Graham Gannon, 63, has been handed a 20-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, after fraudulently claiming more than £26,000 in Personal Independence Payment (PIP) disability benefits while working nearly 40-hour weeks at a holiday park in Norfolk.
False claims of disability
Gannon claimed he suffered from rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, which severely restricted his movement. He stated he struggled to grasp objects, could not climb out of the bath, and needed help getting dressed. However, following a tip-off, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) investigators discovered he was undertaking physically strenuous work at a holiday park.
At Great Yarmouth Magistrates' Court, Gannon, who lives on a boat in Lowestoft, East Sussex, admitted to fraudulently obtaining £26,342.65 between February 2019 and March 2023.
Full-time work while claiming benefits
Prosecutor Wendy Davidson said: "He failed to disclose that he had returned to work full-time. He said he thought he was allowed to work and claim, and said he had a medical condition. He worked on a caravan site and would do any heavy lifting on a good day."
Gannon had stopped receiving injections for his arthritis but did not inform the DWP, instead maintaining that his abilities remained severely restricted. During a cautioned interview in November 2022, he acknowledged he had not notified the agency that he had started a physically demanding job. His duties included landscaping, maintaining hedgerows and fences, drainage work, litter picking, painting, unblocking toilets, and using ladders.
Court outcome
Lisa Dade, representing Gannon, said: "Mr Gannon accepts full responsibility for his offending and expresses genuine remorse. This is a case of misunderstanding and it was not fraudulent from the outset. He is a gentleman of 63 years of age, of good character, and this offending is wholly out of character for this gentleman."
Gannon pleaded guilty to three charges: falsely indicating a lack of capability on his PIP review forms in 2020 and 2022, and failing to notify the DWP of his change in circumstances and improved physical capabilities.
Presiding magistrate Geoffrey Dyett commented: "It is really two extremes that we are dealing with to a certain extent. You are a gentleman in your mid-60s and have gone through your life with an unblemished record with regards to crime and yet here we have an offence. You currently owe £26,324.65 and this has been accumulated over several years of receiving finances that you weren't due to receive. Perhaps you thought you could still claim benefits while you were in work. The benefits you were claiming were not legal for you at the time."
Penalties and DWP warning
In addition to the suspended sentence, Gannon must pay prosecution costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £154. He will also face a loss of benefit penalty for at least 13 weeks.
Andrew Western, minister for transformation at DWP, stated: "The message is clear – don't think you can steal from hardworking taxpayers. Whatever your reasons for committing benefit fraud, know that our investigators are wise to every trick in the book and we will find you. And if you know somebody is fleecing the system, report it."
