Court orders man to hand over €36k he said was poker winnings

Limerick Circuit Court ordered the forfeiture of €36,000 from a professional poker player who claimed it was part of a big win in a poker classic.

Judge Tom O’Donnell said he was satisfied that the money seized from Paul Carr, aged 33, of Vartry Avenue, Raheen, was the proceeds of crime. Mr Carr maintained the money was part of €300,000 he won in a poker classic.

John O’Sullivan, counsel for the DPP, applied for the forfeiture of the money, which was found and seized during a search of a house in May 2011.

The house was occupied by a woman, the girlfriend of an associate of Mr Carr.

In a sworn affidavit, Det Garda David Boland said Mr Carr indicated that the money came from a poker classic a short time before it was discovered in 2011.

However, Det Boland claimed there was no record of Mr Carr winning money at this tournament, although he was present.

There was evidence that Mr Carr did win a sum of €300,000 at a Paddy Power classic held in Apr 2010.

Det Boland further claimed in his affidavit that the holding and concealment of cash in such large amounts was a classic method used by criminals to avoid detection.

He said Mr Carr and his associate had extensive criminal records which contained drug convictions.

Det Boland further claimed that on numerous occasions Mr Carr had been seen in the company of well-known criminals.

In his affidavit, Mr Carr claimed that in an interview with gardaí he told them he had won the money in an Apr 2010 tournament and not a tournament the following year, but the gardaí had confused the two tournaments.

In his affidavit he said he would frequently stash large sums with friends to avoid being the subject of theft or robbery.

Judge O’Donnell said he was satisfied on the balance of probability that the money seized was the proceeds of crime and that the €36,000 should be forfeit to the State.

The court was also told that cash totalling €244,330 belonging to Mr Carr, was seized by gardaí in Aug 2011. It was found in a plastic bag in a car and may be the subject of forfeiture proceedings at a future date.