A THREE-YEAR sentence with the final 12 months suspended and fines totalling €3,750 were imposed on a Galway plumber who increased his income from €62,000 per annum to almost €1 million in just one year by engaging in Revenue fraud.
Presiding at Galway Circuit Criminal Court on Monday, Judge Raymond Groarke described the actions of Justin Sheehan as one of greed rather than necessity resulting in the “bare-faced theft of the people of Ireland”.
The case had been outlined earlier last month after Sheehan (40) of Cave, Clarenbridge, Galway, pleaded guilty to making an incorrect VAT return, producing an incorrect invoice knowingly or wilfully and failing to make income and VAT returns to the Collector General.
Evidence was heard that the Office of the Revenue Commissioners had investigated Sheehan’s income and found that it had risen sharply from €62,441 in 2004 to €955,628 in a six-month period the following year.
When questioned by gardaí Sheehan had admitted fabricating invoices and allowing two other men to use his C2 cert in order to collect payment for supplies and thereby receiving commission of €70,000.
“He was offered the opportunity to make additional money and he took it because he desired the social trappings of being wealthy,” said Judge Groarke, who added that there was no comparison in this case to those before the court on social welfare fraud where people got involved in this type of criminal activity due to severe financial hardship or “urgent neccessity”.
“He just got greedy. It wasn’t a crime committed at a time when his circumstances had changed as has happened to many in the economic turmoil.
“There are hundreds and thousands of people out there that make the choice not to do as he did because they recognise it is wrong.”