A woman who faked two pregnancies and child births, and wore a “false bump” to claim maternity benefit has walked free from court following five months in custody.
Eimear Carroll (43), Hillside, Seffin, Birr, Co Offaly received payments of €12,425 as a result of deceiving the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Education in 2018 and 2019.
The arrangement of maternity leave cover also cost the State another €46,939, the court was previously told.
At a hearing at Tullamore Circuit Court on Friday, Judge Keenan Johnson said evaluation reports indicated Carroll thought she had been unfairly treated at work and used the “pregnancies” to get away from her employment.
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She had pleaded guilty to deception, forgery and the use of a false instrument.
Carroll had previously been remanded in custody for psychological, probation and welfare reports.
On Friday the court imposed a five-year sentence, backdated to February 1st with the remainder suspended after Carroll entered into a bond to keep the peace for seven years and remain under the supervision of the probation service for 12 months.
The judge took into account an early plea of guilty and her repayment of all the money. He said the fraud, which involved fake medical certificates, wearing a “false bump” to work, and creating names of children, meant there was a lot of premeditation.
The offending went on for 18 months to two years and he noted that it was a fraud that would inevitably have been discovered because there were no children.
Carroll, as a teacher, was in a position that required her to set the highest standards, added the judge.
“Her offending represented a huge fall from grace,” the judge said.
Carroll had done well in custody and a probation report indicated she was at low risk of reoffending. Her barrister, John Shortt, said the accused had made initial contact with the Teaching Council with a view to re-employment but because of the “collateral damage” the prospects were probably unlikely.
The maximum penalties available to the court were five years for deception and 10 years for forgery and using a false instrument.
The court previously heard Carroll claimed she had first given birth to a boy named Oran and then to a girl called Emily.
She had also claimed she was married to a man named Peter Parsons and supplied a PPS number for him but there was no person matching the name.
Garda James Martin had previously told the court it was unusual there had been no claim for child benefit, and he found no birth had been registered by Carroll.
A consultant obstetrician named in documents said they had not been prepared by him. Documents from doctors, including a doctor at Clonminch Medical Centre, Tullamore, were created by the accused for her applications.
Gardaí searched the accused’s residence in Birr on February 13th, 2019 and found no evidence that children or a husband were resident there. There was only one furnished bedroom in the house.
