Jail for claiming almost €18k in benefits under dead man’s name

A Ukrainian man was jailed for four years with the final three suspended after he falsely obtained almost €18,000 in social welfare payments under a dead man’s name.

Oleh Toropov of Ormond St, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, entered Ireland under the name of a deceased Latvian man and proceeded to work for four years while paying tax under the false alias.

However, after losing his job in 2012, he began using the deceased’s name to claim benefits and rent allowance totalling €17, 926.