John Balidoy receives suspended sentence for money laundering

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

John Balidoy received a suspended 18-month sentence after pleading guilty to one count of money laundering. Judge Pauline Codd accepted that he had been threatened, was psychologically vulnerable and received no financial benefit. The offending took place between March and May 2021.

The court heard that two women lost €18,000 and €14,000 after responding to a fraudulent message purporting to be from Bank of Ireland. Balidoy’s accounts were also used for fraudulent Pandemic Unemployment Payments. About €27,000 remained unaccounted for, while the victims were compensated in full by the financial institution.