Social welfare fraudster jailed for 18 months

dave1982

breakingnews.ie

A man who defrauded the State out of €70,000 in social welfare payments while he was fully employed has been jailed for 18 months.

Andela Konda (aged 40) of Rosedale Cresent, Clonee was caught working as a chef for the Elephant and Castle restaurant in Temple Bar under a false identity. He had used his real identity to claim social welfare and rent allowance payments over the previous four years.

He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to ten sample counts of defrauding the State out of payments by pretending he was unemployed between November 2002 and June 2006. He collected 183 social welfare payments and 42 rent allowance payments during this time, amounting to around €70,000.

Judge Katherine Delahunt said the scale of the fraud merited a prison term of 18 months on each count, to run concurrently. She said if it was not for Konda’s cooperation with gardaií and early guilty plea he would be jailed for twice that time.

Sergeant Patrick Gillick told prosecuting counsel, Ms Marie Torrens BL, that a social welfare official had made a complaint to gardai about Konda in 2006.

Gardai called to his then workplace and arrested him for the fraud. He was immediately dismissed from his job and social welfare payments were temporarily stopped.

Konda is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo and had been living here legally. He obtained a second PPS number under the false identity of a French national and used it to gain employment with the restaurant.

Konda made full admissions on his arrest and apologised for the offences. Defence counsel, Mr Tony McGillicuddy BL, said Konda lives with his wife and her two children, whom he helps raise. He said he also sends money home to his family in Africa.

He submitted that Konda had no obvious signs of wealth and had pleaded guilty at a very early stage.

Read more: http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/social-welfare-fraudster-jailed-for-18-months-480986.html#ixzz14iWGJlQY

Biggins

18 Months - Sounds like a good start for him.
(Pity he will prob' be out in six!)

maxxie

deport him!!

super_furry

Indeed. Why is there no mention of a deportation order?

PeterIanStaker

Its the financial equivalent of Stalin's quote "one death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic" only this time, €70k is a crime, 15bn is a statistic.

dave1982

maxxie wrote: »

deport him!!

That makes too much sense for the government :rolleyes:


Notice how it took them 4 years to get him to court 2002-2006

robbie_998

Make him give it back !!! :pac:

Jaxxy

Explains why the spicy chicken wings haven't been the same in the Elephant & Castle for a long time.

Mike 1972

So whens the Ivor Callely case due before the courts :rolleyes:

mikemac

maxxie wrote: »

deport him!!

super_furry wrote: »

Indeed. Why is there no mention of a deportation order?

I'm not sure a judge can order that

Konda is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo and had been living here legally.

Entered the country legally and only got involved in identity fraud after he got here
I don't know all the law.

He didn't enter here under a false identity, that happened after he got here

thee glitz

€400pw in bens :eek:

Atlantic Dawn

18 months in prison will cost the state €120,000, what is the point of that :rolleyes:. He should be made do work that contributes to society, he could start by cleaning chewing gum off the footpaths of Ireland.

thee glitz

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

18 months in prison will cost the state €120,000, what is the point of that

The judge could have said 'feck off back to the congo or you're going down for 18 months'. Of course, he'd probably have stayed.

snubbleste

He was fraudently claiming from 2002 to 2006, arrested in 2006, but only convicted in 2010?

maxxie

If I was in charge of this country there would be some furniture moved around! They'd have to my assasinate my ass!

dave1982

feelingstressed wrote: »

I'm not sure a judge can order that



Entered the country legally and only got involved in identity fraud after he got here
I don't know all the law.

He didn't enter here under a false identity, that happened after he got here

Deport him using his French passport:p

Sound Bite

What are our government/legal system at?

I've no problem with anyone who comes here legally to contribute to society, if a person can secure employment and pay their taxes then thats perfectly acceptable but where someone comes her and defrauds us or commits any other crime, then it should be immediate deportation for them and their family (the reason I include the family is to make it a more serious deterrant).

At a time when Ireland badly needs to be savings money, why are we still allowing this to happen? Could I go to any other country and do this? We are too leniant...

Before anyone has a go and calls me racist, I know Irish people scam too, I'd also have a problem with them too & also I have no problem with people who come here legally and contribute to society.

Rant over.

abouttobebanned

He should be made to pay it back. Prisons are for dangerous criminals.

phasers

How did he get a chef's job with a false identity? I thought it required a qualification?



/also damn immigants, dole cheats suck etc

jackiebaron

Well I suppose put him to work as a chef while he's in the clink. Have him put in 40 or 50 hours a week making soup and stew to work off some of that 70k.
I'm guessing he can have his legal residency revoked once he's served his sentence but I don't know the ins and outs of it. Fcukin' idiot.

slavetothegrind

phasers wrote: »

How did he get a chef's job with a false identity? I thought it required a qualification?



/also damn immigants, dole cheats suck etc

maybe the qualification of taking the low wage on offer

this is the tip of a very large iceberg of benefit fraud here, you've got to think trebling the number of investigators would generate quite some saving!

CrazyRabbit

And he probably still won't get deported...

And now that he's lost his job, they've probably allowed him to start claiming social welfare.

phasers

slavetothegrind wrote: »

maybe the qualification of taking the low wage on offer

In that case the restaurant should be investigated as well.

ntlbell

so we pay for him for 18 months, he loses his job so won't be paying tax anymore. gets out and goes back on the dole and gets his RA back.

Love this country.

ejmaztec

They'll give him day-release on dole-day.

Duiske

thee glitz wrote: »

The judge could have said 'feck off back to the congo or you're going down for 18 months'. Of course, he'd probably have stayed.

Agree with Atlantic Dawn. Between the fraud, the investigation and the trial this guy will cost the state over €200,000. And even worse, when he gets out he will be entitled to Social welfare :mad:

I don't know much about the conditions of residency in Ireland for non EU nationals, but surely one of the conditions must be that you don't break the law ?

€500 plane ticket vs €120,000 prison costs. Hmmmmm !!

estreet girl

seriously though guys, how many are at it, be they Irish or otherwise.
sorry for jumping in:)

angelfire9

This would make you cry:
http://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2010-06-09.878.0

in the first half of 2010(1 Jan - 8 June) 332 deportation orders were issued BUT only 126 were carried out!

CarrickMcJoe

Biggins wrote: »

18 Months - Sounds like a good start for him.
(Pity he will prob' be out in six!)

18 months me hole, hes probably in a taxi home now (paid for by us gob****es).

A one way ticket in the hold is what he should get, and made pay back the 70k.

fonecrusher1

Tip of the iceberg.

How many have been doing this for years & are still getting away with it? And before the P.C. nerds jump on my back i mean Irish fraudsters as well as non Irish.

Annoyingly enough it will probably cost the tax payer about the same to keep him in prison for those 18 months than he's received on social welfare.

fonecrusher1

Deleted User wrote: »

Annoyingly enough it will probably cost the tax payer about the same to keep him in prison for those 18 months than he's received on social welfare.

Then they should insist the thieving fcuker pays back every single euro he's robbed from welfare. I don't care how much per week, 10 euros a week if thats all he can afford. These dole thieves make a healthy contribution to the national debt every year.

COYW

estreet girl wrote: »

seriously though guys, how many are at it, be they Irish or otherwise.
sorry for jumping in:)

It's rampant in this country and the irish are the biggest offenders. Im glad to hear about this person getting caught. I really hope that the powers that be get their act together and start clamping down on this nonsense, hard.

Mr McBoatface

I personally people when citizenship is granted to a foreign nation the citizenship should have the condition attached to it that if the individual commits a criminal act they loose that citizenship and are automatically deported.

In this case as this chap is now a proven fraudster I'd argue the point that his citizenship be revoked. The grounds on which citizenship was granted to him (his sad story of life in Africa) must now be called into question and deemed unsafe.

There are plenty more of these dark chaps and ladies out there doing the same thing. Plenty of Irish fraudsters too but unfortunately we can't send them away ... or can we ?

bluefinger

what is it about the boards that makes these kinds of crimes oh so significant and not others?

wellieboot

Man remanded over €250,000 benefit fraud

Updated: 20:49, Thursday, 4 November 2010





A 63-year-old man accused of social welfare fraud totalling nearly €250,000 has been further remanded in custody.
1 of 1 Mullingar District Court - man remanded in custody


A 63-year-old man accused of social welfare fraud totalling nearly €250,000 has been further remanded in custody.
Mullingar District Court was told that the Director of Public Prosecutions had not yet made a decision on the case against Paul Murray who has an address in Thailand.
A previous court hearing was told that since 2006 Mr Murray would fly back to Ireland every three months to sign on for various benefits at social welfare offices in Cavan, Trim and Mullingar.
Gardaí said they had found 10 Irish birth certificates and one from Britain as well as eight false drivers' licences and three passports.
In court earlier today, Garda Inspector Fergus Traynor told Judge David Anderson that no direction had yet been received from the DPP regarding the case against the accused. He said the garda investigation was lengthy and complex.
The Inspector said they would prefer if Mr Murray was remanded in custody given the nature of the case.
The defendant's solicitor, Redmond O'Regan, asked the judge to look again at the issue of bail for his client but Judge Anderson declined.
He remanded Mr Murray in custody to appear before Mullingar District Court again on 2 December next.

• Keywords:
• Paul Murray,
• benfits,
• fraud,
• Mullingar

Mike 1972

jobyrne30 wrote: »

when citizenship is granted to a foreign nation the citizenship should have the condition attached to it that if the individual commits a criminal act they loose that citizenship and are automatically deported.

Are we to take it from this you reckon you have never done anything illegal ?

Gaudizeit

He Konda whole nation

Oranage2

This isn't going to help Bord Racism

Mr McBoatface

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Are we to take it from this you reckon you have never done anything illegal ?

How did you get to that conclusion and how is that relevant to the thread subject matter ?

I clearly expressed a personal opinion that you can agree with or not, and no I've never committed any crimes ever

PS - who is this "we" you mention, are you hearing voices in your head ?:pac::pac::pac:

Royal Irish

Duiske wrote: »

€500 plane ticket vs €120,000 prison costs. Hmmmmm !!

I'd rather see him put on a flight to South Africa and forced to bail out with a parachute over the Congo. Fuckin foreigners stealing our dole :mad:

Gerry Asstrix

He'e getting 18 months!!!

Sure Callerly, Fingleton and those boys must be due life?

tolosenc

Surely a visa should be revoked if he goes to prison? He should be DEPORTED!

fonecrusher1

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Are we to take it from this you reckon you have never done anything illegal ?

Classic Irish attitude.^

Sure jaysus be gora, sure none of us are saints, let the poor lad alone. Its that sort of attitude that has psychopathic scummers laughing at our weakling judicial system.

Tell me whats the implication loaded in your question? We're all dole cheats at heart because we've all been in trouble at some stage in our lives??? Whaaa?

PCPhoto

dave1982 wrote: »

That makes too much sense for the government :rolleyes:


Notice how it took them 4 years to get him to court 2002-2006

cant be ar$ed reading the whole thread .... but also wanted to add ...it took 4years before they "discovered" he was defrauding the state..... a further 4yrs before a conviction in court !!!

Seriously...the wheels of justice turn slowly indeed.

Son Of A Vidic

Gerry Asstrix wrote: »

He'e getting 18 months!!!

Sure Callerly, Fingleton and those boys must be due life?

Indeed! It's a pity our own white collar fraudsters and criminals haven't received the punishment they truly deserve.

Princess Peach

As someone who doesn't qualify for any form of social welfare, I actually admire the frauds.

If I could I would, no lie!

ascanbe

maxxie wrote: »

deport him!!

Given where this country is headed as a result of the actions of fraudsters who recieved handsome pay-offs instead of prison sentences, you'd probably be doing him a favour.
But sure let the usual suspects spew their invective here and ignore all that other stuff; afterall, this is the wrong-doing of a 'foreigner' we're talking about.

Mike 1972

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Tell me whats the implication loaded in your question? We're all dole cheats at heart because we've all been in trouble at some stage in our lives??? Whaaa?

Nope try again

fonecrusher1

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Nope try again

Nope. Im sure your trying to come up with something though.

dave1982

Princess Peach wrote: »

As someone who doesn't qualify for any form of social welfare, I actually admire the frauds.

If I could I would, no lie!

Do you know what i don't blame you to be honest.If i was in your situation i'd be pissed to see people abusing the system for years.I'm assuming you were/are self employed paid taxes prsi etc and now you get nothing,yet people you employed are entilted