A couple who claimed £10,000 in benefits by pretending they lived separately were caught out after appearing on Wife Swap.

17th June 2010
A couple who claimed £10,000 in benefits by pretending they lived separately were caught out after appearing on Wife Swap.
For almost 18 months, Kelly Jones was claiming benefits as a single parent without income while living with her partner, Stephen Jones, who works as a bus driver.
She was paid thousands in housing benefits, income support and council tax help but then appeared on the Channel 4 reality show.

Swindle: Kelly Jones, then Moyston, said she was a 'housewife' to Steven Jones on the reality show Wife Swap - but was claiming benefits as a single mother
After the programme, where two women spend a fortnight living with each other's husband or partner and family, Mrs Jones appeared in a magazine interview to defend feeding her daughter junk food.
In the article, she described herself as a 'housewife' to Steven Jones. The episode, in which she was described as 'a self-confessed lazy mum' prompted dozens of complaints to Ofcom.

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Mrs Jones, 23, was described as 'quite naive and gullible' as she appeared at Bristol Magistrates' Court.

Partner: Steven Jones, a bus driver, also appeared on the reality show and has pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting
The court heard that the couple, who married in April, were discovered when the city council was tipped off after they appeared in June last year on the reality show.
She was overpaid £4,976 in housing benefits, £3,614 in income support and received an £1,171 discount on her council tax bill, the court heard.
Mrs Jones admitted failing to notify the council that her partner had moved in and declaring on her benefit application that she lived alone.
She also admitted failing to tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that her partner was living with her or that he received £30,625 when his house was repossessed.
Her husband, 40, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting his wife.
The couple, who live in Fishponds, Bristol, have two daughters aged three and 11 months.
They were paid £1,000 to appear on the Channel 4 show, which was filmed in October 2008.
Jones, whose maiden name is Moyston, began living with her husband in July 2008 in a flat in Fishponds after the repossession of Steven Jones' home, the court heard.
When council officers interviewed them starting in August 2009, they fully admitted what they had done.
Lynne Harvey, prosecuting, said: 'Mrs Jones said she had not declared him at the address because his wages were too low to pay their rent and live. She panicked at the thought of losing their home.
'She said she knew once the TV programme was aired she would be caught.'
Ruth Tiley, defending, described her client as a 'quite naive and gullible young woman'.
She told the court that Mrs Jones had suffered with post-natal depression.
The pair were released on bail for pre-sentence reports to be completed, but the chairman of the magistrates told them he was not ruling out a prison sentence.Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1287318/Couple-living-claiming-singles-benefits-caught-appear-WIFE-SWAP.html#ixzz0r75E1ne8