Tipperary woman who used false documents to buy €100,000 Land Rover avoids jail

A woman who used false documents to buy a €100,000 Land Rover has received a suspended sentence.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Michelle Parton (56) of Upper Irishtown, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, pleaded guilty, on a full-facts basis, to one count of deception and one count of using a false document on December 6, 2016, and January 25, 2020.

Detective Garda Dominic McGrath told Aideen Collard BL, prosecuting, that Parton contacted a well-known Dublin car dealership about purchasing a Land Rover listed for sale at €104,508. Parton later paid a €28,000 deposit to the car dealer.

The court heard that Parton requested finance for the balance of the purchase and provided the dealership with documents and bank details. While processing the finance agreement, the dealership became concerned about a signature on the driving licence and requested a copy of Parton’s passport, which she was unable to provide as it was being renewed.

Det Gda McGrath told the court that Parton and a dealership staff member met in person and that the dealership was satisfied that Parton was the person photographed on the driving licence.

A loan of €80,000 was granted, but only after Parton cleared an existing loan she had on a Tesla. The loan was drawn down, and Parton took ownership of the Land Rover. Parton made the first repayment of €1,570, but made no further repayments, and the loan fell into arrears.

The court heard that Parton contacted the finance group during COVID and requested a payment break, which the finance group granted. A second payment break was later denied. In October 2020, Parton wrote a cheque for €79,693 to settle her outstanding loan. The cheque bounced, and at the time of writing the cheque, Parton had just over €3,000 in her account.

In late 2021, a Spanish dealership contacted the Dublin dealership and informed them that the vehicle had been surrendered to them. The dealership contacted the gardai and the company that provided the finance for the purchase also made a statement of complaint.

A garda investigation began, and it was established that a number of documents provided by Parton were fraudulent. These documents included a driving licence, a payslip and a bank statement. Gardai also established that Parton had previously used these documents to secure two other loans.

Initially, gardai were unable to make contact with Parton but managed to contact her via phone, and contact was also made with her solicitor. In September 2025, she attended a voluntary garda interview.

The court heard that, on examination of Parton's bank account, she was not making any luxury purchases and that the funds in her account were being used for everyday living expenses.

Parton made a payment of €5,103 to cover the cost of repatriating the car to Ireland and repairing minor damage to the alloy wheels. She has no previous convictions.

Det Gda McGrath agreed with Michael Clancy BL, defending, that once contact was made with his client, everything moved very quickly and she attended for a voluntary interview.

The detective accepted that Parton’s remorse was genuine and that, at the time of the offending, she was in a “fractured” relationship.

Mr Clancy said his client had taken out loans in the past and repaid them all. He said she did surrender the vehicle and paid the repatriation fees immediately once she was made aware of them.

Counsel said his client had been in a “bad place” at the time of this offence but is now in full-time employment and that this was “completely out of character.”

Mr Clancy asked the court to take into account that Parton assisted the investigation, entered a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity, is extremely remorseful, and there is no chance of her re-offending.

When passing sentence today (Friday), Judge Cephas Power said the aggravating features in this case were that the offending took place from 2016 to 2020, and that it was repeat offending. He also noted that planning was involved and that it was a high-value deception.

The judge said the lack of any previous convictions, the very early guilty plea, the previous good character and that this offending was very out of character for Parton were mitigating factors.

Judge Power sentenced Parton to 18 months in prison. He said that exceptional circumstances are required to offer a fully suspended sentence, and in these circumstances, they were present. He suspended the 18-month sentence for three years.