A Douglas woman has been fined £2,400 after admitting three counts of benefit fraud.

Sharon Foolkes-Greene had initially denied the offences, which related to an overpayment in benefits of £15,703, but the day before her trial, changed her pleas to guilty.

Deputy High Bailiff Rachael Braidwood fined the 58-year-old £800 for each offence and also ordered her to pay £50 prosecution costs.

We previously reported that Foolkes-Greene, who lives at Alfred Teare Grove in Douglas, had been claiming income support benefits.

In December 2023, her claim was being reviewed when a bank statement submitted showed a payment relating to a pension, which had not been declared.

Further bank statements were obtained and confirmed that the defendant had been receiving a pension which she had not been declaring.

She was interviewed by the Department of Health and Social Care, and claimed that she had thought she did not have to declare the pension, and said she had been acting on advice from the pension authority.

She said that the money had just been sitting there, but she accepted that she had access to it.

Foolkes-Greene said that she had not been deliberately hiding it.

The court heard that she has already begun paying back the overpayment to the treasury at a rate of £30 per month.

Defence advocate Paul Glover asked for credit to be given for his client’s guilty pleas and the fact that she had no previous convictions.

A probation report said that Foolkes-Greene did not require supervision and her health ruled out community service.

She agreed to pay the fine and costs within three months.