Inspector visits to homes of people over 100, Department confirms after 'extraordinary' Laois pension fraud case

People over 100 years of age can expect home visits from Social Welfare Inspectors, the Department confirmed following the “extraordinary” case of a woman who claimed the State pension of a dead man for almost 30 years. 

Maragaret Bergin(73) of Fairfield House, Mountrath admitted a number of sample charges of theft and larceny relating to the claiming of her late father-in-law's pension over a period in excess of 28 years, resulting in a loss of €271,046.20 to the State. 

Her father in law John Bergin had died in 1993 but his death was never registered and she continued to claim his pension until an amateur gerontologist tried to track the elderly man down in 2022, when Mr Bergin would have been 110 years-old. 

After admitting her guilt and repaying €75,000, Ms Bergin was sentenced to five years and six months with the final three years and six months suspended.

During the sentencing, Judge Johnson braned the case "extraordinary" and said the defendant had “seriously undermined” the reputation of the social welfare system by exploiting and exposing its vulnerabilities. 

“The court is relieved to note that since this case came to light, the Department of Social Protection has introduced much more rigorous controls for the protection of the taxpayer especially in respect of claimants who are over 90 years of age. Under the old system a declaration was sent on an annual basis for signature by the claimant and the accused signed those declarations by forging the signature of the late John Bergin to each of those declarations,” Judge Keenan told the sentencing hearing. 

“Accordingly, every single year that the fraud went on, the accused actively perpetuated the fraud by forging the signature of the deceased. There was also evidence that the accused had forged the signature of the deceased to fuel allowance forms,” said Judge Johnson. 

The Leinster Express asked the Department of Social Protection what new measures had been introduced in the wake of the case.   

“The Department has control review processes in place for its State pension schemes which are designed to detect fraud.  The Department also automatically monitors deaths registered,” a spokesperson said. 

“Regular reviews and control checks are undertaken for all those in receipt of a pension.  In 2023, over 45,400 reviews of State Pension cases were undertaken. Ongoing reviews include seeking confirmation of continued eligibility and Social Welfare Inspector reviews. For people over 100 years of age, the reviews include correspondence and home visits to determine if there has been any change in circumstances. 

The Department continues to improve its control measures based both on the types of fraud and attempted fraud cases detected,” the spokesperson concluded.