A 53-year-old benefit fraudster who failed to declare a pension he was receiving has been fined £1,000.

Kevin Stephen Quirk admitted two counts of benefit fraud by failing to declare a change of circumstances.

It resulted in him being overpaid £3,992 that he wasn’t entitled to, the repayment of which will be dealt with via a civil court.

Deputy High Bailiff Rachael Braidwood also ordered him to pay £50 prosecution costs.

We previously reported that Quirk, who lives at Gelling’s Avenue in Port St Mary, was claiming Income Support and Job Seeker’s Allowance

In December 2023, information was received that he had been receiving a personal pension, which had not been declared.

Bank statements were examined and showed payments from companies which were listed as pension income.

He was interviewed by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in March and said that he had thought that the payment did not matter because he was allowed savings of up to £12,000.

Quirk said it had not been a deliberate action and that he would pay back any overpayment.

Defence advocate Paul Glover asked for credit to be given for his client’s guilty pleas and said that the overpayment was not the most significant sum.

Mr Glover said that Quirk was now setting up his own business, funded by his partner, and was no longer claiming benefits.

The advocate said that his client had extremely limited means and was currently still paying fines from previous offences, so sentencing options were limited, as he was also not medically fit for community service.

A probation report assessed the defendant as a medium risk of reoffending but low risk of harm to others.

Deputy High Bailiff Ms Braidwood said that the biggest aggravating factor was Quirk’s previous convictions, all offences of dishonesty, albeit of a different type.

She fined Quirk £600 for the first offence and £400 for the second.

He will pay the fine and costs at a rate of £10 per week, at the conclusion of his previous fines.