Courts / Dublin / Report
Fake cattle baron jailed over €900k scam
Summary
David Nally, 43, of Balbriggan, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to six charges for scamming two men out of over €900,000 through a fictitious cattle and machinery scheme between 2014 and 2016. He promised to buy livestock from a bank after farm repossessions and sell them at a profit. The victims invested more than €700,000 and €218,000 respectively. Nally returned some money, but the first victim remains owed about €390,000 and the second has lost €175,000. Gardaí found he never purchased cattle from a bank; the maximum he bought was 230 animals, not the claimed 3,000. Judge Martin Nolan imposed a six‑year custodial sentence, suspended the final 18 months, and ordered Nally to hand over €300,000 to be distributed to the victims within three months. The case is now before the High Court.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Fake cattle baron jailed over €900k scam. Charges or matters: six charges of inducing two men to invest in a fictitious cattle and machinery purchasing scheme on dates between 2014 and 2016. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- March 2014 Incident
- October 2017 Other
- February 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- August 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- September 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2014 and 2016 Other
- 2025-02-11 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: six charges of inducing two men to invest in a fictitious cattle and machinery purchasing scheme on dates between 2014 and 2016 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Judge Nolan said that Nally "undoubtedly deserved a custodial sentence" as it was a serious deception that deceived people he knew. He imposed consecutive sentences totalling six years before he suspended the final 18 months of the term on strict conditions including that Nally hand over €300,000 to be distributed proportionally to the two victims within three months.
Places mentioned
- Clonard
- Clonard Street
- Balbriggan
- Dublin
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- High Court
Topics
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