Judge Ronan Munro said the 36-year-old carried out a ‘carefully orchestrated plan’ to take money from the State
Judge Ronan Munro said the 36-year-old carried out a ‘carefully orchestrated plan’ to take money from the StateSerial fraudster Samantha Cookes has been sentenced to three years in prison for social welfare fraud and theft over four years when she pretended she had Huntington’s Disease.
Judge Ronan Munro said she conducted a “carefully orchestrated plan” to take money from the State. She also “cynically exploited” sympathy towards people with Huntington’s Disease, he said, handing down sentence at Tralee Circuit Court on Wednesday. Cookes last month pleaded guilty to two counts of deception and 16 sample theft charges. The total involved was €60,334.35. The money was taken initially via supplementary welfare payments and then under disability allowance between February 28th, 2020 and June 12th last.Trump says ‘golden age of America has only just begun’ in speech riddled with exaggerations and inaccuraciesNathan McDonnell’s carry-on-as-normal behaviour suggested a profound dissociation from the €32m of crystal meth in his yard On Wednesday, Judge Munro imposed a four-year sentence but suspended the final year for what he said was a ‘deliberate fraud over a protracted period of time". He said the fraud would have been discovered far quicker had it not been for the Covid pandemic. This was an abuse of the public system and of genuine claimants, he said. The judge said she wrote to him claiming to be a victim of psychosis, but he would not accept a self-diagnosis. Cooke has five previous convictions for similar offences, including posing as a psychologist and taking money for a children’s trip to Lapland that never happened, he said.He backdated her sentence to July of last year, as she has been in prison since was arrested then outside a post office in Tralee. Previously, the court heard Cookes told the department in February 2020 that she had been diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease and epilepsy. She claimed the disease was life-limiting and would prove terminal, but she was unable to see a neurologist because of Covid-19 restrictions.Prosecuting barrister Tom Rice, instructed by State solicitor Diane Reidy, said Cookes accused the department of “major discrimination” when it sought certification of her illness. She wrote letters of complaint saying she was no longer able to hold a pen and could not access support because of pandemic rules. Cookes led a GP into filling out a form in 2020 saying she had previously been diagnosed with the disease. She led the doctor to believe she was struggling to grip things, or to use the stairs or shower, and that her balance was affected.However, the deception quickly unravelled after gardaí, alerted by department officers, obtained her medical records. Cookes failed to turn up for scans and appointments ordered by her GP and did not have genetic testing for her supposed condition. Cooke’s barrister, Richard Liston, previously said a “snowball of deception became an avalanche” during Covid times. His client offered an apology to the doctor and the department.Girl settles High Court action over care received at birth for €6.75mFamous Dublin city centre pub hits the market at €4.25mNathan McDonnell’s carry-on-as-normal behaviour suggested a profound dissociation from the €32m of crystal meth in his yardHead coach Neil Doak makes five changes to Ireland Under-20 side for French clash
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