Courts / Dublin / Report

Dutch social welfare scammer admits child benefit fraud

Summary

Leendert Stolk, 50, of Worthing, England, admitted to fraudulently claiming €18,000 in child benefit for his two children between 2011 and 2018. He used a school stamp from Meath and sent benefit letters to a Dublin 15 address that was later found to be empty, redirecting them to his actual address outside Ireland. Stolk had already been convicted of welfare fraud and was serving a four‑year prison sentence, of which he had completed 13 months. The child‑benefit fraud was discovered after his wife's arrest, and he made full admissions to gardaí. Judge Patricia Ryan ordered that the new charges be considered, but the prison sentence would remain unchanged. The case involved 22 counts of wrongfully claiming social welfare and four counts of using a false instrument, with a total false claim of over €244,000 during the seven‑year period. The court noted Stolk's diagnosis of obsessive‑compulsive disorder and past incidents in South Africa. Leendert Stolk pleaded guilty.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Dutch social welfare scammer admits child benefit fraud. Charges or matters: 22 sample counts of wrongfully claiming social welfare and four counts of using a false instrument. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• July 2018 Other
• 2011 and 2018 Other
• 2020-01-20 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Fraud Stage Sentence

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Read the original CNI report