A HEALTHCARE assistant tried to defraud almost £30,000 in income tax payments by submitting false returns.

Daniela Gyorgy, 42, of Haywards Heath, claimed in court that she thought she was applying for a loan when she submitted three false returns online and made 19 false amendments to them.

But she was found guilty of fraud at Crawley Magistrates’ court on September 20 and has been sent to prison for six months suspended for two years.

Gyorgy received £24,904 of illicit tax refunds, while a further £4,990 payment was withheld by HMRC as investigations took place.

The offences took place between February 2014 and October 2015

Anthony Swarbrick, assistant director of the HMRC Fraud Investigation Service, said:

“Gyorgy stole from public services and would have continued her fraud had HMRC not stopped her through our taskforce investigations.

"Our message is clear – if you steal from the public purse, we will investigate."

The tax fraud hotline can be reached on 0800 59 5000.