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.

Tom Rice, barrister for the Director of Public Prosecutions, told the court Cookes was being arraigned — counts one and two were deception charges and there was a plea to these along with 16 sample charges, he said.

The total sum involved was €60,334.35, Mr Rice said.

The court previously heard from investigating gardaí that Cookes had a history of using multiple aliases, variations of her own name and her mother’s, to hide her identity.

On Tuesday Cookes, 36, and of no fixed abode, stood leaning on the bench in front of her when arraigned on several counts, answering “ guilty” to each of the 18 counts put to her.

She pleaded guilty that on dates unknown between February 20, 2020, and October 6, 2021, both dates inclusive, at Godfrey Place, Tralee, she dishonestly and with the intention of making a gain for herself or another by falsely stating she had a medical diagnosis of Huntington’s disease, induced employees of the Department of Social Protection to give her supplementary welfare allowance payments amounting to €17,747, contrary to Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001.

The second deception charge involving €40,264 related to the period September 3, 2021, to July 1, 2024, inclusive also, at Godfrey Place Tralee, again falsely stating she had a medical diagnosis of Huntington’s disease.

She also answered “guilty” to 16 sample counts of theft of supplementary welfare allowance payments of €201.00 and of €289.50 contrary to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001.

Barrister Richard Liston said Cookes had been in custody since her arrest on July 13. He was not seeking reports and he was seeking a date of sentencing for next week.

Judge Ronan Munro remanded Cookes in custody to Wednesday next for sentencing. Evidence will be given by Garda Ray Liston.

Legal aid for a counsel as well as a solicitor was granted at the District Court.