Unbelievable: This Man Pretended To Be Paralyzed For 15 Years Just To Claim Benefits (Photo)

Brian Matthews

 

Brian Matthews, a 51-year-old man has admitted claiming benefits by pretending that he is quadriplegic.

According to a report by Metro UK, the man admitted that he said he could not use his arms and legs to claim £250,000 in handouts and charges relating to another £250,000 were left on file.He carried out his scam over a 15-year period but he was seen walking and pushing his wife around in a wheelchair.

 

Matthews arrived in at Truro Crown Court on a mobility scooter carrying two crutches where he admitted six counts of making a false representation and two counts of fraud.

 

But he denied several other offences that were left on file. Sentencing has now been adjourned so that a full medical examination can be carried out to see how disabled he is.

 

However, he was warned by judge Robert Linford that it was highly likely that he would likely serve time.

 

He said: ‘The overwhelming likelihood is that you will receive a lengthy jail sentence.’

 

Describing him as ‘incredibly manipulative, prosecutor Jo Martin said: ‘Mr Matthews maintained for a long time that he was quadriplegic.

 

‘Over that time he was able to convince doctors and they did not properly test him because of trust. In recent years evidence that Mr Matthews was capable of walking has emerged. In 2012 he was seen walking around Penzance without any problems at all.

 

‘In 2017 he has taken his wife Theresa into her doctors, her being pushed in a wheelchair with Mr Matthews being the one pushing her in.’

 

Ms Martin said on other occasion Matthews was visited by police and his mobility car was parked half a mile from his home and he didn’t have any walking aids with him.

 

She said this was further evidence he was not a quadriplegic as he had claimed.

 

Defending Matthews, Jim Tilbury said: ‘Mr Matthews accepts that he is not quadriplegic. 

 

‘He presently understands it that he is unable to stand without aids, he accepts that hasn’t always been the case.’

 

Speaking after the hearing, Dave Morris of the Department for Work and Pensions, said: ‘It is a good result. Benefit relief should go to those people that need them.

 

‘The total cost to the public purse is £509,000, the indictment today carried a number of offences. ‘He didn’t plead guilty to all of them, there is £245,000 that he has pleaded guilty to, the rest of the offences are lying on file.

 

‘When people claim benefits on the grounds of ill health or disability they provide evidence.

 

‘When obtaining records from their GP the doctor or medical professional takes the patients description of disabilities on trust.

 

‘They rely on what they say being the truth. In this case that was not the case.

 

‘There were documents provided that were false and some were provided by medical professionals where no examination was made of the patient.’

 

He will be sentenced on April 13 and was released on bail.