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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Benefit fraud pair sent to jail | Benefit fraud pair sent to jail |
| (5 days later) | |
| A couple who sailed part way around the world on a £100,000 yacht while claiming benefits have been jailed. | |
| Shashi Bacheta, 52, was sentenced to 21 months at Swansea Crown Court, while Jeffrey Cole received nine months. | Shashi Bacheta, 52, was sentenced to 21 months at Swansea Crown Court, while Jeffrey Cole received nine months. |
| Bacheta, of Swansea, admitted 16 counts relating to benefit and Cole, 58, admitted four charges which were together worth about £43,000. | |
| It was found, despite claims Bacheta struggled to get out of bed because of an illness, that she went scuba diving. | It was found, despite claims Bacheta struggled to get out of bed because of an illness, that she went scuba diving. |
| Swansea Crown Court heard that at various times between October 2002 and January 2008 she claimed housing benefit, council tax relief, income support and disability living allowances. | Swansea Crown Court heard that at various times between October 2002 and January 2008 she claimed housing benefit, council tax relief, income support and disability living allowances. |
| She claimed to be unemployed and failed to declare she was living with Cole at his home in the Sketty area of Swansea or declare any of his assets. | She claimed to be unemployed and failed to declare she was living with Cole at his home in the Sketty area of Swansea or declare any of his assets. |
| You were guilty of a set of cynical offences of defrauding the benefit system Judge Huw Davies | You were guilty of a set of cynical offences of defrauding the benefit system Judge Huw Davies |
| These included his yacht Kismet. | These included his yacht Kismet. |
| The court heard that mother-of-two Bacheta was paid disability living allowance, council tax benefit and housing benefit while cruising around the Canary Islands on the Kismet. | The court heard that mother-of-two Bacheta was paid disability living allowance, council tax benefit and housing benefit while cruising around the Canary Islands on the Kismet. |
| Cole pleaded guilty to four offences of obtaining wrongful credits and false accounting. | Cole pleaded guilty to four offences of obtaining wrongful credits and false accounting. |
| Judge Huw Davies told Bacheta: "You were in perfectly good health and took active holidays to travel so much of the world. | Judge Huw Davies told Bacheta: "You were in perfectly good health and took active holidays to travel so much of the world. |
| "You went on safari and sailing the seas in a private yacht. | "You went on safari and sailing the seas in a private yacht. |
| "You were guilty of a set of cynical offences of defrauding the benefit system. | "You were guilty of a set of cynical offences of defrauding the benefit system. |
| "You started off making applications for housing and council tax benefit. You went on to make application for any benefit you considered it possible to make. | "You started off making applications for housing and council tax benefit. You went on to make application for any benefit you considered it possible to make. |
| "There was a degree of sophistication in what you did. You sought to get round the checks as a challenge to your ingenuity." | "There was a degree of sophistication in what you did. You sought to get round the checks as a challenge to your ingenuity." |
| Gran Canaria | Gran Canaria |
| The judge said the pair had been living together for five years and "taking holidays in some considerable style". | The judge said the pair had been living together for five years and "taking holidays in some considerable style". |
| He told Cole: "You bought a yacht for £100,000 having sold some of your properties. You set off to enjoy your personal wealth and money extracted from public funds." | |
| Swansea Crown Court heard the couple were caught after posing for photographs while their yacht was moored in Gran Canaria. | Swansea Crown Court heard the couple were caught after posing for photographs while their yacht was moored in Gran Canaria. |
| Two retired police officers, enjoying a similar around-the-world adventure, snapped the couple before posting the pictures on their blog. | Two retired police officers, enjoying a similar around-the-world adventure, snapped the couple before posting the pictures on their blog. |
| Fraud investigators, who had become suspicious of the pair, discovered the blog while searching on the internet for the Kismet. | Fraud investigators, who had become suspicious of the pair, discovered the blog while searching on the internet for the Kismet. |
| At an earlier hearing, the court was told that Cole pretended to be her landlord when they were in fact living together. | At an earlier hearing, the court was told that Cole pretended to be her landlord when they were in fact living together. |
| Ian Wright, for Bacheta, said she had "acted out of greed" after getting divorced from her husband of 20 years. | Ian Wright, for Bacheta, said she had "acted out of greed" after getting divorced from her husband of 20 years. |
| Cole was working as a post master in Clase, Swansea, and Bacheta managed the newsagent side of the business. | Cole was working as a post master in Clase, Swansea, and Bacheta managed the newsagent side of the business. |
| Francis Jones, for Cole, said: "He is the process of selling the yacht." | Francis Jones, for Cole, said: "He is the process of selling the yacht." |