Pensioner spared jail for €100k fraud

A Dublin pensioner who used her sister’s social welfare card to fraudulently claim €100,000 benefits will avoid jail if she carries out 240 hours community service.

Marie McMahon, aged 68, a former women’s rights campaigner, told gardaí that when her sister Katherine emigrated to America in 1992, her friend initially used the woman’s social welfare card to pick up her benefits. When this woman went into hospital McMahon agreed to continue collecting the payments and they split the money between them.

This woman died in 2012 and McMahon continued to collect her sister’s benefits until she was detected through facial recognition technology in July 2014.

She told officers she believed social welfare would investigate and she would be caught if she stopped collecting the money, so she continued with the fraud.

McMahon, of Aideen Avenue, in Terenure, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to 13 charges of stealing various amounts of social welfare payments from James’ St Post Office between September 1, 2002, and June 11, 2014.

She has one previous conviction for possession of drugs from 1979.

At the original sentence hearing in March, Lorcan Staines, defending, handed in a large volume of testimonials and said his client had been involved in a protest movement in relation to women’s rights for many years. The case was adjourned to June when Mr Staines told the court that friends of McMahon had become aware of the case due to media attention and had gathered €6,000 towards repayment of the money stolen. She was also paying €15 per week from her benefits.

Yesterday, Judge Melanie Greally noted that many people coming before the courts are now being detected through facial imaging systems.

“Persons who think that they will get away with social welfare fraud need to wake up,” she warned.

She said McMahon’s fall from grace and loss of reputation had been considerable. She said she accepted McMahon did not use the money for her own needs and noted that very impressive testimonials had been handed up on her behalf.

Judge Greally imposed a five-year sentence which she suspended in full on condition McMahon carry out 240 hours community service and continue to pay €15 per week to the Department of Social Protection.

At the original sentence hearing Garda Richard Pender noted that McMahon has one son, and that she was forced to pay out drug debts on his behalf on more than 20 occasions.