Brothers attempt to cheat paternity test but get caught out by results

A father tried to get out of child maintenance payments by asking his brother to take a paternity test on his behalf, a court heard.

Christian Robinson had requested a DNA test after he was named as a baby’s father in an application for child maintenance. But instead of taking the test himself, he asked his brother, Samuel Robinson, to stand in for him, thinking the results would show he wasn’t the biological father.

However, the decision saw both brothers end up in court, charged with committing fraud by false representation.

The brothers’ actions were uncovered when the DNA test results showed that while the man who had provided a sample was not the baby’s father, he was still genetically related to the child. This caused the mother to question the results and when she was shown a photograph of the man who took the test, she described him as a “young version” of her ex.

Leicester Crown Court heard that Samuel, who was 17 at the time, went along to a doctor’s surgery to take the test, claiming to be his brother. The pair, who pleaded guilty to their charges, had believed the paternity test would come back negative and Christian would not have to take financial responsibility for his child.

However, as the two men were brothers, the laboratory analysing the samples concluded that there was a biological relationship between the child and the person who had provided the DNA for testing.

Mother had applied for child maintenance after baby’s birth

Priya Bakshi, prosecuting, told the court that Christian had split up with the baby’s mother shortly before the child was born. The following month, the mother named him as the father on forms applying for child maintenance payments.

She added that if the deception had not been uncovered, Christian could have potentially avoided paying more than £60,000 in child support. The court heard that although Christian is in receipt of benefits, he is now making a financial contribution towards his child.

Judge Timothy Spencer QC said Christian’s attempts to cheat the child maintenance system were “deeply shameful”.

Christian was given a 15-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, while Samuel received a six-month conditional discharge.

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