CHELMSFORD, June 26 — A 45-year-old mother of three who cheated the benefits system out of more than £120,000 smiled as she walked free from court, despite a judge telling her she came perilously close to a prison sentence. Casey Webb, of Braintree Road in Terling, admitted falsely claiming Housing Benefit and Universal Credit over a period spanning more than 13 years. The Department for Work and Pensions investigation found she had submitted counterfeit tenancy agreements and fabricated rent receipts to support her claims.
The fraud ran from November 2011 until March 2025. In that time, Webb received £108,937 in Housing Benefit and a further £11,238 in Universal Credit — a combined total of £120,175.
Investigators found no evidence she ever paid rent. The landlord confirmed the documents were forged, according to court testimony. Recorder Edward Renvoize, passing sentence, told Webb she “may not realise just how close” she came to being sent to prison.
He described the offending as “serious, sustained and pre-meditated.” Yet the defendant smirked as she avoided immediate custody. Webb told the court the money went toward a “slightly better standard of living” for her children.
Her barrister, Dingle Clark, said the funds were not spent on luxury items but on everyday treats for her family. “It’s always rather sad when someone aged 45 who has otherwise led a blameless life appears in the crown court for a serious matter,” Clark said. “She has never had anything as serious as a parking ticket or road traffic matter before.
Yet now she faces this serious matter.” The defence barrister added: “She accepts that she was not entitled to the benefit but it’s not one of those cases where there are cars or holidays or fine clothes. It’s quite clear that she did not lead a luxurious lifestyle of any type. The money was mainly used to raise her children.
She treated them perhaps to one too many cinema visits or takeaways, but miles away from the deliberate scheming to obtain benefits.” The case raises uncomfortable questions about how such a sustained fraud went undetected for more than 13 years. The DWP’s investigative unit eventually uncovered the scheme, but the length of time it continued will likely prompt scrutiny of the agency’s oversight mechanisms.
For now, Webb has avoided prison. But the judge’s warning was clear: she came within a hair’s breadth of a custodial sentence. The smirk in the courtroom may fade as she contemplates how close she came to losing her freedom.
The public, meanwhile, may wonder how taxpayer money meant for those in genuine need ended up funding cinema tickets and takeaways for more than a decade before anyone noticed.
