Sunday 1 November 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 0410Fraud · Co. Cork

Two Sinn Féin politicians under investigation over alleged Cork business fraud

Gardaí have completed a near five-year investigation into an alleged €200,000 business fraud at a Cork company and forwarded a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions. The allegations concern inflated invoices for relief work, holiday pay and pallet returns between 2014 and 2019. Sinn Féin councillor Kenneth Collins was arrested by appointment at Togher Garda station on 3 January 2025 and questioned for around 10 hours. Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould, a former logistics manager at the company, was arrested by appointment at the same station on 7 March 2025 and questioned for 10 hours. Both men were released without charge and deny the allegations.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrested8 Mar
    3 reports
  3. Charged
  4. In court
  5. Verdict
  6. Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
What happened
An alleged fraud at a Cork company involved inflated invoices for relief work, holiday pay and pallet returns, valued at €150,000 in earlier reports and €200,000 in a later report.
Where
The alleged fraud took place at a company in Cork where both suspects were employed.
When
The alleged fraud occurred between 2014 and 2019.
Cause
An audit of the company's accounts found alleged discrepancies in payment approvals.
Investigation
  • Gardaí completed a near five-year investigation and forwarded an almost 600-page file to the DPP.
  • Sinn Féin councillor Kenneth Collins was arrested by appointment at Togher Garda station on 3 January 2025 and questioned for around 10 hours.
  • Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould was arrested by appointment at Togher Garda station on 7 March 2025 and questioned for 10 hours.
  • Both men were released without charge and deny the allegations.
Charges
Gould was arrested on suspicion of fraud and detained under section four of the Criminal Justice Act.
Other details
  • Gould had worked at the company as a logistics manager for 16 years before being elected to Dáil Éireann in 2020.
  • Collins had been employed as a truck driver at the same company.
  • The complaint was made by Gould's former employer.
  • Gould is undergoing treatment for bowel cancer.
47 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatA member of the Oireachtas was arrested and questioned by gardaí about an alleged €150,000 business fraud almost a decade ago. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatGardaí are investigating an alleged fraud at a company where the politician was employed before being elected to the Oireachtas. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatThe politician allegedly signed off on invoices and authorised payments totalling almost €150,000 to another person knowing the invoices were for sums in excess of what was owed. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatA man was arrested and released without charge as part of an ongoing fraud investigation. (thejournal.ie)
  • whatThe man arrested is a member of the Oireachtas. (thejournal.ie)
  • whatThe investigation concerns an alleged €150,000 business fraud from almost 10 years ago. (thejournal.ie)
  • whatThomas Gould was arrested and questioned by gardaí in connection with an alleged €150,000 business fraud. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatHe was questioned about a series of payments made through a company where he was employed nearly a decade ago. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatIt is alleged Gould signed off on invoices and issued payments knowing the amounts exceeded what was originally owed. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatThe alleged fraud was worth €200,000 at a Cork company (irishtimes.com)
  • whatThomas Gould is the Cork North Central Sinn Féin TD (irishtimes.com)
  • whatKenneth Collins is a Sinn Féin councillor representing the Cork North West Ward on Cork City Council (irishtimes.com)
  • whatGould was employed at the company before becoming a full-time politician (irishtimes.com)
  • whatCollins was employed as a truck driver at the same company (irishtimes.com)
  • whatThe investigation centred on an alleged fraudulent payment of invoices for relief work and holiday pay (irishtimes.com)
  • whatThe investigation also centred on an alleged fraudulent payment of money for the return of pallets (irishtimes.com)
  • whatThe company operated a payment scheme for all pallets returned after deliveries (irishtimes.com)
  • whatGould was a logistics manager at the company where he worked for 16 years (irishtimes.com)
  • whereGould was interviewed by gardaí in Cork. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whenThe politician was arrested by arrangement on Friday after presenting at a Garda station near their home, accompanied by a solicitor. (irishtimes.com)
  • whenThe arrest took place the day before the report of 8 March 2025. (thejournal.ie)
  • whenGould was arrested by appointment on 7 March 2025 at Togher Garda station in Cork (irishtimes.com)
  • whenThe alleged fraud happened between 2014 and 2019 (irishtimes.com)
  • whenCollins was arrested by appointment on 3 January 2025 at Togher Garda station (irishtimes.com)
  • whenGould was elected to Dáil Éireann in 2020 (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationA file is expected to be sent to the DPP in relation to the allegations. (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationSources said the investigation is ongoing and no findings have been reached. (thejournal.ie)
  • investigationThe alleged fraud came to light after a review of accounts of a business the politician worked for before being elected. (thejournal.ie)
  • investigationAn audit found alleged discrepancies in payment approvals. (thejournal.ie)
  • investigationA file is expected to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions. (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationParty councillor Kenneth Collins, who worked for the company, was questioned by Gardaí in January as part of the inquiry. (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationGardaí sent a file to the DPP after completing a near five-year investigation (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationThe file forwarded to the DPP was almost 600 pages (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationGould was questioned for 10 hours (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationCollins was questioned for around 10 hours (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationBoth men were released without charge (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationThe file includes memos of interviews, witness statements, company records and receipts (irishtimes.com)
  • chargeThe politician was arrested on suspicion of fraud and detained under section four of the Criminal Justice Act. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherThere are other persons of interest in the case who have been under investigation. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherThe politician had left the business before being elected to the Oireachtas. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherThe politician is the second person to be arrested and questioned about the alleged fraud and deception believed to have taken place over four years. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherThe suspect was released on Friday night after evidence gathered in the case had been put to them. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherSimon Harris said he was satisfied the person is not a member of the Fine Gael parliamentary party. (thejournal.ie)
  • otherGould is undergoing treatment for bowel cancer. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherGould had worked with the company for over 16 years as a logistics manager before his election to the Dáil in 2020. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherThe complaint was made by Gould's former employer. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherBoth men deny the allegations (irishtimes.com)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 17 Aug2026
    Otheririshtimes.com, first report
    File sent to DPP on two Sinn Féin politicians facing €200,000 fraud investigation

    Reports that the Garda investigation is complete and the file has been forwarded to the DPP, detailing the allegations of fraudulent invoice payments and pallet return payments spanning 2014–2019, and confirming both men were released without charge.

    accused, Thomas Gould, male, named, irish (judged from name)Thomas Gouldaccused, Kenneth Collins, male, named, irish (judged from name)Kenneth Collins
  2. 10 Mar2025
    Arrestedirishmirror.ie, first report
    TD arrested in connection with alleged €150,000 business fraud issues statement

    Gould's statement denying the allegations and details of the interview; Mary Lou McDonald's party statement confirming the complaint and that other people including Kenneth Collins were questioned.

    accused, Thomas Gould, male, named at arrest, irish (judged from name)Thomas Gouldaccused, Kenneth Collins, male, named at arrest, irish (judged from name)Kenneth Collins
  3. 8 Mar2025
    Arrestedthejournal.ie, first report
    Harris says Oireachtas member arrested in garda fraud investigation 'not a member of Fine Gael'

    Reports the arrest of an unnamed Oireachtas member on 7 March 2025 in an ongoing fraud investigation, and Simon Harris's comments that the person is not a Fine Gael parliamentary party member.

    suspect, male
  4. 8 Mar2025
    Arrestedirishtimes.com, follow-up
    Oireachtas member arrested over alleged €150,000 business fraud

    Provides details of the arrest process (by arrangement, accompanied by a solicitor, near their home), describes the nature of the alleged fraud (signing off inflated invoices, discovered during an accounts review), confirms the politician is the second person arrested, and notes the suspect was released Friday night with a file to be prepared for the DPP.

    suspect