John Kelly gets suspended sentence for theft of VRT fines

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

John, also known as Anthony, Kelly received a six-year prison sentence, suspended in full for four years, from Judge Desmond Hogan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for stealing VRT fines. The proceedings were reported on 17 July 2015.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of theft from the Revenue Commissioners at New Customs House, Dublin. Two similar counts were taken into consideration. The thefts totalled €19,350 and took place between March 2005 and January 2006.

The court heard that motorists caught without Vehicle Registration Tax had their cars seized and would meet Kelly to pay a fine and recover their vehicles. Kelly kept the fines himself.

Counsel said Kelly had over-extended himself financially and needed the money to repay loans and fund medical procedures to help him and his wife conceive a child. Judge Hogan described the offending as a severe breach of trust, while acknowledging Kelly’s financial difficulties, cooperation with gardaí and guilty plea, which avoided a lengthy trial.

Kelly had been repaying the money and brought the outstanding €3,490 to court. Judge Hogan ordered that this final repayment be passed to the Revenue Commissioners.