Jailed: Pensioner in £200,000 benefits swindle
A pensioner was involved in "out and out thievery" when he claimed more than £200,000 in benefits, a court heard.
Hamish MacGregor, 75, had created a false identity to obtain the monies over a 13 year period to sustain a lavish life style.
Despite a list of physical and mental health issues MacGregor was jailed for 18 months when he appeared at Shrewsbury Crown Court.
Recorder Graham Huston said that while MacGregor had a degree of ill health he could not consider suspending the sentence and said the defendant would be adequately supervised by the prison authorities.
"This was a deliberate and dishonest deception from the start and was nothing more than out and out thievery," he said.
Recorder Huston said the defendant had been anxious to maintain a relationship with a younger woman and had lived "the high life" on the proceeds of his criminal activity.
"You gave no comment in interviews to police and have shown no remorse and I believe you would still be doing it if you had not been caught," he said.
The court heard that between August, 2003, and September last year, MacGregor had dishonestly received £218,000 in benefit money.
Mr Dafydd Roberts, prosecuting, said the defendant had claimed in the name of William Heans-Brown and used the name to obtain a passport and other documents.
He said that MacGregor had a part ownership of a property in Romania which had been bought for 225,000 Euros in 2007 and he had acquired a £20,000 sports car and spent £10,000 on a Rolex watch.
MacGregor, of Stackstones, Longnor, near Shrewsbury, had pleaded guilty to two charges of making false statements to obtain disability living allowance and pension credit.
He had also admitted receiving pension credit over a 10-year period when he failed to notify the Department of Work & Pensions that he had substantial monies in a bank account above the permitted limit.
A confiscation application has been made by the prosecution under the Proceeds of Crime Act and will be determined at a hearing later this year.
Mr Nicholas Walker, for MacGregor, said that while his client had enjoyed a degree of luxury he would be anxious and disorientated and vulnerable in custody.
He said MacGregor was now frail, had poor mobility and had a heart problem, short term memory loss and took a daily cocktail of medicines.
