Man gets four years for €40k welfare fraud

A FOUR-year jail sentence was imposed on a father of 10 who claimed over €40,000 in social welfare benefits at a time when he had €3.3 million going through one of his bank accounts and failed to pay €1.65m in tax.

Judge Patrick J Moran said while sentencing Daniel Kelleher, aged 42, of 13 Stoneyridge, Shanakiel, Cork: “I can only describe this as extreme fraud of the Department [of Social Welfare] and on the citizens of the state. I look on it as a very serious offence. The court has to give an example to people like you that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated.”

Judge Moran imposed a total sentence of four years’ imprisonment on him at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.