A Ruddington man has narrowly escaped a prison term after illegally claiming nearly £20,000 in housing benefit.
Peter McConnachie (67), of Ling Crescent, was prosecuted at Nottingham Crown Court this week (September 13th) after Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) worked with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to spot a data-match in 2021. This had seen the Ruddington resident claim over three years of illegal payments when he did not declare his employment at a local pub and restaurant.
Failing to notify the Council of his change in circumstances in 2018, after over a year of correctly claiming the benefit, he continued to receive the payments after securing his job, totalling £19,891.79 paid directly to his Ruddington landlord.
The judge handed him an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months after taking into consideration his wife’s serious health issues and Mr McConnachie’s important care and support role. Nevertheless, he was ordered to pay £425 in costs within three months, and undertake 100 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation activity days.
In a statement issued today, RBC’s Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Finance Cllr Davinder Virdi says: “We will not tolerate fraud of any kind and have a duty to protect the public purse and wherever possible we will work closely with the DWP and other agencies to prevent any benefit fraud offences. The message is clear, never falsely claim benefits or you will face the consequences. This was a blatant decision by Mr McConnachie to continue to still receive the monies and yet work in a new role.”
Cllr Virdi adds: “It was his responsibility to be honest about his claim and on finding the breach following good work by our teams, we did not hesitate to work alongside the DWP to provide our documents and witness statements. His overpayments will now be deducted direct from his wages at his employer.”
Despite the prosecution, it’s reported that Mr McConnachie has kept his assistant manager role at the pub after his boss described him as “honest and hard working” in a character reference provided to the judge.
PLEASE NOTE: We have chosen not to include a photograph of Peter McConnachie to protect his privacy. However, he should not be confused with Ruddington resident Peter McConnochie – who RUDDINGTON.info has featured previously as a photographer and author, and most recently as Nottinghamshire County Council’s Service Director for Education, Learning and Inclusion.
