A benefit cheat who claimed thousands of pounds while living in Spain has been warned she could be jailed.

Georgia Parsons, 41, pocketed more than £17,700 she was not entitled to in housing benefit and council tax benefit from Brighton and Hove City Council.

She let out her rented flat in Courtlands, Ashton Rise, Brighton, to Polish tenants and at one time increased the rent after telling them she had just bought the property and needed the extra cash.

Parsons started claiming for the flat in 2005 but council investigators believe she had been living in Spain since 2006.

She later told them she had been staying in a commune in Beneficio, Orgiva.

Her scam was discovered after her own landlord’s agent visited the flat and found her tenants living there. They told her they believed Parsons owned the flat.

Parsons appeared at Lewes Crown Court just hours after the Government launched a new hotline calling on people to shop claimants who live abroad while claiming benefit.

It is estimated that the cheats claim £63million a year while sunning themselves around the world, but most of the cash is believed to go to claimants living in Spain.

Parsons, a single mother, received £170 a week rent plus £17 a week council tax benefit while her tenants paid her £600 a month rent, as well as a £600 deposit. She later raised the rent to £675.

She had been claiming housing benefit since 2002 at various addresses in the city and informed the council she worked 17 hours a week as a freelance drama therapist and earned about £30 to £40 a week.

When council investigators checked Parson’s bank accounts they found she had started making many payments in Spain around January 2006, including a vet’s bill.

Parsons, who now lives in North Road, Preston Village, Brighton, admitted three charges of benefit fraud between October 2006 and June 2008.

She was bailed until May 22 when she will be sentenced.

via Brighton benefits cheat claimed £17k while living in Spain (From The Argus).