Man who created fictitious loans worth €14,000 has avoided jail

By Fiona Ferguson

A former agent for a personal credit company who created fictitious loans for himself totalling €14,000 has avoided a jail term.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Aidan Donegan (51) was a single parent who needed money at the time but has now repaid the fraudulent loans in full.

Donegan of Daltree Avenue, Ballycullen, Dublin 24, pleaded guilty to creating fictitious loans, at Provident Personal Credit, Ballybogan Business Park, Cabra on dates in 2013 and 2014.

He also pleaded guilty to using a passport knowing it to be a false instrument and stealing €700.

Detective Garda Patricia Davey told Karl Finnegan BL, prosecuting, that Donegan worked as a self employed agent of the UK-based company which provided small personal loans.

In his role he would assist in having loans authorised and collect payments on the loans.

When loans were authorised Donegan would be issued with a float cheque which he would cash and pass the cash on to the customer.

The court heard Donegan created 13 loans in the names of fictitious people or fraudulently in the names of people who already had loans with the company.

He also used fake documentation in relation to a loan and took a €700 loan in his own name which was not repaid.

The loans totalled €14,700 but some has since been repaid and the outstanding amount of €12,575 was in court to be paid over to the injured party today.

The garda agreed with Kieran Kelly BL, defending, that it was a complex case and the delay was not to be laid at Donegan’s door.

She agreed he had flagged a guilty plea at an early stage.

Mr Kelly said his client was a single parent at the time, needed money to put food on the table and had a lot of issues folding in on top of him.

He submitted each amount involved was small although the total was large.

He said Donegan has not been in trouble before or since this.

Judge Martin Nolan noted Donegan had reimbursed the injured party and was unlikely to reoffend.

He said none of the people whose names were used had suffered any loss and Donegan had no prior record.

Judge Nolan said he did not think the court would be justified in imprisoning him and imposed a two and a half year suspended sentence.