A woman in the United Kingdom proved that the U.S. is not the only country susceptible to government fraud as she was caught ziplining and surfing in Mexico while claiming she was disabled and bilking the British government of more than 23,000 pounds — the equivalent of some $30,000.
Catherine Wieland, 33, from Goring-by-Sea in West Sussex, England, admitted to collecting benefits for more than two years while claiming her condition was so severe that she could not cook, wash herself, or even leave her home, according to a report in the Independent.
After pleading guilty to fraud charges, she was sentenced to 28 weeks in jail.
Wieland had told Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that severe anxiety had caused her disability. However, the DWP learned she had lied about her condition for more than two years.
According to the Independent:
Investigators found Wieland had been surfing in Cancun and ziplining in Mexico, in addition to making three separate visits to Thorpe Park. While accumulating tens of thousands of pounds in Personal Independence Payments (PIP), she also spent money on manicures, tanning sessions, and appointments at a private Harley Street dentist.
Investigators confronted her with bank statements of her expenditures.
“I didn’t realize you’re not allowed to leave your house,” she responded, according to the DWP.
The outlet also reported the woman had made more than 75 beauty appointments, visited “60 pubs, clubs and restaurants and spent money in foreign currencies.”
After her luxury trip to Mexico, Wieland submitted a response claiming her condition had become worse.
She pleaded guilty to failing to notify a change of circumstances and must now repay the £23,662, the U.S. equivalent of $31,500, stolen from British taxpayers between 2021 and 2024.
Her 28-week sentence to incarceration was also “suspended” for 18 months, meaning that time will be spent in probation rather than behind bars, the New York Post reported.
As Breitbart News has reported, the Trump administration launched a focused effort to root out criminal exploitation of taxpayer funded social services programs after revelations of widespread fraud emerged in Minnesota and California, which has included appointing a prosecutor in the Department of Justice focused entirely on combating fraud in government programs.
WATCH — VP Vance Hosts First Meeting of President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud:
Andrew Western, a minister in the DWP, told the Independent that the case was “an insult” to taxpayers and people who generally need disability payments.
“Wieland lied repeatedly, milked the system for every penny she could get and then had the nerve to claim her condition was worsening while she was ziplining and surfing in Mexico,” he said.
He added, “We are committed to finding those who try to defraud taxpayers, and they will face the consequences.”
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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