‘I should have told my grandad’ – threatened army hopeful avoids conviction over role in €4,000 crypto scam
A young man who was threatened into laundering nearly €4,000 through a cryptocurrency exchange now realises he should have told his grandfather what was happening, a court has been told.
Paul Carroll (20) allowed an account to be opened in his name, but had no involvement in the wider scam, in which more than €20,000 was taken from the victim.
Judge Stephanie Coggans said that these types of crimes were serious and an awful scourge on society, with ordinary people often finding themselves at a loss of money.
However, she accepted Carroll was very young at the time of the offence, had no previous convictions and had not come to garda attention since.
The judge dismissed the charge under the Probation Act, leaving the accused without a conviction.
The defendant, with an address at Hollywood, Ballyboughal, Co Dublin, admitted transferring, handling, possessing or using property that was the proceeds of criminal conduct, namely €3,990.
Balbriggan District Court was told that the injured party was the victim of a phishing scam, and a total of €21,000 was taken from her bank account after scammers claimed to be her daughter.
The court heard that on September 28, 2023, €3,990 of this money was converted into cryptocurrency via an account in the defendant’s name.
The defendant wished to join the Army, and a conviction could prevent him from doing so
The court was told that the defendant had no previous convictions and had never been in trouble before.
Defence solicitor John Hennessy said Carroll was only 18 at the time of this offence.
Mr Hennessy said that Carroll had been threatened by another individual, and he allowed an account to be opened in his name. That was his only involvement in this scheme, Mr Hennessy said.
The court heard that Carroll had raised the €3,990 that was laundered through his account, and that money was available for the victim.
Mr Hennessy said that Carroll had been genuinely threatened, and he now realised that he should have spoken to his grandfather, rather than doing what he had done.
Mr Hennessy asked the court to consider leaving Carroll without a conviction, saying the defendant wished to join the Army, and a conviction could prevent him from doing so.
This was one mistake, Mr Hennessy, which Carroll deeply regretted, and for which he was trying to make amends.