Swindled state out of euro258000 by pretending dead wife was alive

A 69-year-old man defrauded the Department of Social Protection of more than €258,000 by pretending for some 14 years that his dead wife was still alive, a court heard today (Friday).

The swindle involving Thomas Leniston, a former London bus driver, now resident at Cashel Park, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, was uncovered last year when the Revenue Commissioners probed a joint bank account in the names of the accused and his late wife, Patricia.

Revenue noted there was more than €100,000 in the account. This information was relayed to the Department of Social Protection who carried out an investigation.

At Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court, Leniston pleaded guilty to 19 sample charges of fraud and larceny between August 2000 and March 2014.

Detective Garda Hugh O’Donnell told the court that Leniston continued to collect carers allowance, disability allowance and respite care allowance in respect of his wife despite the fact that she died in July 2000. The monies were collected weekly at Castlebar Post Office.

There were 707 weekly disability payments totalling €116,743.50, 701 weekly carers allowance totalling €125,524.50, and 13 annual respite grant payments totalling €16,287.90, giving a cumulative total of €258,555.70.

When detained at Castlebar Garda Station the accused was forthright in his interviews. He said that each week he simply went into Castlebar Post Office and handed over his and his wife’s social welfare card and got the various payments in cash.

Cross-examined by Michael Bowman, counsel for the accused, Detective Garda O’Donnell agreed the defendant was inoffensive and lived a completely unostentatious lifestyle.

Mr. Bowman agreed the sums involved were 'truly enormous' but maintained 'this was a sin of omission as opposed to somebody who engaged in a calculated scheme of deception'.

Mr. Bowman said the defendant was willing to pay €80,000 in compensation to the department.

Judge Rory MacCabe said the accused had told the probation and welfare services he forgot to notify the appropriate authorities of his wife’s death.

Noting that Leniston’s mother-in-law was dependent on him, the judge imposed a suspended two-year prison sentence on each of the sample charges to which the defendant had pleaded guilty.

He ruled the part compensation of €80,000 be paid to the Department of Social Protection.