Cheats who 'spent years fiddling benefits'

Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr were benefit cheats who swindled the taxpayer for years, it was revealed today.

The couple conspired together to obtain housing, sickness and unemployment welfare payments. They were the subject of a detailed fraud investigation while awaiting trial in the Soham case and Carr, 26, admitted her involvement to police.

She was interviewed while on remand at Holloway prison after being charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and two counts of assisting an offender.

Police and the Crown Prosecution Service decided to postpone charging her with fraud and to let the matter rest until the end of the Old Bailey trial.

At the time police spoke to Carr her ex-lover Huntley, 29, was in Rampton high security hospital.

He could not be interviewed about the fraud because of his mental state.
The jury in the Soham trial was never told about the financial investigation into Huntley and Carr.

But during legal argument, while the jury was out of court, prosecution counsel Richard Latham QC revealed: "There was a fraud investigation based in Grimsby and Scunthorpe involving these two defendants.

"It related to an accusation of systematic fraud in relation to housing benefit, sickness benefit and, I think, unemployment benefit in which, it was clear from the documents, Mr Huntley was providing documentation for use by Miss Carr to claim benefits over a long period of time to which she was not entitled.

"It was investigated and Miss Carr has been interviewed about it and in the course of the interview made full and frank admissions about what she had done.

"As a result of Mr Huntley's condition he wasn't interviewed

"Those representing Miss Carr were informed that it was the intention of the prosecution to commence proceedings against her alleging a conspiracy to defraud.

"This was during the course of this year.

"The prosecution, however, informed the defence solicitors that should such a prosecution be instigated there was a real risk there would be some publicity that may have an adverse effect on this trial.

"Therefore, it was indicated she would not be charged and matters were held in abeyance until the end of the trial.

"It has an obvious reflection against Mr Huntley.

"For years she was conspiring with him to behave dishonestly week by week by week."