Cruise blog catches benefit cheat

A man who cheated the tax payer out of £30,000 in benefits was caught after his son wrote a blog about the families 10 month Caribbean Cruise.

Simon Daymond-Harris claimed £560 a month housing benefit from August 2006 due to his “low income” as a barman. He told authorities he worked 16 hours per week and because of the low wage could not support his family. It turned out however that he in fact was the registered licensee of the pub.

He claimed he was paying out a huge £925 per month to rent his home, a waterside apartment in Millbay Marina Village. In fact the flat was owned by his parents and he lived there rent FREE. Tallying up all moneys he illegally pocketed £28,778.45 from 2006 to 2010.

Harris was caught out after his son Oliver wrote an online blog about the family’s ten month Caribbean cruise. The blog has since been removed but investigators managed to find paperwork Harris had doctored to hide the fact he was out of the country.

Sentencing Harris to 12 weeks in prison at Plymouth Magistrates' Court, district judge Paul Farmer commented: "This was a deliberate fraud which was dealt with in a sophisticated way.

Helen Morris, prosecuting for Plymouth City Council noted: "When it was put to him in an interview that a cash withdrawal made in St Lucia was changed to Trago Mills he admitted that it did not look terribly good."

Harris admitted changing the bank statements, putting the wrong landlord's name on his claim form, making up entirely false rent books and also confessed to never paying any rent on the property in Millbay Marina Village.

He admitted making a false statement to obtain benefits in August 2006, and also two similar offences in March 2007 and May 2008 including submitting a false bank statement, rent book and a false written statement to support his claim.