Man posed as pal to claim allowance

A POLISH man has been jailed and made to repay over €8,000 he fraudulently claimed in social welfare by posing as his friend.

Krzysztof Budzik, with an address at 54 The Jolly Mariner apartments, Athlone, appeared at Athlone District Court yesterday on theft charges and the fraudulent collection of €8,312.50 of Jobseeker’s Allowance from the Department of Social Protection.

He was accused of making the collections between April 7 of last year and March 1 of this year, by posing as another Polish man, Tomasz Julga, who had returned to Poland.