Convicted dinner lady Julie Okesola ‘dumped from work’

Published: 01 July, 2010
by CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS

A DINNER lady who worked at Holborn police station for almost five years said she pleaded guilty to fraud recently because she was “confused”.

Julie Okesola, 44, of Wren Street in King’s Cross, admitted claiming thousands of pounds in benefits she was not entitled to when she appeared at Blackfriars Crown Court on June 16. She told the New Journal she had been suspended from work since her arrest last year and had hoped to return to her job, but was sacked just a few weeks before her court appearance.

She said: “I didn’t think I committed a crime. I was just confused – there was a jury and everything.”

Explaining how she came to claim nearly £9,000 in housing benefit and tax breaks over four years, she said she went from working four hours a day at court to working full time at the police station. “I didn’t read the form. I just signed it and sent it off,” she said, insisting she had never intended to be dishonest. 

She was given a 12-month community order and ordered to pay the money back. She will have to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.  

Ms Okesola said the judge had indicated that she should keep her job to help pay back the money she owed. She had been backed by colleagues at the police station who provided character references.

“Now I’ve been dumped from work, how will I pay the money back?” she asked. “Now I’m not working I’m claiming benefits.” A council spokesman said: “We share data with partner organisations, so discrepancies in information provided will be detected.”