Mother 'killed off' father and claimed lover was brother to pocket £100k in benefits fraud

Wendy Robinson told officials in 1998 that the girls' father, David Spite, was dead leaving her to bring up her two girls – now in their 20s – alone.

The 51-year-old fraudster wove a complicated web of lies to cover up the racket while alleging she was single and claiming income support and council tax relief.

But her lorry driver lover was alive and well and had changed his name to that of her brother – David Robinson – so that the couple could live together with the children as 'brother and sister.'

Robinson left rented accommodation in Pool Crescent, Coseley, in December 2000 claiming she would be living with another of her brothers – John, who knew nothing of the scam – at the home of their late parents in Southall Crescent, Coseley.

In reality she and her partner had bought a house of their own in Hayes Street, West Bromwich on December 15, 2000. Both were on the deeds to the house.

Later she told the authorities she was having to move out of Southall Crescent because John had brought over a Russian bride and did not want her to remain there.

She told benefit officials she was now living at the home of another brother – David Robinson – in Meldon Drive because he had moved to Canada.

He had never lived at that address in Bilston, had not gone to abroad, had a home elsewhere in the West Midlands and knew nothing of her lies.

Really Robinson and her partner had sold their Hayes Street property for £78,000 and purchased a £93,000 house in Meldon Drive while she continued to claim benefits as a single mother.

But the fraud began to unravel in 2013 when a query over her claims for council tax benefit at Southall Crescent revealed she had bought Meldon Drive.

This sparked a wider investigation by The Department for Work and Pensions which uncovered the truth of the remarkable fraud and brought Robinson to justice.

It revealed that her 'brother' David Robinson was in reality David Spite, the man named on the birth certificate as the father of their youngest daughter. The father of the older girl is not identified on her birth certificate.

Her partner regularly referred to Wendy Robinson as his wife and partner in correspondence with employers and the pair were further linked through financial transactions. The mortgage was in joint names. They also took holidays together both overseas and in the UK.

The couple were secretly filmed shopping together for almost an hour at a Tesco supermarket in January 2014 – long after her 'brother' David Robinson had supposedly moved to Canada.

Inquires also revealed that Robinson enjoyed regular work-outs in the Wolverhampton Leisure Centre gym in Bath Avenue while picking up Disability Benefits after claiming to be wheelchair-bound and barely able to walk.

When investigators swooped on their home to detain her in May 2014 it had none of the adaptations – such as handrails and a walk-in shower – supposedly installed because of her alleged difficulty in movement. Robinson and her partner have since sold the Meldon Drive address but the money was frozen by DWP investigators before it could be squirrelled away.

Robinson, now living in Goole, East Yorkshire yesterday pleaded guilty at Wolverhampton Crown Court to cheating the public Revenue out of at least £79,896 in income support and employment support between December 15, 2000 and May 23, 2014 by failing to reveal she was living together with her partner David Robinson.

She further admitted dishonest representation for obtaining council tax in housing and council tax benefit by, on or about March 20 2011, failing to disclose she had a partner, David Robinson, with whom she was living as husband and wife. Finally she pleaded guilty to cheating the public Revenue out of at least £16,686 between March 21, 2012 and August 12, 2014 by failing to reveal her capabilities had improved.

Mr Trevor Meegan, prosecuting, told the court: "Under any assessment the defendant has medical issues and illness and has been in receipt of benefit for over 20 years. This case revolves around her living together with her partner and the question of whether she had the capacity to work. It reflects the dates after she joined the gym."

Mr Stephen Hamblett, defending, conceded: "There has been a relationship. They are linked through correspondence. It is all there within the documents. It cannot be argued."

It was also revealed that Robinson had made a claim for damages after alleging she had fallen off a piece of equipment at the gym which was later withdrawn when it was discovered that she had not been on the premises on the day she claimed.

Robinson was remanded on bail for reports until May 20.