Tralee woman ordered to do community service after stealing €56,000 from late mother's pension
A Kerry woman stole over €56,000 by continuing to draw her deceased mother's pension for two years. She was ordered to complete 120 hours of community service instead of a prison term.
Tralee woman drew dead mother's pension for two years, court told
A woman from Tralee, Co Kerry, has been ordered to carry out 120 hours of community service after stealing €56,217 by continuing to withdraw her late mother's pension following her death, breakingnews.ie reports.
Tracy Kelliher (49), of Alderwood Road, Tralee, pleaded guilty to three sample counts of theft on dates between 2014 and 2016. Judge Sinéad Ní Chúlacháin imposed the community service order on Tuesday in lieu of a 12-month custodial sentence, telling Kelliher it was "so you can pay back something of value to your community".
The judge also imposed concurrent 18-month sentences, suspended in full for three years on strict conditions, on the remaining counts, and directed Kelliher to place herself under the supervision of the Probation Services for six months.
Kelliher's mother, a retired teacher, was in receipt of a Department of Education pension at the time of her death in January 2014. Kelliher failed to notify the department of her mother's passing, and the pension continued to be paid into the account until June 2016, when the Department became aware of the death.
The court heard that Kelliher had previously withdrawn money from the account with her mother's consent while she was alive. Judge Ní Chúlacháin noted that the first post-death withdrawal was made to cover funeral costs and that Kelliher used the funds to meet general expenses rather than to maintain a lavish lifestyle. She was not in employment or in receipt of social welfare at the time.
The judge said there was no suggestion of premeditation or planning, but that Kelliher "simply continued" doing what she had previously been doing. However, Judge Ní Chúlacháin stressed that the offending persisted for two years "long after you should have realised you were not entitled to continue to withdraw the money".
Judge Ní Chúlacháin described the case as "not a victimless crime", noting that Kelliher had stolen from the Department of Education's pension fund, affecting members of the scheme and taxpayers who must make up the shortfall.
The judge took into account a number of mitigating factors. Kelliher had acted as a carer for her mother, who spent a period in a residential care setting, and had dealt with calls from the centre regarding fee arrears, which she attempted to discharge. Kelliher has no previous convictions and has not come to negative garda attention in recent years. Judge Ní Chúlacháin described her as "a pro-social person and of good character" outside of this offending, and noted her expressions of remorse and shame.
Despite the eight years that have passed since the offending came to light, the judge observed that Kelliher had not taken meaningful steps to address employment or her ability to repay the stolen sum. "In the eight years since the offending came to life, you haven't taken steps to address employment or ability to repay," the judge said. She noted Kelliher had recently engaged in counselling and is considered at low risk of re-offending, but offered "no real explanation" to the Probation Services for the lack of progress on other issues, including financial difficulties.
Aoife McNickle BL, defending, asked the court to request an updated probation report and said her client had begun attending sessions with a psychotherapist in January. She added that Kelliher intends to engage with MABS and to seek employment, with repayment of the stolen funds as her stated goal.
Judge Ní Chúlacháin declined to adjourn for an updated report, noting that Kelliher had already been given "quite an ample opportunity" to carry out these tasks, but acknowledged that Kelliher had taken some steps following her initial interactions with the Probation Services.
Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)