The criminal hijacked 68 identities in order to fund his gambling habits.
The 37-year-old admitted three charges (Image: Getty)
A serial benefits fraudster who hijacked 68 different identities to claim almost £170,000 has been jailed. James Stephen Barley submitted 157 fake claims over a period of two and a half years using personal information he found on social media, Carlisle Crown Court heard. The 37-year-old used the money to fund his gambling habits. At an earlier hearing, Barley admitted charges of fraud by false representation, making articles for fraud and possessing criminal property.
The articles he was charged with are the documents which he used to fraudulently claim the money, and the criminal property charges refer to the staggering £169,045 he scammed in emergency Universal Credit payments. Barley claimed this amount between December 2018 and March 2021.
James Stephen Barley was arrested on February 8 last year (Image: Getty)
From the moment he was caught, the fraudster cooperated fully with the investigation, telling the investigators who initially approached him: “Whatever you think I’ve done, I admit it.”
Barley told the authorities that he had been exploiting the benefits system for a prolonged period to fraudulently claim emergency payments.
The criminal used 68 hijacked identities to make the claims, saying he could “talk his way out of a plastic bag” when asked how he got around, not knowing the National Insurance numbers of those he scammed.
He used a nearby library to print off fake documents to support his claims, which included doctored tenancy agreements. Barley knew some of the people he posed as, including former school friends, local residents and his brother.
Barley was arrested on February 8 last year after one person, whose identity he had stolen, complained to the Department for Work and Pensions about a change to his benefit status.
In court, he turned up unrepresented and addressed the judge himself. Barley apologised for his criminal actions and explained there were two sides to him – one being a hard-working man and the other, a gambling addict.
Barley received a jail sentence of two and a half years.
He told Judge Michael Fanning: “I have a severe gambling addiction. It’s ruined my life. I need closure from this. I can’t sleep, I can’t think straight.
“My head is an absolute car crash. This has to come off my back today so that I can start my life again.
“I have a good job, two dogs I adore, and I want to start my life again.”
He added: “Whatever punishment is coming my way, I’ll take it.
“What I’ve done is wrong and I hate myself for it. Addiction is a killer. I lost everything. The people I defrauded – a lot of them were very good friends, even my brother.”
