Woman laundered €520,000 for Louth crime boss and father of her children
A 27-year-old woman, girlfriend of Keith Boylan named in court as leader of the Boylan Organised Criminal Gang, has been jailed for laundering more than €500,000 for his criminal gang.
Hannah O’Connor (27), who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to money laundering and to a charge of theft in respect of social welfare payments.
The defendant, whose address cannot be revealed by order of the court, has two children with Keith Boylan who has been on the run since 2020.
Evidence was given that she laundered €251,738 through a Revolut account and €273,235 through a Permanent TSB account.
Boylan had full control of the Revolut account, from which withdrawals were made in Cancun in Mexico, Istanbul, Dubai and Belgrade, on dates in 2020 and 2022.
Meanwhile, Ms O’Connor was not entitled to €75,000 of benefits, but had she disclosed her income, and other means may have been entitled to some of it.
She also allowed the account to be used for Keith Boylan to be paid the Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
She was arrested on May 18, 2023, and told gardaí she believed Keith Boylan owned a garage when their relationship began, but realised there was more to it, when he was shot at and left Ireland.
The accused said that she felt she had no choice but to do what he wanted. Refusal was not an option.
Gardaí did not accept much of her explanation.
Ms O’Connor said that she regretted facilitating Keith Boylan’s lifestyle on the run.
Judge Dara Hayes remarked that this was serious offending over three years and eight months. A considerable amount of money had been channelled to allow a prominent member of the organised crime group to live abroad and avoid apprehension by gardaí.
Regarding the social welfare fraud, the judge said fraud on the public purse was an aggravating factor.
The court accepted that there was some element of fear, but Hannah O’Connor was aware and maintained some degree of relationship with Keith Boylan. She had brought the children to visit him in Dubai.
For money laundering a three-year, three-month sentence was imposed, the final two years suspended; concurrent to two years, the final nine months suspended, for the theft charge.
Judge Hayes said that a custodial sentence would have an impact on the defendant’s children through no fault of their own.