Man wrote a letter to social welfare to admit to fraud

A MAN who contacted the Department of Social Welfare to ‘make amends’ for stealing over €136,000 in welfare payments has been jailed.

Judge Martin Nolan sentenced David Aminu, 42, to two years’ imprisonment for using his cousin’s name to fraudulently claim various benefits for seven years.

Aminu, a Nigerian national, wrote a letter to the Department in 2015 revealing his real name and date of birth. He confessed that he had been living in the country since 2006 and had used a false identification to get a PPS number so he could work to support his family. Aminu then used this same ID to obtain social welfare payments when he became jobless after working for a call centre in Clare and a Tesco in Dublin.

Garda Michael McGreal said that Aminu’s confession was prompted because his wife and children had become naturalised Irish citizens and he wanted to legalise his status.

Aminu, of Dun Saithne Crescent, Balbriggan, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to charges of stealing family income support payments and Jobseeker’s Allowance between 2007 and 2013 which amassed to €136,449. Aminu has no previous convictions.

Judge Nolan imposed a two-year sentence, and said that as this type of crime was difficult to detect, Aminu ‘must suffer a term of imprisonment to punish him and deter others.’