Woman collected dead mother's pension for 12 years
A woman who collected her deceased mother pension for 12 years in a social welfare fraud amounting to over €90,000 has been given a suspended sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Susan Wallace (aged 49) of Thomond Road, Ballyfermot, pleaded guilty to sample charges from a total of 75 counts of fraudulently collecting the payments at Ballyfermot Post Office, Le Fanu Road on dates between 1993 and 2005.
Judge Martin Nolan said he could see no reason to imprison Wallace because she "obviously felt she needed the money and obviously wasn’t leading a high lifestyle." He sentenced her to two years, suspended for three years.
Garda Padraig O'Mara told Ms Karen O’Connor BL, prosecuting, that Wallace’s mother died in March 1993 but she continued to collect her mother’s pension every week for the next 12 years requiring more than 600 visits to the post office and amounting to €90,663.
Gda O'Mara said gardaí became aware of the fraud and on December 16, 2005 when Christmas bonus payments were due to be made and undercover gardaí observed Wallace go the cash desk and collect €206.
Wallace was arrested and admitted the fraud. She was shocked when gardaí told her she had collected over €80,000 and claimed greed was not the motivating factor. She said she knew what she was doing was criminal but said she "put it to the back of her head".
Gda O'Mara said Wallace, a mother of two sons, had come to an agreement with the Department of Social and Family Affairs to pay back €50 a week and had already made a down payment of €3,000.
