Benefit cheat Helen Green caught running 10k races and doing Zumba classes – after claiming she could not walk
A woman who claimed she had difficulty leaving the house or walking was found to be committing a benefit scam after she was caught on CCTV attending Zumba and bodybuilding classes at the gym.
Helen Green, 49, received more than £25,000 in Personal Independence Payment (PIP) between January 2020 and March 2023.
He had told the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that he had severe rheumatoid arthritis in every joint and suffered a slipped disc, leaving him stranded at home and requiring crutches.
Green, from Shrewsbury in Shropshire, claimed his arthritis was a lifelong condition that would gradually worsen. He said he could not walk for more than five minutes without using crutches.
He also told the DWP he needed help with washing, bathing, dressing, preparing meals and eating and drinking.
After a report to the fraud hotline led to a DWP investigation, it was revealed that Green was a member of a running club competing in 10k races, completing one of them in one hour and three minutes.
She also went to the gym regularly and was caught on CCTV attending Zumba, body fighting, body pump, core blast and spin classes.
The DWP accused Green of falsely claiming £42,013 in PIP.
However, a guilty plea to dishonestly failing to notify them of a change of circumstances in respect of the sum of £25,244 exchanged between January 2020 and March 2023 was accepted by the Crown.
Green was sentenced to seven months in prison at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Tuesday.
Mandy Tobias, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Helen Green pretended to have limited mobility, instead she was a regular runner and active in gym classes.
“He did this out of his own greed and lined his pockets with fraudulently obtained money.
“The Crown Prosecution Service presented strong evidence, thanks to the DWP’s investigative work showing Green’s deception, which resulted in his guilty plea.”
Transformation Minister Andrew Western said Green’s deception was “a slap in the face to taxpayers and those who truly depend on PIP to live their lives”.
He added: “Helen Green wasn’t just burning calories in the gym, she was selling lies and our investigators caught her.
“Let this be a warning – you cannot beat the DWP.”
