Courts / Dublin / Report
Pakistani man who used false passport to steal €43k in welfare payments avoids jail
Summary
Faizal Akbar, a 61‑year‑old Pakistani man living on Benburb Street, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to fraudulently claiming €43,715 in social welfare payments between 2010 and 2019. He used a false Afghan passport to open a bank account, obtain an M10 form and apply to the Department of Social Protection, receiving the benefit under his own name. The passport also enabled him to travel to Pakistan to see his wife and children. When the passport expired, he reported the issue to his bank, which alerted the gardai. In 2023 he discovered he was actually entitled to the benefit and now receives it legitimately. The court noted he had no prior convictions, no wealth, and shared a room with three other adults. Judge Orla Crowe imposed a suspended two‑year sentence, suspended in full for four years on his own recognisance, stating the sentence would remain in effect for that period.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Pakistani man who used false passport to steal €43k in welfare payments avoids jail. Charges or matters: stealing the money on dates between 2010 and 2019. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- 2010 and 2019 Other
- 2025-07-03 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: stealing the money on dates between 2010 and 2019 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Photo: Collins) A Pakistani man who used a false Afghan passport to claim more than €40,000 in social welfare entitlements over a nine-year period has been given a suspended sentence. However, his family is understood to have difficult circumstances in Pakistan. "It's a very unusual case," remarked Judge Crowe. "He shouldn't have done it by obtaining a false passport." She imposed a sentence of two years on him, but suspended it full on his own recognisance for four years. "This will hang over him for that period of four years," she said.
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