I Have Heard of Faking it But C'mon!

A bingo caller and benefits cheat received over  £50,000 by saying he could barely walk was filmed dancing and belting out hits as a pub entertainer.

Geoffrey Lindley was given a suspended jail sentence for illegally claiming disability living allowance and incapacity benefit for six years.

The 54-year-old was paid £54,259 after convincing council officers he could barely walk and suffered chest pains and panic attacks.

However, all the while he was working as a pub singer and entertainer in venues on the Lincolnshire coast.

Covert footage collected by Department for Work and Pensions officers showed Lindley singing and dancing in a pub and also calling out bingo numbers.

At 3.15pm on September 30, 2008, the cheat was filmed in the Archers pub, Lincoln, singing the Snow Patrol hit Chasing Cars while bantering with the crowd and asking the barman to pour him a pint.

Cheat: Geoffrey Lindley, 54, claimed disability benefits while working as an entertainer along the Lincolnshire coast

Prosecutor Faye Mellor told Lincoln Crown Court yesterday that Lindley was seen performing energetically for up to half a hour.

She said: ‘The DWP became aware he had been working. As a result, covert observations were made and the defendant was found to be working.

‘He was singing and calling out bingo numbers. He was seen kneeling down and getting up without difficulty.

Caught on camera: Lindley's act included singing and dancing

‘He said he could walk only eight to ten metres for ten to 20 minutes. He said he had to be accompanied and suffered chest pains and had panic attacks.

‘He said he didn’t go out alone and used a stick or someone’s arm. He said he required assistance getting in and out of chairs.

‘He said he had difficulty going to the toilet and feeding himself.

‘This clearly wasn’t the case. He was able to sing for up to 30 minutes. He appeared to be a confident person. He seemed to move about without any difficulty.’

Lindley, of Skegness, admitted the fraud, committed between March 2003 and July 2009, but has paid back only £300 of the money.

Colin Hart, defending, claimed the entertainer donated the proceeds of his performances to cancer charities, the British Heart Foundation and the local air ambulance.

He said: ‘He never charged them anything and asked for all the money to go to charity.

‘He was recovering from a serious condition. His brother died and his son had heart problems. That is why he started doing these appearances.’

Lindley was sentenced to nine months in prison suspended for two years.

Recorder Tim Spencer said: ‘I take a very serious view of your offending but you are going home tonight.

‘The complaint was not that you were giving money to charity, it is that you were obtaining benefits to the tune of more than £54,000.

‘The reality is that you would not have been able to afford to give money to charity, which in effect means hard-working taxpayers have provided the money.’

What makes me so angry about this is people with real disabilities get denied everyday. Here in the US 80% of all cases filed are denied and this sucka is out singing and dancing!

Lips

source: newsafricanseer

You're so right Lips.  It is absolutely sickening that those that truly deserve it don't qualify for it.  Hopefully with the "benefits cheat" confidential hotline being advertised over her now, there will be more and more people like this joker getting caught.

Thanks for the story.

blue