'Flood of claims' led to vet's downfall

BBC NI's rural affairs correspondent Martin Cassidy outlines the story of a Northern Ireland vet who became involved in a scam which eventually led to his downfall.

Seamus Fegan's story is that of a professional man who became involved in a fraud in south Armagh.

Now his reputation and career are in ruins as he begins a 15-month prison sentence.

A police investigation found that he had conspired in fraudulent claims against the Ministry of Defence involving farmers in south Armagh.

Seamus Fegan: Sentenced to 15 months in prison

Fegan was found guilty of 31 counts of conspiracy to defraud and asked for a further 12 offences to be taken into account.

The court was told that the vet from Burren near Warrenpoint faced only sample charges which would have netted him more than £14,000 in professional fees.

The farmers he conspired with pocketed more than £100,000.

This is how the fraud worked.

To lodge a compensation claim, the farmer needed a post mortem examination of the animals and a report from a veterinary surgeon.

The prosecution said the Ministry of Defence relied on the vet's report as a seal of authenticity but in Fegan's case it had been a false seal to support dishonest claims.

The prosecution said that Seamus Fegan was the key to the Ministry of Defence money box.

A trickle of claims turned into a flood as the vet, and the farmers he conspired with, set about systematically defrauding taxpayers.

Claims for cattle, sheep and horses, said to have been panicked by helicopters and drowned or broke their necks, ranged from £800 to more £8,000.

Fegan and a group of farmers may have come to see helicopters as money falling from the sky but the game was nearly up

There were rich pickings for the farmers and the vet.

As the fraud became established, the claims became more outrageous.

At its peak, the vet claimed to have carried out more than 200 post mortems a day.

Expert witnesses told the court that this would have been physically impossible.

In one year alone, Fegan claimed to have carried out 9,000 post mortems on animals which were said to have died as a result of low flying helicopters.

Academically gifted

Fegan and a group of farmers may have come to see helicopters as money falling from the sky but the game was nearly up.

As the police closed in they found the vet was playing golf in the west of Ireland at times he claimed to have been carrying out post mortems on livestock in south Armagh.

At the time the police investigation began in 1994, more than £8m was being paid out annually.

The police say that the trial and investigation costs of around £6m have been more than offset by a reduction in claims which the PSNI Fraud Unit puts at more than £40m.

Seamus Fegan showed no emotion as he was taken down to begin his sentence.

He was described in court as one of the most academically gifted in his class but his involvement in fraud may signal the end of his career as a vet.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons will now consider his conviction and decide whether to strike him off.