Sergiu Lupo jailed for Dublin ATM theft spree

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

Judge Orla Crowe sentenced Sergiu Lupo to two years and six months in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The global sentence was backdated to November 15, 2024, to credit time spent in custody. The proceedings were reported on May 31, 2025.

Lupo, also known as Sergio, pleaded guilty to 43 counts, including theft, attempted theft and criminal damage. The offences took place between June 3 and June 6, 2019. He also pleaded guilty to assisting in the commission of an indictable offence at Sutton Cross between June 6 and June 7, 2019.

An investigating garda said there were 24 incidents over three days, with €7,260 taken and not recovered and €7,147 in criminal damage caused. At Sutton Cross, Lupo kept watch while two men took cash from an ATM and then drove them away. He admitted being there but denied wrongdoing and said he was not actively involved.

Judge Crowe described a deliberate, organised spree using an elaborate system to trap cash. She said the damage, money taken and Lupo’s having made himself unavailable before extradition were aggravating factors.

Lupo had no previous convictions in Ireland or elsewhere and had not come to negative garda attention since the incident. His barrister, Dominic McGinn SC, said the offending arose from a need to pay for his father’s medical treatment; the garda said she was unaware of this. McGinn described it as a short, isolated period of offending and acknowledged that Lupo had not made himself amenable to justice. The judge considered mitigation and his personal circumstances when imposing sentence.