Pensioner who claimed €93k in benefits with his dead brother's ID for nine years is jailed

Aidan Byrne's family, including his three daughters, no longer speak to him because of his actions.

Aidan Byrne (pictured) had been enabled after applying for a passport in his dead brother's name using his brother's birth certificate but his own picture on the passport. His bogus claims only came to light when he made another passport application under his own name in 2019. Picture: NW Newspix

A pensioner who used his dead brother's identity to claim more than €93,000 in benefits has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Aidan Byrne had pleaded guilty to a range of fraud charges at Donegal Circuit Court. The 75-year-old had conned the social welfare system by using the identity of his dead brother Anthony who died tragically in a drowning accident in England in 1972.