Teen in charity scam stole €10k of jewellery from couple

A TEENAGER pretending to be collecting for charity stole €10,000 worth of jewellery from an elderly couple after asking to use their bathroom, a court has heard.

Nicolae Carmen, now aged 20, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the theft of jewellery at the couple’s house on October 2, 2015. The young Romanian woman has five previous convictions for theft and fraud offences.

Garda Keith Cassidy told Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting, that an 84-year-old man answered a knock at his front door in Artane, north Dublin. Carmen, then aged 18, told him she was Spanish and was collecting for the starving in Africa. He gave her €5. She asked to use the bathroom.

Gda Cassidy said Carmen, of Rosevale Court, Blakestown Road, Blanchardstown, went upstairs while the man waited for her. She then returned downstairs, thanked him, and left. His wife later discovered jewellery worth €10,000 missing from their bedroom.

The collection had been built up over years and had huge sentimental value for the couple. None of the items were recovered.

A palm print taken from the jewellery box was found to be a match for Carmen. The court heard someone had taken the items from Carmen and they were sold in Dublin.

Pieter Le Vert BL, defending, said Carmen had come to Ireland as a 14year-old, having been married in Romania that year. He said her husband worked in security and they had two children.

Judge Patricia Ryan, who described the offence as ‘nasty’, adjourned sentencing until December.