A MAN has appeared in court charged with illegally claiming more than £5,000 in benefits.
Alan Burgess, aged 61, pleaded not guilty to three counts of fraud by dishonestly claiming housing and council tax benefitwhen he appeared at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
It is alleged that Burgess, of Osbourne Terrace, London Road, Thrupp failed to notify Stroud District Council that he was working, which he knew would affect his entitlement to housing benefit and council tax benefit, between March and October 2010.
It is also claimed that Burgess failed to notify SDC that between August 2011 and January 2013 he was receiving an occupational pension and that between October 2010 and April 2011 he failed to notify the council that he was receiving jobseekers allowance.
The total value of the alleged claims is said to be £5,049.Burgess was granted unconditional bail pending a trial which starts at 2pm on Friday, January 17 at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court.
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