Anne Butterly jailed for two years over credit union theft

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Anne Butterly was jailed for two years by Judge Martin Nolan for stealing from Rush Credit Union. The proceedings were reported on 24 January 2023.

Butterly, of Channel Road, Rush, Dublin, pleaded guilty to stealing €34,496 belonging to the credit union. She was arraigned at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 19 December 2022.

On 23 January 2023, she pleaded guilty to three further counts involving a total of €59,786, stolen on dates between 11 January 2013 and 31 July 2015. Her defence counsel accepted that the pleas were representative of offending from 2009 to 2016 that led to the theft of more than €875,000.

The report said Butterly stole €875,405 over seven years, using methods including obtaining signatures on blank cheques and taking funds from members’ accounts. Detective Garda Michael Owens said some cheques paid creditors of her husband’s struggling business. Defence counsel Andrew Sexton said Butterly had tried to prop up the business, possibly believing the money would be paid back.

Judge Nolan said the affected members had been compensated by the credit union’s insurer and that Butterly had fully compensated them in turn. Det Garda Owens agreed with defence counsel that €865,000 had been paid back to the insurer after family land was sold. Mr Sexton conveyed Butterly’s full apology and described the theft as an outrageous breach of trust.