A “greedy” HMRC worker who defrauded the taxpayer of more than £300,000 in child benefit only has to pay back £1, a court has ruled.
Tracy Ashbridge falsely claimed three of her children were disabled and also submitted false tax credits claims for another 15 children. She used details from her work computer system of members of the public to facilitate some of the frauds.
She was jailed for six counts of fraud while her husband, Robert Ashbridge, who helped her in one of the offences, was given a suspended prison sentence. Now her case has been back before Newcastle Crown Court under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The court heard she benefited to the tune of £305,952 but, as she has no available assets, she must pay back just £1 – unless she comes into money in the future.
Prosecutor Neil Jones told the hearing:
“She has no available amount to satisfy the order. There is absolutely, definitely, no available sum.”
Ashbridge had worked for HMRC from 2012 and had access to child tax credit claims as her role was to process them. The court heard she was paid just over £11,000 a year.
The mother-of-four began offending in 2015 when she made claims for child tax credits for her three youngest children. She thought other claimants suspected of offences were not being investigated and the “temptation became too much”, the court heard.
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