Courts / Dublin / Report

Man serving 10 years over firearms cache used bogus documents in mortgage application

Date
2018-10-16

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Rathcoole

County
Dublin

Summary

Johnathon Harding, 46, of Mc Neill Court, Sallins, Kildare, was already serving a 10‑year prison sentence for possession of nine revolvers, four pistols, a sub‑machine gun, an assault rifle and ammunition magazines. In October 2016 he attempted to obtain a €260,000 mortgage from the Bank of Ireland by submitting false documents: three payslips dated January, February and March 2016, a false bank statement covering August 2015 to March 2016, and additional false payslips and a bank statement covering October 2014 to April 2016. The bank detected the fraud immediately and Harding withdrew the application after a few days. On 16 October 2018, Judge Melanie Greally sentenced him to 18 months in prison for the mortgage fraud, to be served concurrently with his existing term. The court noted no loss to the bank and that Harding had cooperated with the Garda investigation. Harding has eight prior convictions, including a six‑year drug‑possession sentence from 2004. Johnathon Harding pleaded guilty.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Man serving 10 years over firearms cache used bogus documents in mortgage application. Charges or matters: possession of nine revolvers, four pistols, a sub-machine gun, an assault rifle and various ammunition magazines on January 24, 2017, at a unit in Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole, Co Dublin. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

January 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
February 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
March 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
August 2015 Hearing Or Sentence
October 2014 Incident
April 2016 Incident
January 24, 2017 Incident
April 11, 2016 Other
June 2017 Incident
2018-10-16 Publication

Case subjects

Johnathon Harding

Convicted Person

Charges: possession of nine revolvers, four pistols, a sub-machine gun, an assault rifle and various ammunition magazines on January 24, 2017, at a unit in Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole, Co Dublin (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Harding was sentenced to ten years in prison in January this year after he pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to possession of nine revolvers, four pistols, a sub-machine gun, an assault rifle and various ammunition magazines on January 24, 2017, at a unit in Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole, Co Dublin. She noted that there was no actual loss to the bank and that he had co-operated with the garda investigation. "The practice of trying to secure a significant amount of cash on the back of false documentation must be taken seriously," the judge said, before she sentenced Harding to 18 months in prison.