Cork money mule sentenced after judge rejects 'Father Ted defence'

Money-launderer's claim was described as 'almost as laughable as Father Ted saying the money was resting in my account'

'To suggest that young Irish adults are naive is naive,' Judge James McNulty said in Bandon District Court, going on to say: 'Accordingly, the Father Ted defence is not sustainable,' referring to the character Fr Ted Crilly played by Dermot Morgan in the TV series 'Father Ted'.

A graduate student who allowed his bank account to be used in a 'money mule' offence in which a solicitor lost €100,000 has received a jail sentence after a judge said "the Father Ted defence is not sustainable".

David Sheehan, a 23-year-old from Mill Hill, Distillery Rd, Bandon, had pleaded guilty to an offence under Section 7 of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010, having allowed his bank account to be used in an operation which defrauded the solicitor of €100,000, with more than €43,000 of that being dispersed into bank accounts, including in Pakistan.

Money trail went around the world

Sgt Paul Kelly told Judge James McNulty in Bandon District Court that, on April 9 last year, solicitor Barry Galvin of the firm WB Galvin contacted gardaí saying he had been the victim of a fraudulent deception on April 6 of the same year.

On that date, he had transferred €100,000 from his Bank of Ireland business account to what he believed was a client account in AIB. The solicitor had the money in his business account for purposes of a sale and when that fell through he received an email which he believed belonged to the client seeking to have the monies returned. Instead it was re-directed into Mr Sheehan's account.

Over the next eight days, €46,903.39 was dispersed to other accounts, including in Pakistan. Two ATM withdrawals, of €600 and €1,500, were made in Longford.

By the time the matter was checked, the money had gone through David Sheehan's account, and the court heard he had made no financial gain from the crime.

Mr Sheehan's solicitor, Plunkett Taaffe, said his client had "very limited knowledge" of what had gone on and, having noticed the money had been in his account, raised it with a friend who had asked him to hand over his account details in the first place.

Mr Taaffe said his client was told by his friend that "there was nothing to see, nothing to worry about”. When the judge said this should have sparked concern, Mr Taaffe said: "Perhaps he was hearing what he wanted to hear", adding there might have been an element of "misplaced loyalty".

He said Mr Sheehan came from a good family and had recently graduated in media production at a university in Sunderland.

Judge McNulty said "Young adults today are tech-savvy and social media aware, like never before", adding:  "To suggest that young Irish adults are naive is naive." The judge continued: 

The likelihood of a stranger asking to access and to use your bank account for any innocent or genuine purpose is extremely remote. Almost as risible or laughable as Father Ted saying that the money was ‘resting in my account’. Accordingly, the Father Ted defence is not sustainable. 

He said any penalty needed to feed the common good, saying the “epidemic of online bank robbery and the laundering of stolen money” is being facilitated by young Irish adults.

“So those willing to act as money mules need to learn that to facilitate crime is just as serious as committing crime.” Stressing the need for deterrence, the judge said: “In this sense, the courts must lead not follow.

To punish this offender for this offence in a lenient manner would be to minimise and even trivialise the offence and this would only assist recruiters in persuading people that 'there’s no harm — and no risk — and sure nothing will happen to you'. 

The judge said there were aggravating and mitigating factors, and sentenced Mr Sheehan to six months in prison. Recognisance for appeal was set on Mr Sheehan's own bond of €100, no cash required.