£26,000 benefits cheat who bought fake birth certificate in pub is jailed
An illegal immigrant who claimed more than £26,000 in benefits over 12 years has been jailed - but told she doesn't have to pay the cash back.
Patricia Jarrett, aged 41, was rumbled after she applied for a British passport using a fake birth certificate.
Jarrett, of Cheshire Road, Smethwick came into the UK in 2002 from her native Jamaica. But the mother-of-one could only stay in the country for six months and was told on entry she couldn't claim state money.
However Wolverhampton Crown Court was told that she claimed council tax benefit from Sandwell Council as well as income support and job seekers' allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The hearing was told that despite her claims from January 2010 to June this year an investigation into her finances found she was unable to pay back the cash.
Jarrett was caught out after she applied for a passport in January using a fake birth certificate she had bought from a man called 'Pete' in West Bromwich for £200.
Mr Paul Farrow, prosecuting, said: "An application was received on January 29 and on it the defendant claimed she was born in Hackney in London.
"They were submitted along with a copy of a birth certificate, national insurance information and details of job seekers' and council tax claims.
"An investigation by the passport office and the Home Office found there were no details of her birth certificate. They discovered it was from a batch sent to Sandwell Registry Office in 1992."
Mr Farrow told the court that Jarrett had used the birth certificate to get a provisional driving licence and as a result it was used to make claims from the DWP and Sandwell Council.
He added: "The total sum that she claimed was £26,561.19p. The immigration service and the DWP went to her home in Cheshire Road and she was arrested. She said on her arrested 'I know I'm not supposed to be here'.
"She said she had bought the birth certificate from a man called Pete in West Bromwich and paid £200."
He explained that Jarrett wouldn't have to pay back the money she stole, adding: "The financial investigators have looked into the defendant's finances and assets and there is nothing."
Mr Simon Hanns, defending, said: "Miss Jarrett took full responsibility and has made no efforts to deny what she had done."
Jarrett, who was jailed for 18 months, admitted possession of a fake birth certificate; making false representation to obtain a provisional driving licence; possession of the driving licence and making an untrue statement to obtain a passport. She has also admitted making two false claims to the Department for Work and Pensions and another to Sandwell Borough Council to obtain benefits.
