Courts / Louth / Report
Contractor who defrauded finance company out of €369k avoids jail for second time
Summary
In December 2023 the Court of Appeal upheld a decision that Pearse O'Connor, a 41‑year‑old contractor from Dundalk, would not serve jail time for a second time after a fully suspended five‑year sentence was deemed too lenient. O'Connor had pleaded guilty in April 2021 to six charges of invoice fraud and fraudulent trading, having used false invoices to secure €369,000 from Keys Commercial Finance to keep his company afloat during financial hardship in 2015. The original trial court had suspended the entire sentence and banned him from directing a company for life. The appeal court noted that the offence involved large sums over several months and that the custodial threshold had been crossed, but it also recognised O'Connor's ongoing efforts to reform, including addressing an alcohol problem and maintaining family responsibilities.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Contractor who defrauded finance company out of €369k avoids jail for second time. Charges or matters: six charges relating to invoice fraud he committed in order to keep his business – Pearse Roofing and Cladding Ltd – afloat when it got into financial difficulty in 2015; six charges, comprising five charges of the use of a false instrument – invoices – and one fraudulent trading charge on dates between January and May in 2015. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- April 2021 Hearing Or Sentence
- January 2022 Hearing Or Sentence
- October 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
- January 2015 Other
- 2023-12-01 Publication
Why: In April 2021 at Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court, O'Connor (41) of Rampark, Jenkinstown, Dundalk, pleaded guilty to six charges relating to invoice fraud he committed in order to keep his business – Pearse Roofing and Cladding Ltd – afloat when it got into financial difficulty in 2015. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: six charges relating to invoice fraud he committed in order to keep his business – Pearse Roofing and Cladding Ltd – afloat when it got into financial difficulty in 2015; six charges, comprising five charges of the use of a false instrument – invoices – and one fraudulent trading charge on dates between January and May in 2015 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: O'Connor was sentenced to a total of five years' imprisonment, which was fully suspended by Judge Patrick Quinn in January 2022 and he was further banned from directing a company in this jurisdiction for life. Mr Justice Birmingham said that if the Court of Appeal had been sentencing O'Connor at the trial, it would have also imposed a five-year sentence but would have suspended only a portion of that, with O'Connor perhaps serving 18 months' or two years' imprisonment.
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