Five more arrests in serious fraud probe

Five people were arrested today by detectives investigating deception and allegations of serious fraud involving victims in Ireland and England.

The four women and a man were arrested in the Irvinestown area of Co Fermanagh, a Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesman said.

He said the arrests were part of an ongoing investigation that was likely to continue for some time.

Given the scale of the operation, officers had kept local community representatives informed of what was taking place, he added.

Last week, two men were remanded in custody when they appeared at Enniskillen court charged in connection with the investigation.

They were charged after police raided a series of business premises and homes in the Enniskillen and Irvinestown areas.

The men, Paul Maye (aged 44), from Sallys Wood, Irvinestown, and Dennis McGinley (aged 45), from College Lane, Enniskillen, were charged with obtaining more than £100,000 (€126,000) by deception from a man in the Republic of Ireland and conspiring to defraud him.

Maye alone faced a series of other changes including dishonestly obtaining over £14,000 (€17,700) from an English businessman by pretending to be someone else and dishonestly obtaining over £38,000 (€48,100) in social security benefits he was not entitled to.