A BENEFIT cheat has pleaded guilty to defrauding Bromley Council of more than £6,000.
Jose Cardenas, of Parish Lane, Penge, claimed the money in housing and council tax benefits from June 2006 to July this year.
But an investigation revealed he was not entitled to the payments because he was working and had money in bank accounts.
The 39-year-old was sentenced at Bromley Magistrates’ Court to a 12-month community order requiring 150 hours of unpaid work.
He was also ordered to pay £350 costs and Bromley Council is currently recovering the overpayment of £6,080.
The council’s audit committee chairman Councillor Michael Tickner said: “This latest prosecution once again demonstrates our determination to root out cheats using the latest techniques such as data matching.”
Anyone with information about a suspected benefit fraud should call the fraud hotline on 08001 696975 or email audit@bromley.gov.uk
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