A WOMAN who defrauded almost £70,000 in benefits by claiming she had 14 children was jailed yesterday.
Catherine Semple, 36, of Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire, created make- believe children and lied to officials that her sister had died and she was looking after her nieces and nephews.
She also made up false disabilities for some of the childre
n to get even more money from HM Revenue and Customs over a 3½-year period. Semple was caught after officials grew suspicious about the number of children she was claiming to be caring for.
Sentencing her at Glasgow Sheriff Court yesterday, Sheriff Joseph Platt said: "This was a fraud on public funds on a very large scale.
"Matters like this come before the courts regularly, but I can't recall one as devious or cynical as this.
"This was a systematic fraud and one which was carried out over 3½ years, and as such I see no alternative to a custodial sentence."
At an earlier hearing, Semple admitted defrauding £69,150 from HM Revenue and Customs between October 2002 and April 2006.
Semple, who has two children, claimed for four extra children of her own, five foster children and five of her sister's children, none of whom existed.
Sheriff Platt jailed her for 18 months.
The full article contains 220 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
