Woman jailed for two years over €271,000 pension fraud

A 73-year-old woman has been jailed for two years for falsely claiming her dead father-in-law's pension for over 28 years to the value of more than €271,000.

Margaret Bergin, with an address at Fairfield House in Mountrath in Co Laois, had pleaded guilty to 15 sample charges in relation to the offence.

The grandmother was sentenced at Portlaoise Circuit Court to five-and-a-half years in prison, with the final three-and-a-half years suspended.

She had pleaded guilty to ten sample counts of theft and five sample counts of larceny arising from fraudulently claiming the State pension of John Bergin, who died in 1993 aged 82.

Ms Bergin had been drawing down his pension for 28-and-a-half years after his death, to the value of €271,046.28, between December 1993 and February 2022.

The pension fraud was first detected after an amateur gerontologist carried out research in 2022 in relation to a man in Mountrath who was 110 years of age.

At a previous hearing in June, the court heard the researcher was surprised he never heard of the man and his suspicion was aroused that it might be pension fraud, so he contacted Áras an Uachtaráin to enquire about records.

The Department of Social Protection was contacted and it was determined a visit should take place.

The court heard that when department officials started enquiries, no death notice was found.

The court was also told Ms Bergin had deliberately attempted to dissuade officials from visiting the house.

In April 2022, welfare officers went to Fairfield House to visit Mr Bergin and were left waiting and were told by Ms Bergin that her father-in-law did not want to be disturbed.

The court heard that after a wait, the officials were introduced to a man in bed who had a pair of shoes on, who was much younger than Mr Bergin and bore no resemblance to him.

It also heard that after the visit one of the welfare officers visited a local graveyard and found the grave for Mr Bergin and his late wife.

The court heard that after her arrest, Ms Bergin admitted signing the documents, co-operated fully and said it had been her husband in the bed when officials visited her house.

In June, Margaret Bergin paid €35,000 by way of compensation but Judge Keenan Johnson said the figure was not enough and he adjourned the case to allow for a proper restitution to be raised.

On Wednesday of this week, her defence counsel Damien Colgan told the court his client was providing an additional €40,000.

He told the judge "there just is no other monies available" and he said the best the defendant could do is pay €50 a week from her pension.

Prosecution counsel Will Fennelly said it meant there was still an outstanding loss to the State of €196,046.28.

'Quite extraordinary' case - judge

In a letter of apology read out in the court earlier this week from Ms Bergin, she said she wanted to "apologise sincerely" for what she done and say how sorry she was for committing the crime.

The 73-year-old was the authorised agent to withdraw Mr Bergin's pension, when he was still alive, and she had been his carer until his death.

In the letter, read out by Mr Colgan, said she made the huge mistake of carrying on collecting her father-in-law’s pension after he died but she said she felt trapped.

She said was ashamed and embarrassed by her actions and she pleaded to the judge to "show me as much mercy as you can".

The court was also told the mother of three is now in poor health and she has become socially isolated and estranged from one of her children and her brother, because of her actions.

Delivering the sentence, Judge Johnson described the case as "quite extraordinary" and "an extremely serious case of theft and fraud, resulting in a large loss to the State."

He said the actions of the accused were clearly premeditated, because the death of the John Bergin was never registered.

Judge Johnson said there was a "repetitive, deliberate and conscious efforts by the accused to defraud the State" and he said it added to her "culpability and the gravity of the offending."

He said Ms Bergin had "conscientiously and systematically defrauded taxpayers" to the tune of €271,046.28 and he said she has also "seriously undermined the reputation of the social welfare system by exploiting and exposing its vulnerabilities."

The judge said the court was relieved to note that since the case came to light, the Department of Social Protection has introduced much more rigorous controls for protection of the taxpayer, especially in respect of claimants who are over 90 years of age.

He said: "Every single year that the fraud went on, the accused actively perpetuated the fraud by forging the signature of the deceased."

Bergin 'offered as sacrificial lamb'

In determining the sentence, Judge Johnson said the length of time the fraud was perpetrated was a "hugely aggravating factor".

He said it was also clear her actions were "planned and premeditated".

And he said the efforts made by the accused to hide the crime when the department came to investigate, and her lack of cooperation with the guards and the department in the initial stages of the investigation are further elevating factors.

The judge described the actions of the accused as "an attack on the fundamental values of integrity and honesty which the Department of Social Welfare relies on in order to administer social welfare in as fair and as equitable a way as possible."

He also said failure to make full restitution was a further aggravating factor.

Judge Johnson said the mitigating factors included her guilty plea and Ms Bergin’s cooperation in the later stages of the investigation and her letter of apology to the court, as well as a medical report and a probation report.

He said it was his belief Ms Bergen, who has no previous convictions, has allowed herself to be "offered as a sacrificial lamb".

The judge said he found it "hard to believe" that the accused acted independently particularly as her husband Seamus had impersonated his late father in order to deceive the social welfare inspectors.

"I cannot believe that correspondence, which have been received at least annually in the name of John Bergin could not have been seen by other members of the household, particularly the correspondence and centenarian coins from Áras an Uachtaráin, which would have been unique and noticeable."

"I cannot help but feel, despite her assertions the contrary, that Ms Bergen has allowed herself to be offered as a sacrificial lamb for the offending and the full responsibility does not rest exclusively with her," he added.

He said according to the submissions made by the defence, the stolen funds had been used for shopping and food and by extension for the benefit of the family, so the judge said "the family should be assisting the accused to make full reimbursement."

The judge said he fails to understand why a portion of the family farm of 99 acres could not be sold, or alternatively mortgaged in order to finance the reimbursement.

However, he said the payment of €75,000 attracted some mitigation but "not as substantial as it might otherwise have been."

Judge Johnson said it was "with great regret" that he felt duty bound to send a 73-year-old grandmother to jail.

He said: "Some people may feel that the sentence is too lenient and others may feel that it's too harsh, however, I have tried to impose a sentence that is fair and equitable and which sends out a clear message that no matter who you are or what your circumstances are, theft from the social welfare fund is such a serious offence because of the damage it does to society, that a custodial sentence, particularly where the theft is prolonged and significant as is the case here will be unavoidable."