Posted by April 10, 2025 10:00 Anthony Ellis Irish News
A man described in court as “honourable” has received a suspended sentence after claiming over €25,000 in social welfare payments using a relative’s PPS number, reports The Mirror.
Thomasz Pysz, aged 46, of Little Pace Drive, Clonee, Dublin, had more than €10,000 frozen from his bank account and transferred to the Department of Social Welfare as part of the sentence.
He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to four sample counts of theft from the Department between 2019 and 2021. The fraud included payments under the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) scheme as well as Disability Allowance, reports The Mirror.
Garda Stephen Byrne told the court that the investigation began in September 2021 after a complaint was made alleging Pysz was using two PPS numbers — one to work and another to claim benefits.
It was revealed that Pysz was claiming benefits under his own PPS number, while working under the PPS number of his brother-in-law, who had left Ireland in 2016. He also used his brother-in-law’s bank account to receive his wages, reports The Mirror.
The court heard Pysz fraudulently received €9,235.50 in Disability Allowance and €16,303 in PUP.
During the investigation, Gardaí approached the owner of the building company where Pysz had been employed. When shown a photo of Pysz, the owner identified him as the man who had worked for him, believing him to be the individual who had left the country. When shown a photograph of the actual brother-in-law, the owner did not recognise him, reports The Mirror.
Garda Byrne said there was no evidence implicating the brother-in-law in the fraud, although he was aware that his bank account was being used by Pysz. He has not been charged.
Defence counsel Luigi Rea BL told the court that Pysz had made repayments and set up a payment plan with the Department. An outstanding debt of €21,814 remains, reports The Mirror.
Mr Rea said his client, originally from Poland, had mental health difficulties and provided a letter from a doctor. He told the court that Pysz’s actions stemmed from financial pressures at home and the breakdown of his marriage.
“He is an honourable man who did a dishonourable thing,” Rea told the court, reports The Mirror.
Judge Martin Nolan acknowledged that Pysz had been struggling at the time and said a custodial sentence was not warranted.
He handed down a 20-month sentence, suspended on the condition that the €10,917 in Pysz’s bank account be seized and transferred to the Department. He also noted that Pysz continues to cooperate with a separate repayment arrangement, reports The Mirror.
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