A 36-YEAR-OLD WOMAN has apologised to the Department of Social Protection and to a GP for her actions in taking advantage of Covid conditions to deceive them.

Samantha Cookes entered a guilty plea last week at the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee to stealing over sixty thousand euro from the Department of Social Protection.

The thousands of euro were collected from the State first in supplementary welfare, and afterwards in disability allowances over almost a four year period between 28 February 2020 and 12 June 2024 when Cookes persisted in a fraudulent claim that she suffered from a debilitating and ultimately terminal illness.

Supplementary welfare was a temporary form of payment issued in emergency situations for a temporary period of time, Tom Rice, barrister for the DPP, instructed by State solicitor Diane Reidy, outlined at the sentencing hearing in Tralee today.

In a hand-written letter in February 2020 to officers of the Department, Cookes said she had been diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease and also had epilepsy.

This was a disease of the brain, life-limiting and terminal, she said. She was unable to see a neurologist because of Covid restrictions, she also claimed.

She drew 74 payments totalling €17,747.

When the Department of Social Protection sought to put her on disability allowance and sought certification for her illness, Samantha Cookes “fought fire with fire”, garda Ray Liston agreed with the barrister.

Cookes accused the Department of “major discrimination” against her when they tried to carry out checks and ask for medical and other qualifying documentation. She wrote strong letters of complaint saying she was no longer able to hold a pen and could not access support because of Covid regulations.

Depression, dementia, death were all parts of her conditions, she insisted, which she said was a mix of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

She had also led a respected GP into filling out a form in 2020 saying she had been already diagnosed with the disease and referencing other medical people. She led the doctor to believe she was struggling to grip things, use the stairs, shower and her balance and coordination were affected.

“On face value it all looked very plausible and the disability allowance was awarded,” Rice said.

However, the deception quickly unravelled after gardai, alerted by Social Protection officers, carried out an investigation and obtained her medical records. She had failed to turn up for scans and various appointments ordered by her GP, hospital records showed. Necessary genetic testing for her supposed condition had also not been undertaken by her.

Her bank account showed not only had she received the social protection payments, but had also received €36,250 from the Arts Council, Garda Liston found.

Rice said responsible public officials and a GP had been deceived, assisted by the Covid regulations of the time, and Garda Liston agreed.

“Covid times enabled a deception such as this to take place and go on for as long as it did,” defence barrister Richard Liston, instructed by her solicitor Brendan Ahern, also put it to Garda Liston, and he agreed.

Cookes has five relevant previous convictions from Fermoy District Court . These include offences for theft in which she took money from people for a trip to Lapland for children and made a gain by deception posing as a psychologist dealing with autism reports.

At the time of her arrest last July outside the post office in Tralee where she had collected a payment she was living under a false name in Tralee with 18 months, Garda Liston said.

During that time she travelled a lot, and had free travel, he said.

Garda Liston also said her story had no consistency when it was put to him by the defence counsel Mr Liston that she had mental health issues.

She lost a child in 2008 in Cheltenham, she was aged 19, Liston said.

The inquest had no finding of fault and heard the baby’s airways were blocked after a pillow was placed over her face, the court heard after a short adjournment.

She has been in custody since July and is engaging in education – calligraphy, sociology, business and personal development classes. She also works in a prison laundry two days a week, the court was told.

Liston said Cookes wanted to give a formal apology for her actions to the Department and the the GP she deceived during Covid.

“A snowball of deception became an avalanche,” he said

Matters got to such a stage, she found it difficult to go back.

Judge Ronan Munro has adjourned finalisation of the sentencing to 5 March next, remanding her in continuing custody. An official copy of the inquest report is to be handed into court by Ahern.

Last week Samantha Cookes pleaded guilty to two counts of deception charges and 16 theft charges. The total sum involved was €60,334.35.

She pleaded guilty that on dates unknown between 20 February 2020 and 6 October 2021, at Godfrey Place, Tralee, she — dishonestly and with the intention of making a gain for herself or another by falsely stating that she had a medical diagnosis of Huntington’s disease — induced employees of the Department of Social Protection to give her Supplementary Welfare Allowance Payments amounting to €17,747, contrary to Section 6 of the Criminal Justice ( Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001.

The second deception charge involving €40,264.00 related to the period of 3 September 2021 to 1 July 2024, also at Godfrey Place, Tralee, again over falsely stating that she had a medical diagnosis of Huntington’s disease.

She also answered “guilty” to sixteen sample counts of theft of supplementary welfare allowance payments of €201.00 and of €289.50 contrary to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001.