Corkman defrauded Revenue of €183k

An accountant who should not have been allowed to set up in practice thought up a scheme to defraud the Revenue Commissioners of €183,000 by fraudulent claims for rebates on behalf of 22 PAYE workers in West Cork.

That was done between 2008 and 2012 and yesterday the man received a two-year suspended jail sentence at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Kevin O’Neill, 52, of 18, Radharc An Bhaile, Cork Road, Bandon, Co Cork, was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to sample counts on a 300-count indictment that could have taken a month of evidence if it had gone to trial. Among the accountant’s previous places of employment was a stint working for the Revenue Commissioners between June 2008 and March 2009.