Courts / Dublin / Report

Jail for man who stole pensioner's cheque book and took over €32k

Summary

Brian O'Neill, 47, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, with the final 20 months suspended, for stealing €32,460 from an 89‑year‑old woman over an 18‑month period beginning in October 2013. He posed as a handyman, calling the victim, Teresa Byrne, to her home to perform odd jobs and was paid in cash and cheques. He then stole her chequebook and wrote cheques in his own name. Byrne discovered the fraud when her bank manager noticed her account was severely depleted and numerous cheques were drawn in O'Neill's name. Garda Colleen Doherty witnessed O'Neill demanding €400 in cash from Byrne and became aggressive when she refused. O'Neill was arrested on 14 May 2015 after a search warrant was obtained. He pleaded guilty to 99 counts of theft. The court noted his early guilty plea, good employment record and remorse, but also a moderate risk of re‑offending according to a probation report.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Jail for man who stole pensioner's cheque book and took over €32k. Charges or matters: 99 counts of theft amounting to a total of €32,460, carried out over an 18-month period starting from October 2013. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• October 2013 Incident
• August 19, 2014 Other
• May 14, 2015 Incident
• 2017-12-01 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Fraud Stage Sentence Theft

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Read the original CNI report