A banking troubleshooter has been prosecuted for fraudulently receiving benefits while being paid £500 a day in the City.
Adam Lancelot, 35, spent his earnings on a Mercedes convertible, a kitchen refurbishment, foreign holidays and restaurant meals.
But between spells working for major financial institutions such as Barclays Wealth he was also claiming council tax benefit.
However he also fraudulently received hundreds of pounds over a period when he had failed to tell the council that he was in employment.
Lancelot, of Edenbridge, Kent, admitted four charges in relation to the benefit fraud at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court earlier this week.
The court heard that he was a “troubleshooter” for banks, but that he had been unable to find work since August last year.
His solicitor Brian Ferris said he had “put his head in the sand” about the benefits he was receiving and that although he earned “a lot of money while working” he had endured long periods of unemployment due to the financial crisis.
Mr Ferris said: “He stuck his head in the sand and thought he could sort it out later – but it caught up with him. The banking industry has taken a huge knock and job losses have been in the tens of thousands.”
Mr Lancelot claimed that he told the benefit team at Sevenoaks District Council that he was in work at the relevant times, but the council said it had “no record” of it.
Mr Ferris said: “He admitted he only telephoned the council but says he wasn’t asked to tell them in writing.”
Mr Lancelot pleaded guilty to four charges of failing to tell the council of his employment between April 26 and May 31 last year, and again between June 6 and August 7.
The court heard Lancelot had repaid much of the money but would need to pay the rest from the benefits he is now legitimately receiving, at £10 a fortnight.
He was sentenced to 300 hours' community work and ordered to pay £500 towards prosecution costs.
On his LinkedIn page online, Mr Lancelot said that he had worked for institutions including Barclays Wealth, as a credit operations manager, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, as an operational risk manager.
A spokesman for Barclays Wealth said he had been temporarily employed through a recruitment agency last year.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch did not return messages left with its corporate communications office.
Mr Lancelot disputed the amount of benefit claims involved in the court case, reportedly £2,000, saying it was just over £332, and said he had paid it back within a week.
He said he had called Sevenoaks District Council four times to stop his benefit but they had not done so. He said he had been advised to plead guilty by his solicitor but now wishes he had not done so.
Mr Lancelot said his earnings of between £400 and £600 per day were higher than the average salary but not high in comparison to City pay packets.
Asked how he had spent the money he said: “Nice restaurants, going on holidays, it all adds up. If you earn it, you might as well spend it.” He also said he had the kitchen of his home refurbished. He said he received council tax benefit of £67 a week.
Mr Lancelot, who lives in a £200,000 house he says he inherited, said that since being unemployed he had been doing voluntary work for charities.
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