Courts / Dublin / Report
Ghanaian man jailed for €60k social welfare fraud
Summary
Samuel Peprah, a 42‑year‑old Ghanaian‑born man living in Clondalkin, was sentenced to two years in prison for fraudulently claiming more than €60,000 in social welfare payments between October 2013 and November 2016. While employed full‑time in the kitchens of the Merrion Hotel, Peprah used his own name to claim Rent Allowance, Jobseekers' Allowance and Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance, and also claimed under an assumed name. He pleaded guilty to 22 counts of fraud. The State suffered a loss of €63,218. Peprah admitted that he had used his brother Ebenezer Amedayaw's Belgian identity to facilitate the fraud, offering his brother up to €200 a month for the use of his identity. He has repaid about €1,500 and is making weekly repayments of roughly €70, a pace that would take 17 years to clear the debt. Peprah is now employed by the HSE as a care assistant.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Ghanaian man jailed for €60k social welfare fraud. Charges or matters: sample counts representing 22 charges of fraud committed between October 2013 and November 2016. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- October 2013 Hearing Or Sentence
- November 2016 Incident
- December 2015 Other
- 2012 to 2015 Incident
- 2018-04-11 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: sample counts representing 22 charges of fraud committed between October 2013 and November 2016 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Passing sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today, Judge Martin Nolan described Peprah as "a man of energy, industry and ability". He said it was impossible to make the social welfare system "fraud-proof" and that Peprah had "spotted an opportunity" and defrauded the State for three years "by intelligence and duplicity". "It may be easy done at times, but when you're caught, you pay a price," warned Judge Nolan, who set the headline sentence in the case at four years.
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