Courts / Wicklow / Report
Senior insurance official is jailed over €220k fraud after DPP appeal
Summary
Naila Zaffer, a 38‑year‑old former senior claims official at IPB Insurance, was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment after a Court of Appeal found her earlier two‑and‑a‑half‑year suspended sentence too lenient. Between April 2007 and August 2012, Zaffer defrauded her employer of €220,000 by forging insurance claims, adding an extra claim to policies paid out by IPB. She had pleaded guilty to ten counts of using a false instrument, theft and attempted theft. The original Circuit Court judge noted the money was not recovered and questioned the need for imprisonment. The appellate court, led by Mr Justice Alan Mahon, upheld the headline sentence but suspended all but eight months, citing her cooperation, guilty plea, remorse, lack of prior convictions, psychological vulnerability and efforts to address addiction. She was required to enter a good‑behaviour bond for the suspended period.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Senior insurance official is jailed over €220k fraud after DPP appeal. Charges or matters: ten sample counts of using a false instrument, theft and attempted theft from IPB Insurance on dates between April 2007 and August 2012. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- April 2007 Hearing Or Sentence
- August 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
- May 11, 2015 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2017-01-17 Publication
Case subjects
Applicant
Outcome: She was give a wholly suspended two-and-a-half year sentence by Judge Terence O'Sullivan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on May 11, 2015.
Appellant
Charges: ten sample counts of using a false instrument, theft and attempted theft from IPB Insurance on dates between April 2007 and August 2012 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: She was give a wholly suspended two-and-a-half year sentence by Judge Terence O'Sullivan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on May 11, 2015. In October, the Court of Appeal found Zaffer's sentence to be "unduly lenient" on foot of an application for a review of sentence by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Places mentioned
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- Court of Appeal
- The Circuit Court
Topics
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