MILLRACE HOTEL ACCOUNTING TECHNICIAN HANDED SUSPENDED SENTENCE FOR €36,000 THEFT

An accounting technician who was found guilty of falsifying accounts and theft to the tune of €36,000 from a County Wexford hotel he worked for has been handed a three-year suspended prison sentence and ordered to complete 240 hours community service.

Mark Lynch (41) of 127 Sandyhills, Carlow, was handed the sentence by Judge Sinead Ni Chulachain at Wexford Circuit Criminal Court last week.

Lynch had been found guilty of 13 charges, including one charge of falsifying documents and 12 charges of theft totalling €36,000 from the Millrace Hotel in Bunclody when his case came before a jury at Wexford Circuit Criminal Court last April,

The offences took place between September 30, 2013 and October 31, 2013.

Garda Seamus Killeen told the court that Stephen Clarke of Dalata Hotel Group, which owned the Millrace Hotel at the time, made an allegation to gardai that Lynch had taken €36,000 from the hotel in early October 2013. He alleged that Lynch took this money by failing to lodge various amounts of cash and cheques into the relevant bank accounts.

Garda Killeen told Prosecuting Counsel, Ms Sinead McMullan that the defendant was convicted on all 13 counts on April 26 last following a five day trial.

Every so often, said Garda Killeen, bank reconciliations would be created by the defendant, which would be included in the books, but some €36,000 was taken through the falsification of the accounts in a manner which no one would see.

Garda Killeen also told Ms McMullan that the hotel subsequently went into receivership, following which the matter came to light. The defendant, who had no previous convictions, was arrested in early 2014.

Defence Counsel Ms Jacqueline Curran said the defendant is a married man with three children aged nine to fourteen. Ms Curran said the sum of €36,000 was available to the court for payment to the company. This money was from his wife’s account that she received through an inheritance.

During the period of this offence, Ms. Curran said the defendant had been going through a difficult time in his marriage.

Judge Ni Chulachain said the amount of money involved was quite significant. He was a person in a position of trust and he took this money for personal gain, using it to defray his family financial difficulties.

The Judge added that the punishment must be in line with the gravity of the offence, while the defendant did not co-operate with the investigation by entering a not guilty plea leading to a five-day jury trial.

She said that on the first offence of falsifying accounts she would impose 240 hours community service. On the second offence of theft she imposed a three year prison sentence, suspended on the payment of €36,000 within ten days, the monies to be paid over to Dalata Hotel Group.