Woman who duped legal secretary into not repaying money owed to former partner avoids jail

Judge Brian O’Callaghan imposed a two-and-a-half-year suspended sentence on the defendant. He said the primary victim in the case was the legal secretary who had been duped by the accused and he ordered Mary Fitzgerald to pay €5,000 compensation to her. File photo: iStock

A Limerick woman duped a legal secretary into not holding on to a sum of €28,700 that should have been retained for the woman’s former partner as the repayment of money he had lent to her.

Mary Fitzgerald, 64, of Rose Cottage, Ballygriffin, Patrickswell, Limerick, forged a document that appeared to show her ex-partner had already been paid and the solicitor’s office did not need to retain the money for him.