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Jail for man who stole €100k in welfare payments
Summary
Frank O'Donnell, aged 56, was sentenced to two‑and‑a‑half years' imprisonment for fraudulently claiming over €100,000 in disability allowance while working as a construction labourer under the alias Martin O'Donnell. He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to multiple thefts of disability allowance between 2004 and 2011, to possession of a false instrument (a safe pass in his name issued by ESB in 2017), and to possession of counterfeit notes. The offences were uncovered in 2017 when his niece, interviewed by a Department of Social Protection officer, provided bank statements showing payments in Martin O'Donnell's name deposited into her account. O'Donnell had been receiving disability allowance from 2002 and had worked intermittently from 2004 to 2017, during which he falsely claimed €100,469.10. He has 11 prior convictions, including five for counterfeit notes.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Jail for man who stole €100k in welfare payments. Charges or matters: thefts of Disability Allowance at various locations in Tallaght on dates between September 3, 2004 and September 11, 2011; possession of a false instrument, to wit a safe pass in the name Martin O'Donnell at ESB, Fleet Street, Dublin City centre, on November 9, 2017. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- September 3, 2004 Incident
- September 11, 2011 Incident
- November 9, 2017 Incident
- June 2004 Other
- November 2017 Other
- 2021-07-01 Publication
Why: She explained that her uncle used her account as he did not have his own. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: thefts of Disability Allowance at various locations in Tallaght on dates between September 3, 2004 and September 11, 2011; possession of a false instrument, to wit a safe pass in the name Martin O'Donnell at ESB, Fleet Street, Dublin City centre, on November 9, 2017 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Judge Greally sentenced O'Donnell to two-and-a-half years imprisonment, but suspended the final 18 months of the sentence on strict conditions.
Places mentioned
- Belgard Park
- Cookstown Road
- Tallaght
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- Fleet Street
Topics
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