BRAZEN SCAM

Granny, 73, jailed after getting husband to pose as dead dad, 110, & claiming €270k pension in ‘vicious circle’ of fraud

The fraudster pleaded at the judge to show her mercy

• Published: 14:46, 1 Nov 2024
• Updated: 15:18, 1 Nov 2024

A PENSIONER who claimed her dead father-in-law’s pension for nearly 30 years has been jailed.

Brazen granny Margaret Bergin, 73, was sentenced to two years today after pleading guilty to a number of fraud charges.The Co Laois native, pictured above, admitted claiming the pension of the late John Bergin, who died in 1993 aged 82, trousering more than €271,000 before she was rumbled.

The offences were detected after the researcher double checked with Aras an Uachtarain if there was a 110-year-old male in receipt of the State pension.

Sitting at the Circuit Court in Portlaoise today Judge Keenan Johnson imposed a five years and six months, but suspended the final three years and six months.

He told her: “This is an extremely serious case of theft and fraud resulting in a huge loss to the State.