Benefit cheats who tried to con council tax payers out of nearly £50,000 have had their comeuppance at the hands of the law.
In the last few weeks, Cornwall Council have prosecuted five residents, one of whom had committed housing benefit and council tax benefit fraud to the tune of more than £17,000.
The news comes as it was revealed that in the last financial year, the authority mounted 123 prosecutions, identifying £2.1 million of wrongly claimed housing and council tax benefit.
A spokesman for the council's benefit fraud team said the work would continue on behalf of all council tax payers and legitimate claimants.
"Fraud poses a significant problem to public and private organisations," he said.
"To individuals and to the country as a whole. It is estimated that each year £73 billion is lost to fraud, which means approximately £1,460 for every adult in the country, of which the losses incurred by local government exceed £2.2 billion a year."
The spokesman said all councils had a statutory responsibility to protect public funds and Cornwall Council took this duty "extremely seriously".
"The main focus is to prevent fraud entering the benefit system, investigate and detect fraud already within the system, deter individuals from committing fraud and to prosecute offenders.
"Offenders who are taken to court and found guilty will also have the burden of a criminal record."
According to information provided by the benefits fraud team, in total 284 sanctions were administered split into 112 formal cautions, 49 administrative penalties and 123 prosecutions.
One case alone amounted to a fraud of almost £38,000.
In the latest raft of prosecutions to be taken to court, a man from Penzance was fined £385 for a housing benefit and council tax benefit fraud totalling £11,520.
Gary Gwennap, 43, of High Street, admitted the two counts of benefit fraud and failing to promptly report that he was in paid employment when he appeared before magistrates at Truro. He was also ordered to pay £1,000 towards the council's investigation and legal costs.
A woman from Helston has received a 12-month Community Order of 120 hours unpaid work for a housing benefit and council tax benefit fraud totalling £17,073.
Vanessa Slater, 57, of Meneage Parc, pleaded guilty at Truro Magistrates Court to two counts of benefit fraud of failing to promptly report to Cornwall Council that she was in receipt of increased earnings.
Ms Slater was also ordered to pay £728 towards the council's investigation and legal costs.
A spokesman for Cornwall Council said the overpaid benefits were being recovered in a separate court action.