...by appearing on TV's Wife Swap show
~~~~~~ who would want to swap for her
A couple who cheated taxpayers out of almost ?10,000 in benefits but were caught when they appeared on the TV show Wife Swap were spared jail today.
Kelly Jones, 23, claimed on the show that she was a single parent with no income for nearly 18 months.
She also said she was living alone with her child, although her future husband Steven Jones, 40, who works as a bus driver for First, had moved in with her.
Partners in crime: Steven and Kelly Jones arriving at Bristol Magistrates Court today where they faced ?10,000 benefits fraud charges
Mrs Jones, who married in April, was overpaid ?4,976 in housing benefits, ?3,614 in income support and received a ?1,171 discount on her council tax bill.
Bristol magistrates sentenced Mrs Jones to three months in prison and her husband to six weeks, both sentences suspended for one year.
The couple, of Oldbury Court estate in Fishponds, Bristol, were also ordered to complete 150 hours unpaid work each and to repay the housing benefits and council tax, as well as ?1,263 in costs.
Their cheating was discovered when the city council received a tip-off after they appeared in June last year on Channel 4's reality show Wife Swap.
Exposed: Steven and Kelly Jones appearing on Channel 4's Wife Swap
The show involves two women spending a fortnight living with each other's husband and family.
Mrs Jones admitted failing to notify the council that her partner had moved in with her, declaring on her benefit application that she lived alone, failing to tell the Department for Work and Pensions that her partner was living with her, and also failing to tell the DWP that her husband had received ?30,625 when his house in Yate was repossessed.
Mr Jones pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting his wife.
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~~~~~~ who would want to swap for her
A couple who cheated taxpayers out of almost ?10,000 in benefits but were caught when they appeared on the TV show Wife Swap were spared jail today.
Kelly Jones, 23, claimed on the show that she was a single parent with no income for nearly 18 months.
She also said she was living alone with her child, although her future husband Steven Jones, 40, who works as a bus driver for First, had moved in with her.
Partners in crime: Steven and Kelly Jones arriving at Bristol Magistrates Court today where they faced ?10,000 benefits fraud chargesMrs Jones, who married in April, was overpaid ?4,976 in housing benefits, ?3,614 in income support and received a ?1,171 discount on her council tax bill.
Bristol magistrates sentenced Mrs Jones to three months in prison and her husband to six weeks, both sentences suspended for one year.
The couple, of Oldbury Court estate in Fishponds, Bristol, were also ordered to complete 150 hours unpaid work each and to repay the housing benefits and council tax, as well as ?1,263 in costs.
Their cheating was discovered when the city council received a tip-off after they appeared in June last year on Channel 4's reality show Wife Swap.
Exposed: Steven and Kelly Jones appearing on Channel 4's Wife SwapThe show involves two women spending a fortnight living with each other's husband and family.
Mrs Jones admitted failing to notify the council that her partner had moved in with her, declaring on her benefit application that she lived alone, failing to tell the Department for Work and Pensions that her partner was living with her, and also failing to tell the DWP that her husband had received ?30,625 when his house in Yate was repossessed.
Mr Jones pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting his wife.
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