A Foxdale benefit fraudster has been fined £1,000 after failing to declare part of a property she owned.

Clare Parker, aged 40, admitted two offences and was also ordered to pay £50 prosecution costs.

Parker was said to have already started paying back the overpayment in benefits of £2,730 to the treasury.

Prosecuting advocate Sara-Jayne Dodge told the court that Parker, who lives at Sprucewood View, had been claiming Employed Persons Allowance between June 2023 and August 2024.

In May 2024, an anonymous allegation was received, accusing the defendant of not declaring money she was receiving from an ex-partner.

Bank statements were obtained, and this was found to be untrue, however, they did show that she was receiving a rental payment of £410 per month.

Parker attended an interview with the Department of Health and Social Care, at Markwell House in Douglas, on August 5.

She admitted that she owned 25 per cent of a property in the UK and said that she hadn’t declared it because it didn’t make much money.

She said that her nephew rented it and that she also had to pay rent to a company.

Ms Dodge said that the total overpayment in benefits totalled £2,730 and that the offence had been a deliberate act from the outset.

In court, on Thursday, December 5, Parker pleaded guilty to two counts of making a false representation to obtain a benefit.

The court heard that she had no previous convictions.

A probation report said that the defendant had been going through a difficult period with a break-up at the time of the offences.

Parker told probation that she earned ‘pennies’ from the property and that the outgoings were often more than she received.

The report said that the offences had been a huge wake-up call for the defendant and that she was unlikely to appear in court again.

Parker was said to have made an initial repayment of £50 and had since been paying £20 per week back to the treasury.

The report recommended a financial penalty as the most appropriate sentence.

Defence advocate Helen Lobb asked for credit to be given for her client’s admissions in the police interview and said that her bank accounts had been frozen for some time, and this had caused her additional issues.

Ms Lobb said that Parker was hardworking, with a full-time job, as well as being carer for her two children.

Magistrates ordered the defendant to pay the fine and costs at a rate of £50 per month.