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Welfare cheat who stole €185k said it was 'victimless crime'
Summary
Christy Keogh, aged 70, was sentenced to three years in prison for social welfare fraud, with the final 12 months suspended. He pleaded guilty to 23 counts of stealing €185,622.48 in job seeker's and disability allowances between December 1996 and July 2018. Keogh claimed he was providing for his family and considered the crime victimless, a view noted by the Probation Service report. He had no prior convictions and had paid back only about €600 from his State pension, after which deductions stopped and were not reinstated. The judge highlighted the pre‑meditated, repetitive nature of the offences and the lack of insight into the impact on the exchequer. Keogh was arrested in July 2020 following a Garda investigation that uncovered the fraudulent claims while he was employed full‑time by a bus company. The case was prosecuted by Michael Hourigan BL, with defence counsel Luigi Rea BL acknowledging the client's circumstances and health issues.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Welfare cheat who stole €185k said it was 'victimless crime'. Charges or matters: multiple charges of social welfare fraud which were representative counts of offending that spanned two decades; 23 charges of stealing a total of €185,622.48 by stealing both job seeker's allowance and disability allowance on dates between December 1996 and July 2018. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- December 1996 Other
- July 2018 Other
- October 2019 Incident
- July 2020 Incident
- September 25, 2020 Other
- 2022-11-28 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: multiple charges of social welfare fraud which were representative counts of offending that spanned two decades; 23 charges of stealing a total of €185,622.48 by stealing both job seeker's allowance and disability allowance on dates between December 1996 and July 2018 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: She sentenced Keogh to three years in prison but suspended the final 12 months on strict conditions.; He had asked for the case to be adjourned to allow for the preparation of a report from the Probation Service.
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