Former hurler DJ Carey told to expect custodial sentence in €394k cancer fraud case

DJ Carey arriving at the Central Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin. Picture: IrishPhotoDesk.ie

Former GAA star DJ Carey has been told by a judge to expect a custodial sentence, after defrauding friends, family and fans of more than €394,000 to treat a cancer he never had.

The ex-Kilkenny hurler, 54, was remanded in custody on Friday after a sentencing hearing at Dublin Criminal Courts of Justice and will return to court to hear his sentence on Monday.

He pleaded guilty in July to 10 counts of inducing people to give him money after fraudulently claiming to have cancer.

The court also heard details of another eight cases which were to be taken into consideration for sentencing.

In total Carey was given €394,127 and $13,000, of which, he repaid €44,203.

Prosecuting counsel Dominic McGinn told the court the former player carried out a “series of deceptions” as he outlined the details of each count against Carey.

The court heard how gardaí were first alerted to Carey’s crimes by a financial institution, when one of their customers who was “getting on in years” tried to transfer money to him.

Carey told his victims he needed treatment in Seattle, in the US, for cancer, telling several that his status as an “elite athlete” meant he would receive some free treatment but needed help with travel, additional treatment and living costs.

Among those he defrauded was billionaire businessman Denis O’Brien who gave him €125,182 and $13,000, none of which has been repaid.

He also provided use of a house and a car for a period of time.

The court heard they first met on a golf trip to South Africa in 1997 and often played together when Carey was living on the Mount Juliet Estate, where Mr O’Brien also had a house.

Carey had told him he owed the bank AIB “a substantial amount of money”, and asked for help with cancer treatment.

When Mr O’Brien’s accountant, Ann Foley, asked for a medical letter, he provided two, which appeared to be from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle.

When gardaí contacted the centre they said they had no record of him ever being treated there.

In a victim impact statement read to the court Mr O’Brien said: “To my embarrassment I was completely duped by DJ Carey.” He said for someone “to claim they have cancer is unconscionable”, describing Carey as “extraordinarily deceitful, manipulative and cunning” who “came back time and time again over a long number of years”.

Carey also received €120,000 from Tom Brennan, a consultant involved in the development of oncology drugs.

Both men had attended St Kieran’s College in Kilkenny at different times.

Mr Brennan agreed to lend the money and the pair signed a repayment plan but when Carey failed to repay the sum, Mr Brennan challenged him about his illness and his travel to Seattle.

He then took a civil claim against Carey, which he won, although the money has not yet been repaid.

Carey told a number of his victims he would pay them back from compensation of more than a million euro he was due to receive from the Health Service Executive (HSE), telling one person he had an “excessive dose of radiation” during his treatment at St James’ Hospital in Dublin.

Detective Sergeant Michael Bourke confirmed to the court that when gardaí investigated they found “no record of any claim made by Mr Carey”.

Carey told another victim he was suffering from the same type of cancer, multiple myeloma, as his wife.

On December 14 2022 gardaí obtained search warrants in relation to Mr Carey’s hotel room and car.

They court heard when they knocked at his room at the Hoban Hotel in Kilkenny Mr Carey handed over his car keys, phone and Pin number.

His phone was examined and a “large quantity of data” was recovered including text messages with victims referring to his cancer and his treatment in Seattle along with messages containing excuses as to why the money wasn’t repaid.

In mitigation, defence counsel Colman Cody said Carey’s guilty plea prevented a “lengthy and complex” trial taking place.

He also said Carey had suffered a “stunning fall from grace” and was now “something of a pariah”.

He added he was the subject of “some humiliation and ridicule” including images circulated online of Mr Carey in a hospital bed “hooked up to a mobile phone” cable describing them as “completely fake and false” that did not emanate from the investigation.

He described how Carey lived a “transient life” after his house was repossessed and his relationship broke down describing him as “effectively of no fixed abode” and sometimes living in his car.

He also said Carey wanted to “offer heartfelt and sincere apology” to his victims and that he suffered from a chronic heart condition that requires ongoing treatment.

Judge Martin Nolan said all of the injured parties should be “complimented”, adding “they may feel foolish” but were “genuinely good people who responded to Carey “in a very generous way in his hour of need”.

One of those who was in court to deliver a victim impact statement was Thomas Butler, who gave Carey more than €16,000.

He described it as “gut-wrenching” that Carey had used cancer to obtain the money because both his parents had died of the disease.

He also added he had suffered “distress and mental torment” because Carey’s trial had been due to take place over the period his daughter was getting married.

There was a large media presence inside and outside the court where Carey, who wore a purple blazer, blue shirt and multicolour tie, sat expressionless throughout the hearing.