A conman who hid a 20-year relationship to dupe taxpayers out of nearly £30,000 has been sent to prison for eight months. Graeme Dewar pretended he was living alone for years despite having a common law wife he operated joint bank accounts with.
Sheriff William Wood told Dewar he was lucky that the benefits agency had not been able to provide paperwork for any earlier than 2014. He said it was "perhaps fortunate" for Dewar that he could only be found guilty of fraud covering the period between 1 June 2014 and 3 May 2018.
"Overall, it is a fraud of almost £30,000," Sheriff Wood said, "and therefore it is a considerable sum of money. This was a lengthy deception of both the council and the Department of Work and Pensions and in the circumstances I need to send you to prison."
