Benefits thief in X Factor spoof
A "FOOLISH" benefits cheat dressed up as Sharon Osbourne in an X Factor spoof – despite claiming she could barely walk.
Edwina Stocker ran a Blackpool-based murder mystery company and performed in plays while collecting the "highest level" of Disability Living Allowance.
The 57-year-old also performed with theatrical troupes in England and Spain while claiming she could not work because she had agoraphobia and a paralysed leg.
Sentencing her to 18 weeks prison, suspended for 12 months, Judge Anthony Russell told Stocker she had been "foolish".
He added: "It's very sad to see a woman of your age in this court having been convicted by your plea of guilty.
"And somebody with your positive good character and having overcome difficulties in your life.
"You were very foolish to continue to claim disability living allowance when your condition had improved and not inform authorities of the improvement.
"It is a fraud upon the public. Public resources are limited so it is a serious matter when they are misapplied.
"In my judgment, offences of this kind do cross the custody threshold so the public should be aware of what may happen in these cases."
The court heard Stocker, of Hawthorn Road, North Shore, told benefits officials in 2001 she suffered from vertigo, panic attacks, agoraphobia, disorientation, a chronic paralysed right leg and arthritis, which affected her back and hips.
Her poor health eased from the beginning of 2005 but she failed to notify the authorities of her change in circumstances and duped the benefits system over a two-year period.
Suspicious Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) investigators found she was running a murder mystery company called "In The Dark Murder Comp-any" under the pseudonym Miss Rosemary Devine.
Undercover officers watched her participating in shows where she played "The Oracle" and walked around in platform shoes to interact with audience members.
She also took the role of X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne in a spoof of the hit television show in the restaurant of a hotel.
In May, she pleaded guilty to one count of failing to notify the authorities of a change in circumstances between October 2001 and February 2007 at Preston Crown Court.
Oliver Cook, prosecuting, told the court she had claimed a total of 10,647 during this six-year period.
The special circumstances of her age and previous excellent character despite a "terrible" background she had suffered in her life meant the sentence could be suspended, Judge Russell added.
The court heard Stocker had worked as a teacher, civil servant, for the ambulance service and as a special constable as well as performing voluntary work throughout her life.
Outside the court, Stocker's daughter Samantha Haysom told The Gazette: "We just hope people are fair when they make comments about our mother's case.
"It's been a really difficult time for us all."
Roy Paul, DWP North West Fraud operations manager, said: "In addition to the sentence imposed by the court, the department will also take steps to recover the benefit falsely obtained, to ensure Ms Stocker does not gain financially from her criminal activity."
See Monday's Gazette for a behind-the-scenes report on DWP investigations.
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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