Samantha Cookes, known as “fake nanny Carrie Jade,” admitted to defrauding the state of welfare and disability payments.
Cookes appeared in Tralee Circuit Criminal Court and admitted to many counts of defrauding the state. She collected welfare and disability allowances for four years.
Cookes, aged 36, falsely claimed she had Huntington’s Disease. This allowed her to improperly obtain welfare and disability money, accumulating over €60,000 in total.
Samantha Cookes said “guilty” to 18 counts. She was in custody since July, after Gardaí arrested her at a Tralee Post Office. Sentencing is scheduled for next week.
This is the latest chapter in Cookes’ long-running fraud. Also known as “Carrie Jade Williams,” she is described as a serial scammer who has posed as many things.
She has acted as a writer, an autism guru, a surrogate, a nanny, and a patient. She also pretended to be disabled. A podcast explored her story.
In 2017, she went by the name of autism therapist Rebecca Fitzgerald. She was also Airbnb operator Carrie Jade, and used the names Lucy Fitzwilliam and Lucy Hart.
She gained attention on social media in 2022 when she claimed she had Huntington’s Disease. Furthermore, she claimed guests supposedly sued her for €450,000 regarding an Airbnb case that garnered significant attention.
She claimed these guests were “traumatized” and complained to Airbnb. Airbnb supposedly told her to refund them, a story that angered many people.
Vice later found no record of these events; Airbnb had noted nothing about the complaint. “Carrie Jade” was actually Samantha Cookes, and she had a documented history of lying.
Cookes disappeared after the report got released. She may have gone back to the UK, although some say she returned to Ireland. People tracked her location online.
RTÉ also created a podcast about her, which explored her strange story and background.
Gardaí caught her in Kerry on July 12, 2024. She tried to collect welfare at a Tralee Post Office.