Woman charged with 19 welfare fraud offences to stand trial in Donegal

A book of evidence was served on Oksana Borovtsova, a 50‑year‑old woman from Atlantic Point Apartments, Bundoran, as she appeared before Ballyshannon District Court.

Borovtsova faces 19 charges relating to €5,156 alleged fraud against the Department of Social Protection. The charges include nine counts of stealing cash from the Bundoran Post Office between November 2024 and February 2025, and ten counts of forging signatures on Department of Social Protection documents.

Garda Sergeant Maurice Doyle told the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions has consented to the case being forwarded to the next sitting of the Donegal Circuit Court. Judge Éiteáin Cunningham ordered the matter returned for trial, issued an alibi warning and a section 56 order for interviews.

The defendant, who required an interpreter, was represented by Barrister Dimitry Grinberg BL. Grinberg requested legal aid and a Russian translation of the evidence, which the judge said could be considered at the Circuit Court stage.

If the case proceeds, Borovtsova may also be allowed to enter a signed guilty plea, according to the court’s earlier hearing.

Source: Donegal Daily. Photo: Jean-Paul Wettstein / Pexels.