Tallaght man allowed bank account to be used in fraud

A man who allowed his bank account to be used as part of a scheme to defraud people looking for student accommodation in Limerick has been told by a judge to raise compensation for the injured parties.

Speaking in court on Wednesday, Judge Sarah Berkeley told Martin Awoke (26) that she would adjourn the case until July 8 to give him an opportunity to find work and raise compensation for the injured parties.

Awoke of Alexandra House, Tallaght, Dublin 24, pleaded guilty to handling the proceeds of crime on August 12, 2022. He has no previous convictions.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the two injured parties in this case were looking for student accommodation in Limerick and made payments of €5,940 and €3,880 respectively to Awoke’s bank account.

Awoke’s role was limited to allowing his bank account to be used, and he had no involvement in the scheme itself, the court was told.

The total of €9,820 has not been recovered.

When interviewed by gardaí, Awoke said a friend from Nigeria was trying to send another person to Ireland and asked to use his account to send funds for them. Awoke said he withdrew the money in cash and handed this over.

The investigating garda told Diane Stuart BL, prosecuting, that this account did not tally with the transactions in Awoke’s bank account, which showed some cash was withdrawn and a number of other transactions. He was re-interviewed and gave a similar account to gardaí.

The witness agreed with defence counsel that Awoke attended voluntarily for interview, was co-operative and has not come to recent garda attention. It was also accepted that he was working until recently, but has since lost his job

A number of references and a letter of apology were handed to the court. Defence counsel asked the court for time for his client to raise compensation for the injured parties, which he hopes to do with the assistance of family members.

Judge Berkeley suggested Awoke could find a new job to raise compensation for the injured parties.

She noted that the injured parties in this case had lost their “hard-earned” money, which they were using to try to “send their children to college”.

She directed a probation report and said she was willing to give Awoke an “opportunity” to avoid prison and “contribute to the community”.

“He can do that or go through that door [into custody]. It’s his choice,” the judge said, adding that she wanted to see payslips and other documentation on the next date.