Courts / Laois / Report
Moldovan national spared jail for €15,000 unemployment benefit fraud
Summary
A County Laois resident, Moldovan national Axenia Alexei, aged 30, was sentenced to a two‑year suspended term for fraudulently claiming €15,339 in unemployment benefits. Alexei entered Ireland in 2009, bought a false Latvian passport online, and used the resulting PPS number to work and later to claim Jobseeker's Allowance after losing her job. She pleaded guilty to stealing the benefits between July 2012 and March 2014 and to possessing the fake passport on 15 September 2014. She had no prior convictions. The court found she could have claimed over €7,000 using her real PPS number, and that she had worked part‑time in 2012 with her real number while also claiming benefits with the false number. The judge suspended the sentence for two years, ordered the return of €2,000 to the Department of Social Protection, and gave her an additional two years to repay €6,000.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Moldovan national spared jail for €15,000 unemployment benefit fraud. Charges or matters: stealing a total of €15,339 from the Department of Social Protection at Swords Post Office, Swords, Dublin between July 2012 and March 2014; possessing a fake Latvian passport at her home on September 15, 2014. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- July 2012 Incident
- March 2014 Incident
- September 15, 2014 Incident
- 2015-06-22 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: stealing a total of €15,339 from the Department of Social Protection at Swords Post Office, Swords, Dublin between July 2012 and March 2014; possessing a fake Latvian passport at her home on September 15, 2014 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: He asked the judge to take into consideration Alexei's early plea, her admissions and the fact that she would have been entitled to unemployment benefit had she not "used the wrong mechanism." Judge Nolan suspended the sentence for two years and ordered that the €2,000 be handed over to the Department of Social Protection.
Defendant
Charges: stealing a total of €15,339 from the Department of Social Protection at Swords Post Office, Swords, Dublin between July 2012 and March 2014; possessing a fake Latvian passport at her home on September 15, 2014 (Alleged Or Contested)
Places mentioned
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