A father and daughter who committed benefit fraud have been sentenced by magistrates.

Rachel Jayne Hay was handed a suspended sentence while her father William Peter Hay was fined £800.

Ms Hay, who is 48, was overpaid thousands in benefits which she claimed despite living in Manchester, having asked her 72-year-old father to sign forms on the island for her.

She pleaded guilty to five counts of benefit fraud while he admitted three counts of the offence, as well as one of supplying articles for use in fraud.

We previously reported that Rachel Hay was receiving income support benefit from May 2017, on the basis of being a single mother. Her address was given as Urley Path in Douglas.

However, in December 2021, information was received suggesting that she was living in the UK with a partner.

On December 15, Department of Health and Social Care representatives visited Hay’s address and were told by her daughter that her mother was living in the UK, and that she treated her Isle of Man address as a holiday home.

Forms submitted by Hay were examined further and ones which had been submitted later appeared to have a different signature.

Access was gained to her Barclays bank account and it showed that the majority of her spending in the last 12 months had been in the UK.

Hay attended an interview with the DHSC and continued to claim that there had been no change in her circumstances.

When asked about an address in Gorton in Manchester, she said that her partner lived there, and that she would sometimes stay there for 10 to 14 days at a time.

Hay said that she had stayed a little longer on her last visit there.

When quizzed about her bank statements, Hay initially said she came back to the island often, but then conceded that she had not returned very much in the last year.

Hay then admitted that her father had been signing and submitted forms for her fraudulently.

William Hay, who lives at Heather Crescent in Pulrose, was interviewed and admitted he had completed and signed five documents in total while his daughter was off the island.

Asked why, he said: ‘She had told me to and I was helping my daughter out.’

Prosecuting advocate Chrissie Hunt said that the prosecution alleged that £14,750 had been overpaid but Hay had only accepted that it was £11,921.

However, Ms Hunt said that this would not make a material different to her sentence.

The court heard that Rachel Hay has begun paying the money back under an agreement with Treasury at a rate of £20 per week, deducted from benefits.

Both parties have no previous convictions.

Defence advocate Matthew Wilshaw, representing Rachel Hay, referred to a probation report, which said that it was not a case of his client leaving the island and not returning, as she had been present here for nearly eight weeks between January and March 2021.

‘This was not to fund a luxurious lifestyle,’ said the advocate.

‘Travel from and to the island was as a foot passenger on the ferry, the most cost-effective and slowest way. She wasn’t booking last-minute flights at £400 a pop to visit her boyfriend.

‘Ms Hay was still paying rent, gas and electric, even though she was residing in England for a period of time.’

Mr Wilshaw went on to say that Hay would lose her Douglas Council property if sent to custody and had had mental health issues.

Advocate Paul Rodgers represented William Hay and said: ‘This wasn’t sophisticated, he simply wrote his daughter’s name in his own writing. He wasn’t benefiting financially.’

Mr Rodgers said that his client had served in the Royal Navy for a number of years and then worked for Manx Gas.

Magistrates sentenced Rachel Hay to eight months in custody, suspended for 18 months.

Both parties were also ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs.