Illegal moneylender couple’s claim for welfare dismissed

A LIMERICK couple who ran an illegal, money-lending operation in the city were unsuccessful yesterday when they sought a court order to have welfare allowances paid back to them.

At Limerick Circuit Court, Judge James Donohoe, dismissed a claim by Brendan Wallace, aged 37, and his wife Patricia, aged 36, of Fernleigh, Westbury, and said there was a criminal background to the case that he had chosen to ignore. The couple wanted back payments of job seekers’ allowances for a period of 10 months.

The court heard that the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) had obtained judgments totalling more than €900,000 against the couple. The Wallaces sold two houses with a net value of more than €170,000 with an undertaking that the proceeds of the sales would go towards the judgment.