Ex-Highland councillor to repay £34k over fraud

JOHN Holden, the former Highland councillor jailed for benefit fraud, has been ordered to repay over £34,000.

Holden claimed the money from Highland Council and the DWP. Picture: TSPL

Holden was jailed for a year in 2011 after being found guilty of falsely claiming £43,000 in benefits.

The 65-year-old, who had represented Inverness South for Labour, has repaid money he falsely claimed from Highland Council and the Department of Work and Pensions.

The £34,082.78 involves income support.

Lindsey Miller, Head of the Serious and Organised Crime Division (SOCD), said: “John Holden deliberately stole over £43,000 from the public purse, over a period of almost ten years.

“While he has made some efforts to repay what he took, today, after being brought to justice for his crime, he has been ordered to repay the entirety of the balance of his illegitimate income.

“The money confiscated from him will be added to the more than £80 million already gathered from Proceeds of Crime, to be reinvested into the community through the CashBack for Communities programme.”