Claiming state pension falsely for 28-and-a-half years to the value of €271,046.28

I couldn't tell from the article but was the death not registered? Surely that's a simple way to avoid fraud like this ? Registration office shares with DSP?
 
misemoi said:
I couldn't tell from the article but was the death not registered? Surely that's a simple way to avoid fraud like this ? Registration office shares with DSP?
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"The judge said the pension had funded the accused’s lifestyle and the offences had been pre-meditated and calculated. He said he would regard it as a seriously aggravating factor that Mr Bergin’s death did not appear to have been registered which he claimed was “outrageous.”

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/courtandcrime/arid-41416372.html
 
Yes, during COVID I discovered that it's up to the next-of-kin to register deaths.

It seems to be a loose system, open to abuse.
 
Over 28 years without any checks or controls, on someone who would be one of the oldest people on the planet at this point. The deception is inexcusable, but where is the accountability from the those who are charged with managing the state pension?
 
Seems like a very trivial database exercise to find this kind of anomaly.

Seems daft that someone can collect cash for 25 years with zero proof of life required too.
 
My mother lived to nearly 102 yrs. She had to have a form filled out by GP/solicitor etc verifying she was still alive every 4 yrs. She lived in UK but received an Irish pension. I suppose it could have been forged?
 
My mother has been claiming a public service pension for 27 years now, She signs a form each year to declare she is still alive and availing of the pension. No one needs to witness it.

The examiner article said it was a non Contributory state pension, so was there no re-evaluation of means over the 28 years?
 
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Clamball said:
My mother has been claiming a public service pension for 27 years now, She signs a form each year to declare she is still alive and availing of the pension. No one needs to witness it.
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AFAIK death certificate information is run through public service and state pension databases to put a halt to payments when someone passes away.

But as we see above the checks are clearly not fully effective.
 
I understood the death wasn't registered in which case there would be no death cert. It's up to the family to register the death using a form signed by the doctor.
 
Heard it covered on the radio. There was a part about a visit and the lady had someone , I think her husband ? in the bed pretending to be the father in law. Reminded me of that episode of Fawlty towers ! Polly in the bed pretending to be Sybil.
 
Clamball said:
My mother has been claiming a public service pension for 27 years now, She signs a form each year to declare she is still alive and availing of the pension. No one needs to witness it.

The examiner article said it was a non Contributory state pension, so was there no re-evaluation of means over the 28 years?
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DSP carry out random spot checks by writing to claimants. When they write to elderly people, it's not infrequent for relatives to contact their local TD or ring the likes of Joe Duffy to complain that poor granny and/or grandpa are being persecuted by the mean bureaucrats up in Dublin!

If the fraudster in this case was a nurse, as the court report suggests , then it's quite possible that she was returning fraudulent forms; and she may also have had access to a GP's rubber stamp.
 
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I knew of a 100 yr old who answered the door to someone enquiring as to his well being ahead of this 'bounty'. He was asked for ID and he offered his driving licence which he was still in possession of!
 
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