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A 56-year-old woman from Ireland who collected her deceased mother’s pension for three years told court it was to buy flowers for her grave.
Catherine told the court that the funds were spent on flowers for her mother’s grave.
For three years after her mother’s death, a woman in Ireland continued to collect the deceased’s pension until the unusual silence of official records finally raised suspicion. The incident unfolded in County Meath, where a pension meant for a now-deceased elderly woman continued to be disbursed as if she were still alive. According to a report by the Irish Mirror, it wasn’t until recently that authorities discovered the unsettling truth: the woman’s daughter, 56-year-old Catherine, had been withdrawing the money in her mother’s name all along.
The oversight was made possible by a striking omission – no death certificate had ever been issued, and no notice had been given to the Department of Social Welfare. As a result, the system continued its automatic payments, unknowingly funding a façade that lasted over 36 months.
When investigators eventually brought the case before the Dundalk Circuit Court, the explanation offered by Catherine was as bizarre as it was emotional. She claimed she was not using the money for personal luxury or gain. Instead, she said, it was a way to keep her mother “alive”. The pension funds, she told the court, were spent on flowers for her mother’s grave.
Despite the sentimental rationale, the court treated the matter with the seriousness it deserved. Catherine was sentenced to 240 hours of community service and was ordered to repay the misappropriated funds in weekly installments of €12,000 to the Department of Social Welfare. The total amount fraudulently withdrawn over the three years was not disclosed in the report, but authorities confirmed that restitution would be pursued in full.
