'Sacrificial Lamb' or Mastermind? Granny's 271K euro pension fraud sparks questions

DUBLIN, Ireland - A 73-year-old woman has been sentenced to two years for falsely claiming her deceased father-in-law's pension for over 28 years, totaling more than €271,000.

Margaret Bergin, of Fairfield House in Mountrath, County Laois, pleaded guilty to 15 sample charges related to the offense.

The grandmother was sentenced to five and a half years in prison by Portlaoise Circuit Court, with the last three and a half suspended.

She had pled guilty to unlawfully claiming the State pension of John Bergin, who died in 1993 at the age of 82.

Ms. Bergin had been drawing down his pension for 28 and a half years after his death, totaling €271,046.28, from December 1993 to February 2022.

The pension fraud was discovered after an amateur gerontologist conducted a study in 2022 on a 110-year-old man from Mountrath.

In an earlier hearing in June, the court heard that the researcher was startled he had never heard of the guy and suspected pension fraud, so he phoned ras an Uachtarin to inquire about records.

The Department of Social Protection was notified, and it was decided that a visit should take place.

The court heard that no death notices were discovered when department personnel began investigating.

Ms. Bergin was also accused of purposefully attempting to deter officials from visiting the house.

Welfare officers went to Fairfield House in April 2022 to meet Mr. Bergin but were left waiting after Ms Bergin informed them that her father-in-law did not want to be disturbed.

The court heard that after a wait, the officials were shown to a man in bed wearing shoes, who was significantly younger than Mr. Bergin and bore little similarity to him.

It was also said that following the visit, one of the welfare staff went to a nearby cemetery and discovered the graves of Mr. Bergin and his late wife.

According to the court, after her arrest, Ms. Bergin admitted signing the documents, cooperated extensively, and claimed it was husband in the bed when officials visited her home.

Ms. Bergin stated in a letter of apology read in court earlier this week that she wanted to "apologize sincerely" for what she had done and express her regret for the crime.

The 73-year-old was the authorized agent to withdraw Mr. Bergin's pension while he was still alive, and she was his caregiver until his death.

Judge Johnson delivered the sentence, calling the case "quite extraordinary" and "a severe case of theft and fraud, resulting in a large loss to the State."

Judge Johnson said he believes Ms. Bergen, who has no past convictions, has allowed herself to be "offered as a sacrificial lamb."

The judge said it was "hard to believe" that the accused acted independently, especially when her husband Seamus impersonated his late father to deceive social workers.

He stated that he aimed for a fair and equitable sentence that emphasizes the seriousness of theft from the social welfare fund and the harm it causes to society, regardless of one's circumstances.