Tyrone granny with £470k in joint account not guilty of ‘dishonestly’ claiming benefits

A Tyrone granny who was charged with “dishonestly” claiming State benefit while she had almost £470,000 in a joint bank account with two others was found not guilty in court yesterday.

It took a jury at Enniskillen Crown Court less than an hour to find Anne Quinn, aged 71, Corkhill Rd, Eskra, not guilty of the charge.

It was alleged Mrs Quinn had been overpaid pension credit by £44,627.36 from November 2007 to January 2008.

Opening the case, Suzanne Gallagher, prosecuting, told the jury a request had been made to First Trust Bank for information on a fixed-term deposit account that was held jointly by the defendant with her sister and her uncle.

The joint account was opened on November 2, 2006, for a sum slightly in excess of £456,000 and it had a closing balance of £468,525.18.

Mrs Quinn told investigators her uncle’s estate of £468,525.18 was equally divided between herself and her sister, Maura McGee, who was said to live in Dungannon, when her uncle John Devine, from Ballygawley passed away in 2008.

The defendant said she did not know Mr Devine had put her name and her sister’s name on a joint bank account in November 2006, and she did not know when this happened either.