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Daughter faces up to 10 years in jail for pension payments theft in name of dead dad

Bergin stood in the dock with her head bowed as each individual charge was read out by the court clerk

Yesterday at 15:28

A woman charged with the theft of more than €270,000 in pension payments, which she claimed in the name of her dead father, has pleaded guilty to all 15 sample counts of theft and larceny brought against her in court.

Our exclusive image shows Margaret Bergin, of Fairfield House, Mountrath, leaving Portlaoise District Court last week after she was arraigned on 10 counts of theft and five counts of larceny.

Following Bergin’s guilty pleas, the 69-year-old is now facing a maximum jail sentence of 10 years in prison.

An investigation into the pension claims made by Margaret Bergin over a 29-year period on behalf of her father arose after an amateur gerontologist contacted Áras an Uachtaráin to enquire about records showing a 110-year-old man was living in Laois.

Appearing before Judge Patricia Ryan at Portlaoise District Court, Bergin stood in the dock with her head bowed as each individual charge was read out by the court clerk

Prosecutor Will Fennelly BL confirmed there were 15 counts on the indictment and said the State had requested that she be arraigned on each individual count as each was a sample count relating to offences ‘extending to over 25 years.’

The first charge related to larceny in that Bergin between December 31, 1993, and December 31, 1994, did steal from the Department of Social Welfare, now the Department of Social Protection, the sum of €4,407.35 claimed as the non-contributory State pension of John Bergin, deceased.

The remaining 14 charges concerned the larceny and theft of varying amounts claimed as the deceased’s pension during specific periods continuing up until February 2022. The largest amount stolen in a single year was €12,766 between January 1, 2018, and January 1, 2019.

he largest amount stolen covered by a single charge was the sum of €28,445 which Bergin stole through fraudulent claims between January 1, 2020, and February 25, 2022.

After each count was read out by the court clerk, Bergin, who was dressed in a brown jacket with fur trim and dark slacks, quietly responded ‘guilty’.

At an earlier hearing in June, Detective Garda Peter Crosbie outlined the nature of the case.

“This male would be Ireland’s oldest man,” Detective Crosbie told the court. “It is alleged that the researcher decided to contact the Áras as he had suspicions.”

The Áras had a record of a man in Laois who was born on July 2, 1911. They then contacted the Department of Social Protection, who visited Bergin’s home where the fraud was uncovered.

The case was adjourned to January.