SHEFFIELD PARENTS JAILED FOR BENEFITS SCAM INVOLVING FORCED CHILD ROLES
A mum and dad forced their children to wet themselves and pretend they couldn’t speak as part of their £57,000 benefits scam.Edward Gajdos and Maria Horvothova, from Sheffield, encouraged their children to act up and behave in bizarre ways to claim money they were not entitled to.
Their scheme started when Gajdos, 37, met a man who claimed he could help them persuade their GP and the Department for Work and Pensions that their children had behavioural problems.
This man charged them £50 for each application they made between 2014 and 2017.
The scam was uncovered when social services told South Yorkshire Police that the children had been instructed to act disruptive.
They had been claiming disability allowance and carers allowance for the children.
Prosecutor Katy Rafter told Sheffield Crown Court that one of their children had been told to wet herself between the ages of 10 and 13, and both parents falsely claimed her to have worn nappies and had to visit the bathroom every hour.
Gajdos and Horvothova, who is a former cinema cleaner, depicted their three other children as 'aggressive' and 'disruptive'; Ms.
Rafter added they also claimed that one child was unable to talk.
During court proceedings, the children were removed from their parents’ care and found to be 'quiet and polite.' They were returned to their parents after the case, with whom they still live.
The court was told that both Gajdos and Horvothova, who had a translator, admitted their guilt early and provided full confessions during police interviews.
It was revealed they had paid back only £338 of the money they owed to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Judge Michael Fanning told them they could go home with their children after sentencing, which included a 20-month prison sentence suspended for two years, and 150 hours of unpaid work.
They will also have the money owed to the DWP deducted from their legitimate benefits.
