Serial fraudster Samantha Cookes, also known as Carrie Jade Williams, has been arrested in connection with social welfare fraud. 

Gardaí arrested the woman in her 30s at a post office in Tralee yesterday morning. 

She was taken as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged welfare fraud in Tralee. 

Ms Cookes, who’s from the UK, is a serial scammer who has used several identities to defraud people. 

Two years ago in Kenmare, Co Kerry, she posed as a disability activist called Carrie Jade Williams. 

She claimed to have Huntington’s disease – which is fatal – and that she had written a screenplay that had been acquired by Netflix. 

She has also used the aliases Lucy Williams and Rebecca Fitzgerald as part of her fraud. 

Ms Cookes was previously convicted in the UK over a pregnancy surrogacy scam - and has been convicted of fraud charges in Ireland in several Irish counties, including Cork. 

The woman was the subject of the RTÉ podcast The Real Carrie Jade, which details their own interaction with Ms Cookes. 

Gardaí said no further information was available.