Character ‘unblemished’ after woman cleared of €27k online cheque scam

A mother of five was cleared by a jury for her role in an internet scam relating to counterfeit cheques totalling €27,000.

At Ennis Circuit Court, a jury took 90 minutes to reach a unanimous verdict on nine charges faced by Heidi Lammiman, aged 48, of Kilduff, Tulla, Co Clare, concerning the fraud.

Judge Gerald Keyes then told Ms Lamminan that she could leave court “with your character unblemished”.

The trial heard that Ms Lamminan was duped into getting involved in the scheme after receiving an unsolicited email from “Richard Purr”.

Ms Lamminan told gardaí she spoke with Richard by phone “and he had a deep African accent, Nigerian, maybe Zimbabwe”.

“He tried to put me under pressure in the beginning, saying that his wife needed an operation and could I give him money.

“I told him that he had to wait for his own money… He was a menacing chap.”

Ms Lamminan told gardaí she felt “an absolute idiot” for getting involved in the scheme.

Ms Lamminan received cheques from Mr Purr’s clients to lodge to her account. After the cheques were cleared, she would forward on the monies to Mr Purr less her 20% cut.

Three of the six cheques lodged cleared with a value of €12,300 during 2009/10 and Ms Lamminan received €2,460.

In his closing argument to the jury, Pat Whyms, defending, said the State had not proved that she knew or believed that the cheques were counterfeit.

“Is Heidi Lamminan a criminal mastermind or is she a very foolish woman? Stupidity in itself is not a crime and in this case, foolishness and naivety are relevant factors,” Mr Whyms told the court.

Stephen Coughlan, prosecuting, told the jury that in an interview with gardaí when asked did she not think the arrangement suspicious, Ms Lamminan said: “No, I thought it was great. It happens other people and it’s fine making money off the web.”

Mr Coughlan said: “Being stupid is not a defence.”