A MAN who defrauded 12 potential tenants of almost €30,000 through the unauthorised lease of a south Dublin apartment has been given a three-year sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Joseph O’Connor (48) of Decies Road, Ballyfermot, also used forged bank drafts and a forged driving licence to buy second-hand vehicles before selling them on to car traders.
He pleaded guilty to five sample charges of inducing named people to pay him €1,150 or €2,300 to rent an apartment in The Sweepstakes, Ballsbridge, Dublin, between April 15th and 18th, 2006. He also admitted using false instruments and a forged licence at the Red Cow Inn car park on February 28th and March 3rd, 2007.
His previous convictions included offences of larceny, theft and fraud, and road traffic. He was due to be sentenced several months ago, but Judge Katherine Delahunt adjourned the case to last Monday to allow him complete his treatment for alcoholism.
However, when O’Connor appeared in court on Monday he was drunk and sentencing had to be postponed until yesterday. The judge said she “has absolutely no doubt a custodial sentence is appropriate”, but took into account his emotional state at the time of the offences due to the death of his partner.
Referring to the apartment offence, she said O’Connor “was not the guiding hand but played a significant part in the deception” and sentenced him to three years with the last year suspended on condition he engaged with the Probation Service and underwent alcohol treatment. She imposed a two-year sentence for the car offence, to run concurrently with the other term. His accomplice in the apartment fraud, Richard Deane (53), Kilmore Road in Artane was previously given a one-year suspended term for his role.
Insp Colm O’Malley told Caroline Biggs, prosecuting, that the apartment was on the books of a city centre auctioneer and another person leased it using false documents relating to a real person.
Gardaí were satisfied that this person knew nothing about the scheme and that O’Connor was not authorised to lease the property. The apartment was then advertised in national newspapers and websites with a mobile number as a contact detail.
O’Connor, purporting to be a man named Alan Brogan, then showed each prospective tenant around the apartment before meeting them in pubs or cafes around Dublin. He gave them keys, a lease and a digital code for the apartment after taking deposits and one month’s rent in advance. When they turned up at the apartment they found that the keys and digital code did not work and they contacted gardaí.
Sean Gillane, defending, told the judge that “the heart of this deceit” was it preyed upon people who wanted to live in this desirable apartment in an affluent part of Dublin. He said these people, who later told gardaí they were suspicious of O’Connor because he smelled of alcohol, had shaking hands and drank heavily at each meeting, “suspended their beliefs” to lease the property.