Vulnerable 52-year-old housewife avoids jail for money laundering

By Fiona Ferguson

A “vulnerable 52-year-old housewife” whose bank account was used in an online fraud by a man she believed to be a US soldier with romantic intentions has avoided a jail term for money laundering.

Mary O’Sullivan, of Ballymakealy Grove, Celbridge, Co Kildare, began communicating online with the man via social media while her own marriage was breaking down.

The man requested that O’Sullivan set up a bank account, which was then used to transfer the proceeds of a €65,000 invoice redirection fraud carried out by criminals. O’Sullivan told gardai she trusted the man and did not believe there was anything suspicious going on.

 The court heard O’Sullivan was a vulnerable individual who had difficulties thinking through the consequences of her actions and could be taken advantage of when emotionally vulnerable.

 A businesswoman, who was the injured party in relation to the invoice redirection fraud, submitted a victim impact statement to the court outlining how she was at the loss of over €65,000.

 Gardai told the court that none of the money had been recovered, but some assets had been seized in Nigeria.

O’Sullivan pleaded guilty to money laundering on the basis of recklessness at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on April 8, 2019. She has no previous convictions.

Passing sentence on Friday, Judge Martin Nolan said criminals had hacked the injured party’s account and enticed her to pay money into O’Sullivan’s account, which was then dispersed.

He noted that the businesswoman had lost €65,000 and also had to pay the company, which never received the money, so she was at a loss of closer to €100,000 by the actions of third parties.

He said O’Sullivan had met an individual on the internet and had been inveigled to cooperate.

He said she had particular vulnerabilities and had a low level of culpability. He said she did not really understand that fraud was taking place. He said she had acted recklessly but was unlikely to reoffend.

Judge Nolan said it would be unjust to imprison her by reason of her vulnerabilities and imposed a two-year sentence, which he suspended in full.

Sergeant Olive Holden told Lisa Dempsey BL, prosecuting, that the injured party was a UK resident who had been the victim of an invoice redirection fraud, in which a fraudulent email was sent to her following a system hack with incorrect bank details for an invoice she had been expecting.

The company then contacted her to say they had not been paid, and she realised she had been the victim of fraud. Subsequent investigations revealed the money had been paid into an account opened by O’Sullivan at the Bank of Ireland.

O’Sullivan told gardai she had opened the bank account after being requested to do so by a man she met via social media. She had become friends with the man who told her he was a US soldier stationed in Nigeria. The court heard she was having marital difficulties at the time.

She said the man asked if she would facilitate the transfer of €65,000 for him and she could keep €5,000. The money arrived in the account, and she filled in an international transfer form, so  €60,000 was transferred to Nigeria and  she attempted to transfer €1,500 via Western Union.

Two withdrawals of €600 euros were made from the account at ATMs, as well as further transfers of smaller amounts requested from her. O’Sullivan said she spent some money on groceries.

O’Sullivan told gardai she took people at face value and thought it was all ok at the time. She said the man told her he had loads of money and would give the money she sent him back to her. She said he promised her a house and a car, but she did not intend to leave her husband.

She said she had trusted and accepted what he said about being in the army, but when she mentioned it to a friend, her friend told her it was a fraud. O’Sullivan said she canvassed this with the man and did not believe it was wrong.

She said she did not know the money was stolen until gardai told her.

The garda agreed with Jennifer Jackson BL, defending, that this offence happened five years ago and O’Sullivan had never been on the garda radar before or since.

The garda agreed there had been romantic advances from the online friend she met via social media.

Ms Jackson said a psychologist had assessed O’Sullivan’s intellectual ability to be borderline low to extremely low. She would consequently have difficulties reflecting on her own behaviour and thinking through the consequences of her actions and may be taken advantage of when emotionally vulnerable.

She said her client accepts she was an important cog in the money laundering, but submitted she was a “classic” money mule – a “vulnerable 52-year-old housewife going through a marital breakup” who is contacted romantically on the internet and falls for it.

Counsel submitted her culpability was on the lower end and asked for her guilty plea to be taken into account.