The Indo Daily Revisited: Confronted – Serial fraudster ‘Carrie Jade Williams’ working as au pair in Kildare

Carrie Jade Williams, aka Samantha Cookes

Serial swindler ‘Carrie Jade Williams’ was a live-in au pair for a Kildare family until confronted about her true identity last month.

Also known as Samantha Cookes, the convicted fraudster fled when she was asked who she really was.

A family in Celbridge unwittingly employed Cookes as their live-in au pair for six months, before their child’s school alerted them to her true identity.

Cookes, who has convictions for fraud in Ireland and Britain, has kept a low profile since late 2022. She lived in Kerry as ‘Carrie Jade Williams’ and won international recognition as an up-and-coming writer and disability activist, but that was before Reddit users exposed her criminal background.

The Indo Daily speaks to Sunday Independent journalist Mark Tighe to find out how the fraudster managed to go under the radar for almost two years?

This podcast was originally published on March 25th 2024.