Mayo woman helped to facilitate online loan scam
The defendant pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court.
A Mayo woman who helped to facilitate an internet scam involving a website that offered fake loans has received a suspended prison sentence.
Deirdre Booth, aged 44, originally, from Ballycroy, but living at John Sweeney Park, Tullow, Co Carlow, pleaded guilty at last week's sitting of Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to a charge of money laundering.
The fraudulent activity came to light on December 29, 2020, when a Limerick man reported to Gardai that he had sought a loan online from a company calling itself Yes Loans Ireland. This website was a clone of a legitimate company that had ceased operating.
The man was asked to make two payments totalling €690 to obtain the loan and paid the money into an Allied Irish Bank (AIB) account before realising he had been scammed.
The money was traced back to a bank account in the AIB branch in Castlebar in the name of Deirdre Booth. The defendant had used her mother’s address in Achill Sound when opening the bank account.
The court also heard that a Drogheda man fell victim to the same fraud and paid out the same amounts to Booth’s account.
Judge Eoin Garavan was told that those behind the fake website took 90% of the money in each case and Booth received what amounted to a 10% commission.
The accused has 12 previous convictions.
Barrister Patrick Murphy, representing Booth, said his client is a mother-of-five who was under financial pressure at the time and has since shown remorse for her actions.
Booth claimed she sought a loan from the same fake company but did not have a guarantor and was asked to engage in the illegal practice in order to secure the money.
However, Judge Garavan branded the story "preposterous".
“Does that seem remotely credible? They give her free money basically to test her honesty,” he remarked.
Mr Murphy said his client’s involvement was not sophisticated and her account could be easily traced. She had €1,085 in court as compensation for the two victims.
Judge Garavan said this type of offence is becoming more and more prevalent.
“Facilitators like Ms Booth allow their accounts to be used for pilfering money,” the judge remarked.
He noted that the accused only made €108 from her part in the fraud but said without her involvement the illegal scheme would not have been possible. The judge handed down an 18-month suspended prison sentence.
