Courts / Dublin / Report

Businessman who engaged in "kiting" cheque fraud avoids jail

Summary

In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, 52‑year‑old Christopher Lovett, a businessman from Kilnamanagh, pleaded guilty to theft of money at the Bank of Ireland after using a cheque‑kiting scheme to keep his cleaning company afloat. He had drawn three cheques totaling almost €19,000 on a closed account, which were credited to him before the bank's clearance process. The cheques were later returned unpaid, leaving the bank at a loss. Lovett withdrew the funds in card, debit and cash transactions before the cheques cleared. He had no prior convictions and was described by the defence as a family man who had lost a major contract and was trying to repay the money. Judge Martin Nolan, noting the mitigating circumstances, imposed a two‑and‑a‑half‑year suspended sentence and required Lovett to repay €2,500 to the bank, with the bank retaining its own recourse for the remaining amount.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Businessman who engaged in "kiting" cheque fraud avoids jail. Charges or matters: the theft of money at Bank of Ireland, Mespil Road on October 9, 2017. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• October 9, 2017 Other
• 2019-07-04 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Fraud Stage Sentence Theft

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Read the original CNI report