A 76- year-old man whose financial institution accounts had been used for cash laundering after he was “sucked right into a Fb friendship” with an American girl has obtained a six month suspended sentence.
James O’Rourke, of Rosebrien, Newland’s Subject, Graball Bay, Crosshaven, pleaded responsible to 2 counts of cash laundering at Cork Circuit Prison Court docket, which heard that greater than €120,000 was fraudulently moved by means of his financial institution accounts.
Brian Leahy, O’Rourke’s barrister, mentioned his shopper inadvertently obtained concerned in criminality due to a lack of understanding of web scams.
Det Garda James O’Reilly mentioned the sums included €52,000 despatched from a agency in Sweden to the defendant’s Financial institution of Eire account in April 2020. Two additional sums of €29,000 and €40,000 had been transferred from an organization in France to his AIB account across the similar time.
Issues raised
Issues had been raised by the banks and O’Rourke was detained for questioning by gardaí, throughout which he acknowledged that he was in full management of each accounts.
Det Garda O’Reilly mentioned the businesses concerned had fallen sufferer to “e mail redirect fraud”. The businesses had made complaints to police of their respective jurisdictions concerning the matter.
The €52,000 from Sweden was transferred to a checking account in Lithuania quickly after it landed in O’Rourke’s account, the courtroom heard.
Decide Seán Ó Donnabháin heard that O’Rourke had withdrawn simply €1,570 of the cash despatched from France.
By no means been in hassle
Mr Leahy mentioned O’Rourke absolutely cooperated with the investigation and had by no means been in hassle with the regulation in his life. The courtroom heard O’Rourke, who gathered €1,500 in compensation, was at a monetary loss from his actions.
“He obtained concerned on this rip-off by way of Fb. He invested €2,000 in a programme to feed homeless folks in Nigeria having been instructed he would treble his funding and get €6,000 again. He did this to complement a meagre pension,” Mr Leahy mentioned.
“He wouldn’t be massively savvy with the web and he was sucked right into a Fb friendship and believed there was straightforward cash to be made.”
Decide Ó Donnabháin mentioned it “can be alright for a 15-year-old to say one thing like that however your lad is 76-years-old”.
Mr Leahy mentioned his shopper had been “duped” into investing in a scheme and promised that an funding would come to fruition.
The choose mentioned O’Rourke’s choices had been “unwise” and it was onerous to know how “bells, whistle and flags” didn’t go off when he realised his financial institution accounts had been getting used to switch cash.