Woman sentenced following social care payment fraud

Hannah Colley, of Fiddlers Folley, Colchester, pleaded guilty on the 5^th June 2023 to one count of failing to disclose information that she was under a legal duty to disclose, between 2018 and 2022. She was claiming care payments in Suffolk and submitted a later claim for social care direct payments from Essex County Council.

A social care review in the summer of 2022 raised concerns that Colley was not providing evidence of how her direct payment had been spent, she had been avoiding meeting with her Social Worker face-to-face and it was found that she was registered to a GP Practice in Colchester.

The concerns were referred to the Council’s Counter Fraud Service who found that Colley moved from Ipswich to Colchester in June 2018, meaning she would no longer be eligible for funding from Suffolk County Council and that she had been claiming a second direct payment from Essex County Council since June 2020. During this period she received £27,643.68 in direct payments from Suffolk County Council.

Colley was sentenced today to 26 weeks’ custody suspended for 2 years, with conditions that she complete a rehabilitation activity requirement for 10 days and abide by a curfew. This curfew will require her to stay indoors nightly, for 26 weeks, between 8pm and 8am. The court also ordered her to pay compensation of £27,643.68, legal and investigatory costs of £6,100 and a victim surcharge of £154. The Court stated that they found ‘limited mitigation’ in the case and made direct reference to the falsehoods that Colley had told Suffolk County Council over many years.

Speaking after the sentencing Councillor Beccy Hopfensperger, Cabinet Member for Adult Care said:

"Fraud of any type is a despicable crime, but fraud committed against the social care system, in effect stealing money used to provide the care and support for old and potentially vulnerable people, is especially cruel in my view. The sentence in this case is therefore a good outcome for adult social care, and I thank Suffolk County Council’s Counter-Fraud team and Legal Services for their hard work in prosecuting this case. I hope this will serve as a warning to others, be in no doubt - we will always pursue and prosecute people who steal from the social care system.”