A Bromley fraudster forged a letter from her boss and hid the amount of money she had to claim benefits.

Danielle Jackson, 26, of Springfield Gardens did not declare capital in several bank accounts and supplied the forged letter from her employer, Santander, to claim council tax support.

She was investigated by the council’s internal audit and anti-fraud team following a referral from the benefits section who were suspicious about the authenticity of the letter.

Jackson was interviewed under caution in the presence of her solicitor where she admitted providing the forged letter as she was desperate to get her claim back into payment and claimed that the money held in the other accounts was not hers but in fact belonged to other members of her family.

Following the interview, she provided copy statements for all the accounts identified and the Benefit Section were able to calculate that she was not entitled to Council Tax Support.

During the three day trial at Crown Court, the existence of other accounts came to light following a request to Santander and the jury unanimously convicted Miss Jackson of two counts of fraud under the Fraud Act 2006.

She was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for two years, and 250 hours unpaid work.

Jackson was also ordered to pay £4,000 costs and £100 Victim Surcharge within six months.

Councillor Neil Reddin Chairman of Bromley’s Audit Committee said: “We welcome the outcome of this successful prosecution and the sentence imposed for cheats who claim benefits they are not entitled to.

“Bromley will not tolerate fraud as it is a waste of public funds that are meant for those in genuine need.”

Anyone with information about a suspected benefit fraud should contact (in strict confidence) the Fraud Hotline on 0800 169 6975 or email audit@bromley.gov.uk

The council has also launched an anti-fraud App, which is a quick and easy way residents can report their suspicions. Visit www.bromley.gov.uk/fraud for information about downloading the App to your mobile device.