A “GREEDY” businessman who falsely claimed nearly £50,000 in benefits before selling up and fleeing to Spain has been spared jail.

Despite being a company director, owning a rental property and knowing his wife was in full time work, 60-year-old Nigel Prior claimed for employment support allowance and council tax benefit he was not entitled to.

Judge David Owen-Jones told Basildon Crown Court that Prior, now of Formentera Del Segura, in Alicante, had acted out of “sheer greed.”

Between January 10, 2011, and January 14, 2015, he illegally claimed £45,193 in employment support allowance and £4,236 in council tax benefit from Basildon Council.

Kate Davey, prosecuting, said: “He made a further claim for jobseeker’s allowance in March 2015 for himself and his partner and in respect of that application stated that they were not working.

“That claim was not awarded.

“There was information that he was dissipating his assets and moving them from the UK. A restraining order was obtained and his assets were frozen.”

The court heard Prior, who used to live in Needham Close, Billericay, was a director of wholesale drinks firm Crown City Ltd until June this year, and also made money from renting out property.

He admitted two counts of dishonesty when he appeared at Basildon Magistrates’ Court last month.

The court was told that Prior, who suffers from ill-health, flew back from his new home for the hearing.

Robert Colover, mitigating, said Prior has more than £200,00 in a frozen bank account, which can be used to pay back the money.

Judge David Owen-Jones said Prior was a “man who has done business” and knew what he was doing.

He said: “You did it because you were greedy, it’s as simple as that. It’s clear to me that over four years you embarked on a campaign of greed to defraud both the local council and the employment support people of a substantial sum of money.

“You blatantly lied in order to enrich yourself and you did so over a really long period of time.

“The courts take the view that defrauding the public purse is an extremely serious matter.

“There are people who deserve assistance from the state and by the greed that you have exhibited you have deprived people of that support.”

Prior was sentenced to eight months and four months respectively for each offence, suspended for two years.

A confiscation hearing will be held at a later date.