not to be overjoyed that a mother of four is being sent to jail for massive benefit fraud?

[bigmouthstrikesagain]

story here

I just wonder what will happen to the children in this case. The crime Amanda Webber committed is serious and she should be punished but taking the mother away from her 8 children for up to 4 years will have a damaging effect on these children. The sentence should be in the community and involve her paying back society with work, making a contribution - not being housed in a prison.

This is not to undermine the seriousness of the offence I just can't see the 'benefit' to society of locking this person up - she is not dangerous - she does need to accept what she has done is so very wrong and make amends this can be done in a community sentence surely. The children should not be punished if it can be avoided.

Just my thoughts on hearing the news.

[kilmuir]

Not much of a mother who committed serious fraud, pretended her children were disabled, .
Why should she get a non jail sentence just because she had children.

[cozietoesie]

I see that she last claimed in 2010. For those who were querying just how she did it in light of the hoops they themselves have to go through - has the system changed at all in the last 3 years (I don't know, myself - I was just wondering if that was an explanation or a partial explanation.)

[maddening]

It is v sad for her children but it is she that has done this to them and it is her responsibility alone -yyou commit a crime and you are punished - if you have dependants your actions also may detrimentally affect them - that is on your shoulders.

[maddening]

Buildingmycorestrength - I don't think anyone agrees that the abuser should have had a lenient sentence due to dependants - from responses I would imagine most would feel he should have had a tougher sentence (far far tougher imo) - that fact that some idiot has effectively let him get away with it does not mean that she should also.

[Groovee]

So many parents with child who DO have disabilities get denied DLA and struggle financially and emotionally. It's totally unfair that she was able to cheat the system when others desperately need that help.

[mrsjay]

if it was a dad with children would you feel the same yabu really she comitted a serious crime women in prison must be terrible for their children but tbh I think she deserves it, community services would not rehabilitate her I dont think

[mrsjay]

if she had robbed a post office of the same money would you feel she shouldn't be away from her children , what about mugging somebody ?

[Thingymajigs]

The form hasn't changed as far as I know cozie and we've been claiming since 2007. I can only imagine she made everything up including medical reports, contact details for the GP etc. The form is extensive, I can't imagine the work involved in filling out 5 of those when you don't have the required information.
This suggests that the forms aren't checked. Which doesn't surprise me because, as I said, they are very long. That needs to be looked at, especially as people will be looking at this and thinking they can get away with the same scam.

[Jan49]

I don't understand how she claimed DLA.

When I first claimed for my ds in 2002 you had to give contact details of a teacher, doctor or other specialist who could tell them more about your dc's disability. So if the people assessing your claim contacted that person they'd either find out the person knew nothing about it or you'd have to have lied and put down a friend and pretended they were an expert or whatever, which could be checked.

But when I renewed the claim, they only asked for a statement from someone who knew the child and they agreed when I asked that it could be my ds's father, who didn't live with us, so he filled in a statement and they accepted that. On the latest form, that part of the form is optional, so you might just fill in the form without anyone backing up what you write. But you're asked for details of their GP, a teacher and any doctors or specialists they've seen and when they saw them. A minimal amount of checking should surely catch out a cheat.

[mrsjay]

people can coach their children to be ill and fool health visitors and gps , it does go on sickening she is so greedy that she could do that, she could have planted the seeds in her childrens heads from a young age so they believe they are poorly

[mrsjay]

to pretend to be ill is what i meant

[Roary1]

I just wish the courts could enforce bankruptcy on her and keep her inside for longer. She will be out in 2 years for swindling £350K-hardly a fitting sentence. Her children are better off away from her and being brought up by someone with moral standards.

[Hulababy]

To be fair to prisons - they are not the easy ride the media would have us believe. I have spent a fair bit of time within a prison, been in the cells, been on the wings, been in the hospital and seg units, all of the prison . I have spoken 1:1 with various prisons from petty criminals to murderers, rapists and child abusers. It isn't really a bit of a doddle, with lots of privledges.

[HappyMummyOfOne]

The situation is of her own making and no sympathy at all for her. Children with law breakers for parents are often better off without them.

Not read the article but i hope she has to pay it all back, think of how much schools or hospitals could have benefitted from that money.

[Roary1]

I also hope when the greedy cow gets out she is NEVER allowed to get one more penny off the taxpayer.

[SchroSawMargeryDaw]

No idea how she could even manage to do this, you need an astounding amount of proof to claim DLA.

[LessMissAbs]

What sort of message do you think will be given to her children if she isn't given a lengthy custodial sentence, OP?

On balance, the sentence is more likely to benefit the children in the long term, than harm them.

[mrsjay]

No idea how she could even manage to do this, you need an astounding amount of proof to claim DLA.

I know it baffled me too some people with genuine illness disability have to jump through hoops of fire just to get lower rate, she has had to have coached those kids or something, anyway kids are better off without a mother like her anyway, what chance do they have with her

[mrsjay]

too many anyways in my last post

[MrsPoglesWood]

No OP. She deserves to spend time in prison. Being a mother should never exempt someone from spending time in prison for an offence as serious as this. And it is serious. If she'd stolen that amount of money from her employer or a bank her sentence would've been double.

And Roary1 the authorities are going for a 'proceeds of crime' order to recover the money, which will most likely mean her house will be sold. Re-payment of stolen funds isn't part of the sentence/punishment as it is just what happens as a matter of course. The punishment comes on top of the repayment/asset seizing. You don't get to keep the money just cos you've served a couple of years inside.

[SchroSawMargeryDaw]

Mrs I can't even get low rate at the moment and I get ESA (have done for a fair while now) and have even been passed as unfit for work by Atos. This just doesn't seem believable.

Even coaching them doesn't make sense as it said the school had no knowledge of it.

[xylem8]

I am guessing she must have falsified medical reports too?

[mrsjay]

I agree with you about the violence greed thinks Mrsdevere a bank robber will get longer than somebody who has assaulted somebody. I still think she has comitted fraud so should be punished though

[SirChenjin]

Anyone who commits certain crimes should expect a jail sentence, regardless of whether they have a penis or a vagina, children or no children. It's called personal responsibility, something all adults are supposed to possess.