A convicted fraudster who defrauded €21,000 in rent allowances is to have €40 a week deducted in direct debits from her widow's pension to refund the State.
Margaret Carroll (nee Whelan), of Llewellyn Grove, Rathfarnham, Dublin, was previously convicted for a £230,000 fraud in which she ripped-off four businessmen on a purported clothing deal, and was ordered in May 2003 to carry out 240 hours' community service.
She pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to 26 charges of falsely claiming supplementary rent allowance between June 2000 and September 2002, and at the last hearing of this case on February 2nd, 2005, Judge Michael White indicated she had a choice of two years' jail or of refunding the Department of Social and Family Affairs.
He gave her until yesterday to make arrangements to pay back the money through direct debit deductions of €20 a week from her widow's pension.
Yesterday, Judge White increased the amount to €40 a week, and adjourned the sentence until May 26th, 2006, to check if she maintained these payments. He described the rent fraud as very serious, and her crime in 2003 as "nasty".