Dubliner stole €27k through fake package holidays to fund cocaine habit

A Dublin man who stole over €27,000 from friends and acquaintances by selling them bogus package holidays has been remanded on bail and will be sentenced in February.

37-year-old Aaron Weinrib of Cambridge Villas, Rathmines, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to eight sample charges of theft and fraud on dates between June and December 2010.

The court heard he had been selling three different holiday packages to New York, Las Vegas and Cape Town while claiming to be an agent for tour operator Top Flight.

His defence counsel said he used the money to keep up with his cocaine lifestyle having lost his job.

Weinrib intends to use half of his current weekly wage of €400 to refund his victims.