Fraud-accused Samantha Cookes pleads guilty to stealing €60k in welfare payments

Accused collected tens of thousands from the State in supplementary and disability allowances over a four-year period, Tralee court heard

Samantha Cookes falsely claimed she had Huntington's disease to defraud the Department of Social Protection. Picture: Domnick Walsh

Samantha Cookes has pleaded guilty to stealing more than €60,000 from the Department of Social Protection after falsely claiming she had suffered from Huntington’s Disease.

Tralee Circuit Court heard the thousands of euro were collected from the State in supplementary and disability allowances over a four-year period.