Sentence and Report!!

[sootywooty]

Hi! i was found guilty yesterday of benift fraud, i failed to declare a change in my savings and amounted in �5000 overpayment. This was due mainly to me being a full time carer at home, and the soical services said they would take the home if mom needed to go into care, which i have since been told i should never have been given this info, and head of social services are doing a full investigation, it has lasted 3 mths so far. Also i have to go back to the court soon for sentence and report, they advised me to get legal advise on this matter, i dont know what this report involves, also is this a time for myself to put any mitigation forward about the savings mainly for mums care and the pressure put on me by the social services. Thanks for any Help.

[fagidill]

Glad you got caught. thief.

[nadine12]

Hi you will most likely have to have a pre sentence report done by a probation officer. They will include everything about your personal circumstances and how the offence came about so you will have some opportunity to explain. The probation officer will also recommend a sentence to the court. This could be a financial penalty or a community sentence such as a community order or unpaid work. Your next court appearance will be the time to put forward any mitigation so it may be useful to see a solicitor although you are entitled to represent yourself. Most of the information the court needs with be in the probation report anyway so make sure you are completely open during the interview. Hope this helps!