Overview

• Between 2019 and 2023 the Forsythes lived together in Blackpool while each claiming single-parent Universal Credit, wrongfully obtaining over £50,000.
• A DWP investigation triggered by holiday photos on social media led to bank statement and credit checks and interviews in June 2023 that exposed the fraud.
• Alan Forsythe improperly claimed £3,182.27 and Jemma Forsythe £49,007.91, with Mrs Forsythe also holding a 2014 conviction for failing to report a change in circumstances.
• At Preston Crown Court Alan received a 15-week prison term to run consecutively with an existing sentence, and Jemma was handed a 21-month suspended sentence with a 9pm–7am curfew and 10 days of rehabilitation activity requirements.
• The court weighed the rights and welfare of their children in calibrating the sentences, and Jemma has since separated from Alan and filed for divorce.