Fraudster Who Posed As Au Pair In Kildare Received €36,200 In Arts Council Grants Using Fake Identity

Monday, 24 February 2025 08:50

By Martin Osborne

Samantha Cookes, convicted in Ireland and Britain for fraud, pleaded guilty last week to deception and theft of €60,000 in social welfare disability payments over a four-year period up to 2024.

A serial fraudster, who posed as an au pair in Kildare and accused a Celbridge family of owing her over €7,000 in unpaid wages, received grants of €36,200 from the Arts Council using a fake name to support her literature work.

Samantha Cookes, convicted in Ireland and Britain for fraud, pleaded guilty last week to deception and theft of €60,000 in social welfare disability payments over a four-year period up to 2024.

She falsely claimed that she suffered from Huntington's Disease.

In 2021, according to the Sunday Independent, the Arts Council gave her a grant of €15,000 for an English-language bursary in literature under the name “Jade Cooke”.

The following year, she received a €21,250 “project award” for an English-language literature project.

The Arts Council has declined to answer questions about her applications.

Cookes has used multiple personas from "Lucy Fitzwilliam", the speech therapist to "Rebecca Fitzgerald", the autism expert, and "Sadie Harris" - the au pair.

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