A Coventry woman has been jailed after fraudulently claiming over £17,000 in financial support to care for her mother up to two years after she had died.
Agnieszka Macugowska, aged 45, was jailed for a total of 31 months when she appeared at the Crown Court sitting at Warwick.
The court heard that her mother had a care plan with Coventry City Council that started in 2015.
She received a cash payment to cover support for 15 hours and 45 minutes a week, which she managed with support from her daughter. The payment started at £184.28 per week which in April 2019 was raised to £191.36 per week.
In 2020, when the Council failed to receive information so it could continue to monitor payments, Agnieszka Macugowska told them her mother still lived in Coventry, but had changed doctors and travelled abroad for medical treatment.
She then provided information to the Council to support the use of the direct payment, including timesheets completed by her mother’s carer and her insurance certificate.
The Council then carried out a home visit in late 2020 where they met Agnieszka Macugowska, along with a woman introduced as her mother and a woman presented as her carer.
However, following further inquiries, the Council found the mother had, in fact, died in November 2018 whilst abroad.
In welcoming the sentence, Cllr Abdul Salam Khan, Deputy Leader of Coventry City Council, and Cabinet Member for Policing and Equalities, said:
“There are so many people in our city who are going through tough times caring for loved ones, and that brings an incredible emotional and financial strain.
“The Council works with relatives to give the support they need, but sadly there are some unscrupulous people who think they can exploit the system and secure financial gain for themselves. This does not just come at the expense of the Council, but also for others struggling to make ends meet.
“It is well known that Coventry, like all local authorities, is facing severe pressure on its budget, and a lot of that is because of the increasing costs in caring for adults and children and supporting the most vulnerable in our community.
“It is a responsibility we take very seriously and we work hard to help as many as we can, and we will not stand by and let the system be exploited. As in this case, we will investigate and ensure those who steal from others are prosecuted.
“We welcome the finding of this case and the sentence imposed. Hopefully it will serve to show others the severe consequences they face if they break the law.”
The falsely claimed sum of more than £17,000 has successfully been recovered by the Council.