LIVE: Suspended sentence for Tipperary man who acted as 'money mule' in 'romance fraud'

Two people who acted as “money mules” as part of a €24,000 “romance fraud” have received suspended sentences.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that an 85-year-old man was tricked into paying the monies by somebody pretending to be a divorced American mother on the online dating website Match.com.

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Detective Garda Michael Harney told the court that in June 2020 the Wicklow man, now aged 90, began communicating with this person.

She initially began asking the man to buy some iTunes gift cards for her daughter and he spent about €300 on these.

She then told him that her father had left her an inheritance of €31million but the money was being held in an account in Dubai. She sent him a document purporting to be her father's will.

In July she asked him to transfer €2,800 to a Tipperary-based solicitor in order to obtain an “anti-money laundering certificate” in anticipation of releasing the funds from Dubai.

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The victim transferred this money on July 20, 2020 into a AIB bank account belonging to the defendant David O'Brien (22), of Farranasa, Emly, county Tipperary.

The next month the person pretending to be the divorced woman contacted the victim to say the final step to release the inheritance was to pay storage fees of €24,516.13.

The victim was given the details of a Bank of Ireland account which it later transpired belonged to the co-accused Elisabeth Bello, a 50-year-old mother of Creston Ave., St Margarets Road, Finglas, Dublin 11.

After this transfer the victim made numerous attempts to get his money repaid but contact with the dating profile ceased.

Gardai later approached the victim as part of Operation Engulf, a wider investigation into romance frauds and invoice redirections.

Dt Gda Harney told the court that O'Brien's AIB bank account was also used as part of an invoice redirection fraud on an 80-year-old woman in county Meath.

The woman was getting renovation work done on her home and was due to pay money to a legitimate builder.

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In July 2020 she received an email purporting to come from this builder with his bank details. She transferred €40,000, in four transactions, to the bank account in the email.

It later emerged that this account belonged to a third party, not before the court at this stage, but three payments totalling €6,300 were moved to O'Brien's AIB bank account.

Dt Gda Harney said that neither defendant had any role in planning or operating the romance fraud or the invoice redirection.

Bello pleaded guilty to handling or processing the proceeds of crime on August 17, 2020. O'Brien pleaded guilty to handling or processing the proceeds of crime on dates between July 16 and July 20, 2020.

The court heard that all the monies moved into the two bank accounts was later taken out and neither of the victims have been able to retrieve any of the money they lost.

On August 18 2020 Bello bought a second-hand Volvo V6 using €2,000 in cash alongside €4,995 from her bank account. The rest of the €24,500 had already been withdrawn from her account in various transactions, including the purchase of 4,000 in sterling at a post office.

Judge Orla Crowe said the defendants were guilty of allowing their bank accounts to be used as part of the frauds and that such roles were fundamental to the success of these scams.

But she said that Bello was slightly higher on the ladder and was described in evidence as a “complicit mule” because she knew what she was doing.

She sentenced O'Brien to a prison term of one year and Bello to two years. She suspended both sentences on condition the defendants, who do not know each other and had no connection whatsoever, keep the peace and be of good behaviour.

She noted that O'Brien came from a good family and did not benefit from the scams. She also noted that while he has some previous convictions he has not offended since this offence.

She said she was taking into consideration Bello's good work history for the healthcare system and her expressions of remorse. She noted that in a letter to the court Bello said she was coerced or deceived and that the gardai did not disagree with this claim.

The court heard that the mother-of-seven did not have any trappings of a wealth lifestyle. The offence comes with a maximum penalty of 14 years.

When questioned by gardai at Tipperary garda station O'Brien told them he had given his debit card and pin code to five friends to use to purchase items from shop and withdraw cash.

The records on the account showed seven withdrawals at ATMs in Dublin as well as two transactions, of €610 and €70, at Brown Thomas in Dublin city.

O'Brien said he didn't know where the money going into his account had come from and said that he later lost his bank card.

Bello told gardai that she had met a German man called Kelly who asked to take money into her bank account. She said she was to be paid €2,000 for this.

Judge Crowe said the both defendants' explanations to gardai were implausible.