Man who claimed for 36 kids is jailed

A father-of-two who fraudulently claimed almost £80,000 in benefits for 36 children has been jailed. Irvin Fraser, 30, claimed child tax credits over three years from two addresses in Aberdeen.

Fraser induced HM Revenue to make payments totalling £79,718. He was jailed for 13 months at Aberdeen Sheriff Court. Sheriff Alexander Jessop said it was a "whacking" amount to be paid, and expressed surprise it was not detected.

Fraser admitted making fraudulent claims from Tullos Circle and Abbey Road between November 2003, and June 2006.

Fraser explained: "I was claiming child tax credit for my son and just added another name by chance. They never asked for any documents. It went on for two years and I got away with it. I couldn't understand why they did not pick up on it. How could someone claim to have so many children but not be old enough to have them?"

He said: "I wanted to stop but it just snowballed and spiralled out of control. I withdrew my last claim but they still paid £4,000 into the bank account. I stupidly spent it, and that's when I got caught."