STORE WORKER IN FRAUD
An investigation into casual workers in the Halfords stores in Drogheda and Dundalk resulted in Oliver Doyle, Crufty, Beamore, Drogheda appearing at Dundalk Circuit Court last week for fraudulently claiming more dole than he was entitled to.
The 47 year old pleaded guilty to the offences which occurred between October 9 2013 to January 23 2017 which arose out him falsely claiming that he was working less hours than he was while getting the dole
The court heard that he had paid back €3,700 out of the €25,538.30 which he had received as a result of the fraudulent claims.
Gda Denise Clancy of the special investigation unit stated that the Department of Social Welfare had carried out a review of casual workers who were social welfare recipients at the Halfords stores in Drogheda and Dundalk.
The accused came to their notice because of documents which he had provided which were incorrectly completed.
The documents required a manager’s signature but the accused had forged them himself and also used a store stamp which he had falsely created on a computer at home.
Doyle was in receipt of a job seeker’s allowance which permitted him to work three days out of six. Applicants were allowed to self certify and Doyle had understated the days he was working and over claimed the amount of money he was entitled to.
The Halfords stamp and false documents which he had created were found in his home when it was searched by Gardai in January 2017. Doyle was arrested and fully co-operated with the investigation. He admitted fraudulently using the stamp from the store and then creating one on his computer. He had ‘put his hands up’ as to how he had obtained a signature from a manager and created the stamp, said his barrister.
The court heard that Doyle had no previous convictions. He had signed a the name of manager who had left the store which would have given a green light to signal something was wrong.
A special investigation had been carried out in relation to Halfords with several cases coming before the District and Circuit Courts involving other employees in the Dundalk and Drogheda stores.
There was no evidence that Doyle had been living a lavish lifestyle. He was no longer employed by Halfords and was getting job seekers allowance and had applied for a place on the Back to Work Enterprise Scheme with a view to setting up his own website development business. He was currently paying back the €25,538.30 which was outstanding at a rate of €50 a week and had offered to pay more even though it would mean he would have very little to live on. He was, said his barrister, most anxious to discharge the debt.
Judge Martina Baxter adjourned the case until October 2019 saying the adjournment would give him time to come up with a viable solution to repaying the money outstanding and she was not prepared for it to take 15 years.