this address in 2005 where the previous occupant co-incidentally was in receipt of child tax credit and working tax credit."

"The woman had left the country but Giro cheques continued to be received. My client returned the first two or three but they continued to arrive and one day she foolishly cashed one of them needing to pay the bills."

"That ended in her accessing Susan Lindsay's account and making alterations. She continued to access the HMRC systems hoping she would be caught out and not have to admit what she had done."

Sheriff Alistair Duff jailed Barrass for two years and said she had committed "very serious offences".

He added: "You obtained a total of more than £90,000 as a result of your participation in these crimes and that puts this case in a situation where only a custodial sentence is appropriate.

"There are not significant mitigating circumstances in my view. You were short of money with a number of children and times would be difficult as they are for most people.

"However, most people don't resort to dishonesty."It was made worse by the element of breach of trust."