Student who engaged in money laundering discharged from indictment

By Jessica Magee

A student who allowed his bank account to be used to hold over €31,000 in laundered money has been discharged from the indictment as he has paid a fine of €500 and has not come to negative garda attention since the case was last heard.

Ogaga Ogheneyoma was aged 17 when the money was transferred into his AIB bank account as part of an invoice redirect fraud.

He pleaded guilty on the date of his scheduled trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to handling the proceeds of crime on November 19, 2018.

The student is now 22 and in his fourth year studying accounting and finance at TU Dublin in Tallaght.

He lives with his parents at Earlsfort Park, Lucan, Co Dublin and has worked part-time throughout college up until this, his final year, the court heard.

After hearing the facts of the case last November, Judge Orla Crowe invoked Section 100 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006, whereby a fine is imposed and sentence is deferred.

Judge Crowe said Ogheneyoma was a child at the time and has got on with his life to a very significant degree since this offence.

She noted that he has no previous convictions.

She ordered Ogheneyoma not to come to garda attention and to pay a fine of €500 before the case was finalised and nominated a 12-month sentence, which she deferred.

On Monday, the court was told Ogheneyoma has not come to negative garda attention in the intervening period and has paid the fine.

Judge Crowe directed that Ogheneyoma was to be discharged from the indictment under Section 100 of the Criminal Justice Act,

She noted he was a “very young man” at the time, who made a “serious misjudgement”.

Garda Damian Reilly previously told Karl Moran BL, prosecuting, that the case came to light when AIB notified gardaí of fraudulent activity in one of their accounts.

Gardaí got a warrant and saw that the sum of €31,842 had been transferred into Ogheneyoma’s account from a legitimate US company, Universal Forest Products.

The firm, based in Georgia, is a trading partner with a company in Ireland, and the money was diverted as part of an invoice redirect fraud.

The court heard there was no evidence that Ogheneyoma had any involvement in the fraud.

Ogheneyoma met gardaí with his mother by arrangement and said he was aware of the money.

George Burns BL, defending, said his client was paid €500 for allowing his account to be used.

Mr Burns said the case was delayed by a number of factors, including the pandemic, through no fault of his client, who has been living a pro-social life since this offence.

The court heard that Ogheneyoma plays football with Celbridge Town and has a supportive network of family and friends.

A probation report placed Ogheneyoma at low risk of reoffending and said he does not require supervision by the Probation Services going forward.