Man in sham marriages case to be tried in Circuit Court

The case of a Mauritian man living in Dublin accused of using bogus documentation to facilitate marriages of convenience is too serious to be heard at district court level, a judge has ruled.

Dublin District Court heard Resen Modeley, aged 30, allegedly told gardaí it cost €7,000 for an arranged marriage. He was allegedly involved in 50 of them, which would have amounted to €350,000 but had to use most of the money to cover significant expenses.

The father of six was arrested following an investigation by the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB).

He has three counts under the Theft and Fraud Act for using as false instruments two letters from a guest house offering employment to a named man and woman, between May 6 and May 7, 2015, at his home address, at Chapel Gate, St Alphonsus Rd, in Dublin 9.

He also has another charge for using another letter from the same guest house as a false instrument between April 28 and May 29, 2015. He is also charged with unlawfully possessing a stun gun disguised as a flash-light, and possession of a quantity of cannabis.

Judge Michael Walsh was given an outline of the allegations to determine whether the case should remain in the District Court or go forward to the Circuit Court.

He said the defendant was still entitled to the presumption of innocence but he ruled that the case was too serious to be dealt with at district court level. After refusing jurisdiction, he remanded the defendant on continuing bail to appear again next month.

It is expected that Mr Modeley will then be served with a book of evidence and be returned for trial to the higher court.

The court has heard the alleged offences came to light as part of an investigation into marriages of convenience and fraudulent residents’ card applications.

The defendant allegedly paid a member of staff at a business to produce the fictitious job offer letters for him to help Portuguese nationals obtain PPS numbers which were necessary to apply to marry a foreign national.

Judge Walsh was told the letters were fictitious and the owner of the guest house was not aware they had been created. On the strength of the letters, PPS numbers were issued.

On November 25, GNIB officers searched the defendant’s home. It is alleged a stun gun disguised as a torch was also found along with €150 worth of cannabis and the documents.

The court heard that, on the back of them, he had been running a commercial enterprise since coming to Ireland in 2009.

It was estimated that, after paying a “large outlay” to third parties for expenses, Mr Modeley earned approximately €62,500 in more than six years. In recent years, his business “went through the roof”, the court had heard.

Defence solicitor Cahir O’Higgins asked the court to note the allegations before the court related to three documents. His client was offering consultancy to people with immigration difficulties and was charging a fee for his work.

Mr Modeley had worked in a third-level private school attended by a lot of foreign nationals, the court was told. Gardaí accepted that he did not have a lavish lifestyle and Mr O’Higgins also said his client had been supporting his family.