Official stole €17k in welfare pay scam

A former senior civil servant has been jailed for 16 months for defrauding the taxpayer out of nearly €17,000.

Brian King, aged 48, was managing the Social Welfare Office in Dún Laoghaire when he purposely overpaid 25 welfare recipients before contacting them and saying the overpayment had been a mistake. He demanded they return the overpaid amount and then stole it for himself.

The scam occurred over a one-year period and came to light when the Department of Social and Family Affairs received a tip-off in an anonymous letter. King has since been fired.