Man (61) who used false Afghan passport to claim €43,000 in social welfare spared jail

Natasha Reid

A 61-year-old man who used a false Afghan passport to claim more than €40,000 in social welfare entitlements has been given a suspended sentence.

The judge heard that the Pakistani man is actually entitled to the money under his own name.

Faizal Akbar, with an address at Benburb Street in Dublin, appeared before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, where he pleaded guilty to stealing the money on dates between 2010 and 2019.

Judge Orla Crowe noted that he had used the false passport to open a bank account, get an ‘M10 form’ and make an application to the Department of Social Protection. He then received €43,715 in payments from the department.

This false Afghan passport also allowed him to leave Ireland several times to travel back to Pakistan to see his wife and children.

The court noted that when the Afghan passport had expired, he had self-reported the situation to his bank, stating that he needed a real passport to travel and visit an ailing relative.

The bank contacted the gardaí.

In 2023, Akbar learned that he was eligible for the payment he had wrongly claimed and is now receiving that very same benefit in his own name.

The judge noted that he had no previous convictions and no trappings of wealth; he, in fact, shares a room with three other adults, despite working here. However, his family is understood to have difficult circumstances in Pakistan.

“It’s a very unusual case,” remarked Judge Crowe. “He shouldn’t have done it by obtaining a false passport.”

She imposed a sentence of two years on him, but suspended it full on his own recognisance for four years.

“This will hang over him for that period of four years,” she said.