Teen arrested on suspicion of fraudulently claiming Covid-19 payments
A man in his late teens has been arrested on suspicion of fraudulently claiming Covid-19 payments.
Gardaí said that the arrest was made by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB), with assistance from Gardaí on secondment at the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP).
In a statement, gardaí said that a search was carried out at a house in Mullingar, Co Westmeath today, on foot of intelligence received from DEASP in relation to these fraudulent payments.
Gardaí said: “The suspected offender was receiving six separate Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payments into a bank account, in what are believed to be bogus names.”
They added that during the course of the search operation, a sum of cash and counterfeit cash was seized.
The man was arrested at the scene and taken to Mullingar Garda Station where he is currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.
Gardaí said that investigations are continuing.
