Men plead guilty over fraudulent land deal

A struck-off solicitor and an elderly businessman will be sentenced shortly for defrauding a bank of almost €9m to buy land now worth €30,000.

Former solicitor John Duffy, 44, sent false letters to Investec Bank on behalf of Tony McAuliffe, 78, to get a loan for 55 acres of land in Co Offaly in 2007.

Through Duffy, McAuliffe promised the bank he had a buyer with a €7m deposit for the land and its sand and gravel deposits.