Hacker steals priest’s cash intended for disabled children
MONEY saved by a 92-year-old priest and Wexford native for a school for disabled children in Kenya has been stolen by a heartless hacker who pretended to be a missionary brother the cash was intended for.
Wexford man Jim Staples said he was devastated when he found out the €2,500 he sent from his uncle Fr Leo Staples’ account had been stolen by someone who had claimed to be a Brother Patrick from the Bobleo Home in Kapenguria in Kenya.
The Western Union money order was in fact cashed hundreds of miles away in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, with the fraudster pretending to be Brother Patrick even emailing Jim to tell him the funds had arrived safely.
Jim said the money had been intended for a school for disabled children being built at the Bobleo Home, which former Wygram and Piercestown resident Fr Leo established with the help of a €10,000 bequest from his brother, the late Bob Staples.
Enniscorthy accountant, Eugene Doyle, who was visiting Fr Leo in Kenya, had arranged to provide some cash to the builders, which solved the short-term problem. Eugene and his wife Louise had arranged a coffee morning in Enniscorthy where people had been very generous. Luckily, Eugene had brought some of that money with him.
‘The rest of that money was lodged in the account for the school here in Wexford. This will be sent to St Patricks in Kiltegan for them to transfer to Kenya as normal,’ said Jim.
The Fr Bob Staples Trust provides accommodation and schooling for disabled youngsters who would normally be kept at home by their families.
‘We transfer money every so often so they can build a school for the handicapped. This normally takes up to a couple of months. I got an email from Brother Patrick saying he was desperate to pay his builders and could the money be sent more quickly,’ said Jim.
‘The brothers are building four new classrooms and as normal they asked me to send on the funds to pay for this. I normally request a breakdown of how and where they are spending the money which they had sent on to me. I would then give the money to St Patrick’s in Kiltegan to give to their office in Nairobi. This could take up to six weeks before the Brothers get the money.
‘I went to Anne Street Post office and paid in €2,591, giving Br Patrick’s details. I then emailed Br Patrick the details. Early the following morning I got a text to say the funds had been collected. I rang Br Patrick but could not get through. Later he rang me back and asked me to send on the details. I told him I had already done that and I told him about the text.’
Jim said they subsequently realised Br Patrick’s email had been hacked and some of the emails he got were from the hackers and not from the real Br Patrick.
‘I contacted Western Union who are investigating our claim and this will take 20 days. They confirmed the money had been collected in Nairobi not in Kitale as was to be the collection point,’ said Jim.
‘I was absolutely devastated, we all are,’ said Jim. He said members of Fr Leo’s family have since reimbursed Fr Leo.
He said it was unclear what, if any, identity documents the man who cashed the money order had been asked to provide in Nairobi, but he could only surmise that he had pretended to be Brother Patrick.
‘Whoever got the money is supposed to provide identification, this obviously didn’t happen,’ said Jim. Fr Leo has worked with the poor of Kenya for 66 years.