Controller who stole €1.7m from Finglas Credit Union jailed

A credit controller who stole almost €1.7m from Finglas Credit Union over a seven-year period by taking out bogus loans and stealing cheques has been jailed for three years.

Paul O’Brien, aged 51, took out additional fraudulent loans in order to make repayments on the pre-existing ones. The money was used to fund his severe gambling addiction and on three occasions to pay either his mortgage or credit card bills.

Garda Lisa Sheehan confirmed the total amount taken from the credit union was €1,669,696 in the form of 215 fraudulent loans and 13 stolen cheques, however because he used some of the cash to make repayments on the loans, the net loss to the credit union was €453,300.