The Court of Appeal has resentenced Patrick Mahony to three years’ imprisonment after finding that the original sentence for five tax offences was unduly lenient because the entire term had been suspended. The court suspended the final two years, leaving one year to be served in custody. It also vacated a €10,000 fine imposed at the original sentencing.
Mahony had pleaded guilty and was convicted at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on 3 November 2016. The offences concerned incorrect returns for January and February 2006, a failure to file VAT returns for January and February 2008, and failure to remit income tax, PRSI and levies for 2006. On 25 April 2017, the sentencing court imposed concurrent three-year terms, suspended in full for three years subject to conditions, and a €10,000 fine.
The Director of Public Prosecutions applied under section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993 for a review on the ground that the sentences were unduly lenient. The Court of Appeal recorded that the five counts involved unpaid taxes of €1,224,339. It said the full loss to Revenue, including sums beyond those covered by the counts, was €2,594,446, excluding interest and penalties. Boxform Limited, where Mahony was a director, went into liquidation with an expected Revenue deficit of €2.8 million. During the liquidation, €366,000 was paid to Revenue towards legal costs in related proceedings.
The Director argued that the sentencing judge had given excessive weight to mitigation and had failed to account adequately for the scale and deliberate nature of the fraud, the breach of trust involved in handling VAT and employee deductions, the absence of restitution, and other factors. The appeal court set out the Director’s submissions; it did not treat every asserted aggravating detail as a separate finding.
The Court of Appeal said the offences involved a serious breach of trust because money collected or deducted for Revenue had not been passed on. It held that the original decision to suspend the whole prison term was unduly lenient: a significant period in custody was required. However, it considered the three-year headline sentence appropriate and within the sentencing judge’s discretion.
In resentencing, the court recognised Mahony’s guilty plea, lack of previous convictions, family circumstances and work in the UK, as well as the court’s view that he had assembled the €10,000 fine. It imposed three years’ imprisonment, with the final two years suspended for two years on conditions similar to those set below. The court said it suspended more than half in recognition of the second sentencing and the loss of liberty Mahony would now face. It vacated the fine in light of the expected custody and its effect on his dependants.