Tony Rose, 32, fraudulently claimed thousands in Personal Independence Payment (Image: SWNS)
A benefits cheat who conned taxpayers out of almost £9,000 by claiming he couldn’t walk more than 20 metres has been given a suspended prison sentence after he was caught riding a motorbike. Tony Rose, 32, fraudulently claimed thousands in Personal Independence Payment (PIP) after he said he needed help washing, cleaning, cooking and dressing.
Handing him a suspended 14-week prison sentence at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (July 2), magistrate Patrick Mellody said he had "rip[ped] off the benefits system". The court heard Rose, from Erith, south east London, suffered from a genuine spinal condition since the age of seven, leading to three major surgeries which left him bed bound at various times.
He started to claim PIP in November 2017 for spinal and mental health conditions, claiming he needed to use a wheelchair for mobility.
But the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) received an anonymous tip-off in 2022, alleging doubtful disability and undeclared cash-in-hand employment.
He was secretly observed between January and March 2023, during which time he was seen leaving his home in the early hours without a walking aid and going to a waste disposal plant, where he was seen wearing a high-vis vest.
Rose was spotted on various occasions removing a cover from a motorbike, walking the bike from his property and riding off unaided.
Prosecutor Dami Oyedepo said: "If his claims were true at the beginning, the surveillance showed that this was no longer the case."
Rose pleaded guilty to failing to notify DWP of a change in circumstances (Image: SWNS)
The DWP said he had been overpaid more than £8,800 over 10 months.
Rose made no admission when interviewed under caution, but pleaded guilty to failing to notify a change in circumstances that would affect his entitlement in May this year.
Mitigating, Aderinsayo Adeyumi said his client initially claimed PIP legitimately, but failed to inform the DWP when his condition improved and that his health condition puts him at risk of being paralysed in the future.
He said: "His understanding was that he was signed on for 10 years and there was no review during that time."
Rose was judged not to be eligible for unpaid work, but was ordered to repay £1,000.
Magistrate Patrick Mellody said: "We’ve reluctantly dropped the compensation down by £7,500 as you have no money with which to pay it back."
Rose will receive a Loss of Benefit Penalty for a minimum of 13 weeks if he is eligible for a benefit in the future.
The DWP says it will look to recover fraudulently obtained benefits via the Proceeds of Crime Act and other debt recovery measures, where appropriate.
Minister for Transformation Andrew Western said: "The message is clear – don't think you can steal from hard-working taxpayers.
"Whatever your reasons for committing benefit fraud, know that our investigators are wise to every trick in the book and you cannot race off with money that shouldn’t be yours. And if you know somebody is fleecing the system, report it."
