Man jailed for computer fraud of over €300,000

A man has been jailed for five years after he pleaded guilty to computer fraud offences involving the theft of more than €300,000 from a multinational company within months of starting work for the firm.

Dadibaku Ngkupumu (47), McWilliam Green, Fortunestown, Tallaght, Dublin, a Congolese national, pleaded guilty to 17 fraud offences from Avery Dennison at Cork Airport Business Park between November 2012 and January 2013.

At Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday, Judge David Riordan described it as "classic case of white-collar crime" by Ngkupumu.

Det Garda Aonghus Cotter told how Ngkupumu had diverted €336,819.27 from Avery Dennison to fake bank accounts set up in Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.

He also attempted to transfer a further €304,188.04 to the same fake bank accounts in another series of transactions while working in Avery Dennison’s financial payments section.

Det Garda Cotter said Ngkupumu began the fraud after he was trained in by another staff member whom he was replacing and he took her computer identity card and pin number. He used her computer identity and pin number as well as his own to transfer the money to the fake bank accounts in a series of operations.

The fraud came to light when Avery Dennison were contacted by a supplier who had not been paid even though Avery Dennison’s records showed the supplier had been paid.

It led to Ngkupumu’s section manager carrying out an audit of the unit’s operations. The fraudulent activity came to light and management confronted him in April 2013.

Ngkupumu said he was not feeling very well and he left the Avery Dennison’s building and walked out on the job, but he was arrested on May 1st by gardaí in Ashbourne, Co Meath.

Judge Riordan said the successful operation of financial payments where money could be diverted at the click of a mouse was hugely dependent on employers trusting their employees.

He said Ngkupumu’s guilty plea, which had saved the State the time and cost of a complex trial, was a mitigating factor. He noted that he had no previous convictions.