Married Couple Sentenced for £50K Benefits Fraud After Holiday Photos Expose Scheme

Alan Forsythe and his wife Jemma Forsythe (now using her maiden name O'Malley) were caught defrauding the UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of over £50,000 by falsely claiming to be single parents while living together with their children in Blackpool between 2019 and 2023. They each claimed Universal Credit separately, asserting they lived apart, with Alan claiming to be a single father and Jemma claiming to be a single parent, failing to disclose their cohabitation and Alan's full-time employment. Their deceit was uncovered after the DWP launched an investigation triggered by the couple's own social media holiday photos that clearly showed them as a married couple. Despite initially denying living together during interviews at the Jobcentre, both eventually admitted to the fraud and pled guilty in Preston Crown Court. Alan, already serving a prison sentence for a violent crime, received an additional 15 weeks, while Jemma was given a suspended sentence to avoid impacting her four children. Both had signed declarations affirming the truthfulness of their claims and acknowledging their obligation to report changes in circumstance, with Jemma having a prior conviction for failing to notify the DWP of such changes.