Man jailed for claiming payments under false name after he fled UK while on release from prison
Sonya McLean
A man who claimed social protection payments under a false name after he fled the UK while he was on temporary release there from prison has been jailed for two years.
Nasser Hussein (35) had residency in the UK and was on temporary release there when he came to Dublin, having travelled to Ireland from Belfast.
He used a false name to secure a social protection card, which later allowed him to claim €5,913 in payments for day-to-day living.
It was accepted in court that he used the false name in order to cover up his status in the UK. He has 21 previous convictions, including six for robbery.
Hussein told gardaí, when first approached, that he was the “son of God”. He was arrested in February 2025 and has been in custody since.
He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to deception in Dublin on March 15th 2024.
Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting, told the court that gardaí tracked down Nasser and were satisfied that he had been using a false identity after they found documents relating to his true identity in his rucksack.
Nicola Cox BL, defending, submitted that her client had travelled here in order to try and secure employment to support in his family in the UK.
Counsel said when Hussein could not find work, it was suggested to him, by someone he became acquainted with, that he apply for the payment for day-to-day living expenses, and he used the false name to secure that payment.
Counsel said he had been living in a tent when he first came here before he applied for the payment to assist him. She submitted that he was “merely trying to survive”.
Judge Orla Crowe said Hussein had no entitlement to come here as he had residency in the UK.
She said the court could not overlook the fact that he was on temporary release from prison and commended the gardaí for their investigation.
Judge Crowe said Hussein took money he was simply not entitled to and took that money from people who can legitimately claim it.
She said the case warranted a headline sentence of three years before she imposed a two-year prison sentence backdated to when he went into custody last February.
