Courts / Cork / Report
Struck-off financial advisor who defrauded five people out of €209k fails in appeal
Summary
Mervyn Tanner, a 47‑year‑old former financial advisor from Mallow, was found guilty of defrauding five people of €209,900 between November 2010 and March 2016. He pleaded guilty to seven charges of using a false instrument under Section 26 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act and theft under Section 4 of the same act. The Court of Appeal, hearing the appeal before Mr Justice John Edwards, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, dismissed Tanner's appeal. Mr Justice Edwards noted that the breach of trust was aggravated by the vulnerability of some victims, including a woman who had recently lost her brother, and by Tanner's continued fraudulent activity after his licence was revoked in 2014. The appeal was dismissed, confirming the five‑year sentence imposed by the Cork Circuit Court.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Struck-off financial advisor who defrauded five people out of €209k fails in appeal. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- November 2010 Hearing Or Sentence
- March 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2 September 2021 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2022-10-17 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Tanner was given a five-year sentence at Cork Circuit Court on 2 September 2021 after pleading guilty to seven sample charges of using a false instrument contrary to Section 26 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act and theft contrary to Section 4 of the same act. "There was a very significant relationship of trust that was sundered again and again by the appellant. He said Tanner had committed premeditated fraud and had continued to commit fresh wrongdoing long after he knew he had no funds available to him. "The sentencing judge was completely within his rights to set the headline sentence at seven years," he said, with the sentence reduced to five years after mitigation. "The breach of trust is more egregious when it is being done by a professional advisor." The appeal was today heard before Mr Justice Edwards, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy.
Places mentioned
- Court of Appeal
- Cork
- Cork Circuit Court
Topics
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