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.

If this was an benefit cheat struggling to make ends meet I would have sympathy, however I can't have any sympathy for a women who claimed 5 of her children was disabled to get extra money.

I think the children would be better off without her, no loving parent would makeup an illness to cash in extra money

Diddums. I can't say I feel any sympathy for her. The taxpayer will never see a penny of that money.

So...

Person A commits serious financial crime and gets 4 years.

Person B commits identical serious financial crime and gets community service because they have children whereas Person B doesn't?

Oh do me a favour.

Our prisons are full because people who should be in hospitals receiving treatment for mental illness are in there when they shouldn't be, which is shameful for our society.

But this woman should be in prison. This was a massive and well planned fraud. We cannot say that only people who commit violent crime should be locked up. Those who commit financial crimes do untold damage to many. For example those who defraud pensioners out of thousands of pounds for dodgy roof repairs and those who set up fraudulent investment schemes and steal peoples life savings with devastating results. We are forever being told that we are broke as a country and I know it's a cliche but £350k would pay for a lot of nurses, teaching assistants and drugs that are being rationed due to cost.

And let's not forget that it is people like her that the Government are using as an excuse to batter the real sick and disabled and to make benefits for those who are really ill almost impossible to get.

Yabu to think community service is adequate for such blatant fraud. Unfortunately her children may have been brought up to believe such actions are okay.

The sentence is right on the guidelines which the Judge had to consider. The effect on her children will have been considered.

It's such a massive amount of money. Even with a confiscation order it's unlikely she'll repay all the money I reckon. Some of it will be spent and lost forever. I'm not sure what we should do with people who are so dishonest and steal so much money.

I'm tempted to commit benefit fraud but the consequence could be a hefty jail term.

Or

Im tempted to commit benefit fraud but the consequence could be some imaginative community service.

Not so much of a deterrent is it?

But how many times have we seen a mother given a long prison sentence for it?

She is being made an example of. Hopefully to deter others from doing the same. It will also show her children that what she has done is wrong.

I know a mother in the same situation. She claimed for years for her 'disabled son. She was recently caught and given a prison sentence. Her son was also caught and given a prison sentence at the same time. He grew up thinking benefit fraud was the norm.

The cycle needs to be broken.

Perhaps she believed that she would get away with it, and that even if she was caught she wouldn't go to jail as the mum of 5 children.

According to the daily mail,she had 8 childeren and was claiming for 5 of them.

Being a mother is no excuse to escape justice, it is because of dishonest people like this woman that vulnerable people who genuinely need help are made to jump through hoops to get it, resources aren't always available and right wingers use mass fraud as an excuse to take benefits from the sick and disabled. If the welfare state is to be strong enough to care for those unfortunate enough to need it then it must be robustly defended against thieving, lying parasites who seek to exploit it's benevolence.

Pity it couldn't be four years of hard labour. Her children will be looked after by relatives or by foster carers, they will understand that it's their mothers fault for defrauding the state, this may discourage them from following in her footsteps. Hopefully whoever is caring for them will teach them right from wrong, this could be the best thing for them.

Because like the majority of people who break the law she didn't think she'd get caught. Prison sentences as a deterrent only work for those who are half hearted about it, think better of it and don't do it. And so we never hear about them, because they don't commit the crime.

Serving 30 years for murder doesn't seem to deter anyone here from killing nor does the death penalty in the USA. Because they don't think they will get caught.

I have never expressed sympathy for Amanda Webber - she deserves none - her children do. I just don't believe that incarceration is the correct response for financial crime - short prison sentences for petty theft is also pointless - it is no deterrent, costs the state thousands of tax payers money - and to what end? More children in the care system, more drug addicts getting locked up for a bit then chucked back on the street.

To me - It doesn't matter what people think someone deserves for a particular crime - I am more interested in the actual effect prison has - do prison sentences work? Is society a better and safer place tonight because Webber is behind bars? Is there a better way to deal with certain crimes? I think it is healthy to question. I don't pretend to have the answers but I do have questions.

She had better hope karma doesn't come and bite her on the arse for telling those awful lies about the illnesses her children had. People like her don't deserve the children they produce.

I don't think prison is the answer -she has already helped herself to tax payers money long enough. They should be going for her property and assets under the proceeds of crime act.
Hit her where it hurts, greedy bitch.

But she isn't going to get away with it by going to prison. She has to serve her prison sentence AND repay the money. Everyone who is prosecuted for benefit fraud has to repay the money alongside whatever judicial sentence they are given. The order to repay is never part of the sentence because the repayment is a matter of fact and not a punishment.

Her house will be seized and sold. A seven bedroom detached house in Sussex, with its own dance studio, should easily realise £350k I would've thought.

And yes, I appreciate that some local authority or other will ultimately have to pick up the bill for housing her 8 children when they are evicted but I doubt it will cost the £10k a month she was receiving in benefits that she wasn't entitled to.

I think she should go to prison. I can't stand benefit fraud.

i think prison can work, for more serious more violent crimes, longer sentences with good drug and réhabilitation programmes, training, education and proper transition back to society. or proctection for the public by keeping violent dangerous predatory criminals locked up. But these are more expensive, Governments barely want to admit that prisoners are actually fed and clothed and kept warm in winter, for fear of losing votes.

but chucking some drug addicted thief just out of the care system, or a benefit fraudster with eight children, into prison for a short time then turning them back out, this time with a criminal record and zero chance of getting work - how does this prevent crime? I don't feel that sorry for them, but what about the subsequent crimes, they are now more desperate and more likely to commit?

Sorry I have not read the whole thread (having a v busy evening with dcs) but I had to comment as I cannot believe how a mother could lie like that.

The dla forms were absolutely heartbreaking for me to fill in about my dcs I cannot understand how a person with healthy children could fill them in and lie.

I actually cry every time I have to renew the claims as it really brings home what dcs have to put up with.
I think she deserves to be in jail and I hope it does act as a deterrent to others.

Ah well, even if it costs us in the short term the prison sentence was right. It was a massive, planned and deliberate fraud and it took the piss out of those who have children who really need DLA. And it played into the hands of the government who want to limit benefits for disabled children and who have made it almost impossible to get them.

Fuck her. She robbed us all, five times over.