Benefits cheat who ‘wanted assist cleansing and dressing’ pictured using bike
Tony Rose, 32, from Erith, fraudulently claimed almost £9,000 in personal independence payments (PIP) after telling the DWP he needed help washing, cleaning, cooking, and dressing
Tony Rose, 32, dishonestly obtained nearly £9,000 in personal independence payments
A benefits fraudster who claimed he couldn’t walk more than 20 metres has been handed a suspended jail term after being filmed riding a motorbike. Tony Rose, 32, dishonestly obtained nearly £9,000 in personal independence payments, or PIP, after stating he required assistance with washing, cleaning, cooking, and dressing.
Imposing a suspended 14-week prison sentence at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on July 2, magistrate Patrick Mellody said he had “ripped off the benefits system.” The court was told that Rose, from Erith, south east London, has endured a legitimate spinal condition since he was seven years old, resulting in three major operations that have left him bedridden at different periods.
He began claiming PIP in November 2017 for his spinal conditions and mental health conditions, stating he required a wheelchair for mobility. However, in 2022, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) received an anonymous tip-off suggesting questionable disability and unreported cash-in-hand work.
He was covertly monitored between January and March 2023, where he was observed leaving his residence in the early hours without a walking aid and travelling to a waste disposal facility, where he was spotted wearing a high-visibility vest.
He was also witnessed on multiple occasions removing a cover from a motorbike, wheeling the bike from his property, and riding it away unassisted. Prosecutor Dami Oyedepo stated: “If his claims were true at the beginning, the surveillance showed that this was no longer the case.”
The Department for Work and Pensions revealed he had been overpaid more than £8,800 across ten months.
Rose made no confession when questioned under caution, but admitted guilt to failing to notify a change in circumstances that would affect his entitlement in May this year.
In mitigation, Aderinsayo Adeyumi explained his client initially claimed PIP lawfully but failed to inform the DWP when his condition improved and that his health condition puts him at risk of being paralysed in the future.
He said: “His understanding was that he was signed on for 10 years and there was no review during that time.”
Rose was deemed not to be suitable for unpaid work, but was commanded to repay £1,000.
Magistrate Patrick Mellody said: “We’ve reluctantly dropped the compensation down by £7,500 as you have no money with which to pay it back.”
Rose will receive a Loss of Benefit Penalty for a minimum of 13 weeks if he is eligible for a benefit in the future.
The DWP says it will look to recover fraudulently obtained benefits via the Proceeds of Crime Act and other debt recovery measures, where appropriate. Minister for Transformation Andrew Western said: “The message is clear – don’t think you can steal from hard-working taxpayers.
“Whatever your reasons for committing benefit fraud, know that our investigators are wise to every trick in the book and you cannot race off with money that shouldn’t be yours.. “And if you know somebody is fleecing the system, report it. “.
