Thief used charity bank details to get petrol
A MAN used the bank account numbers of charities to get free petrol over a five-year period and ‘keep the bills down’, a court has heard.
Eugene Cummins, 59, applied for fuel cards using the charities’ banking details, but also listing his home address.
Detective Seán Fitzpatrick said Cummins ‘would have been caught eventually’.
Dundalk Circuit Court heard how Cummins applied online for fuel cards from private companies that offer discounts.
He preyed on charities for the scam as their bank account details are readily available when they seek donations from the public.
Detective Fitzpatrick said Cummins applied online for five fuel cards and for each one gave car registration numbers, his name, address, email and bank account details. He would use the card to pay for the fuel, and the fuel company would debit the bank accounts of the charities.
The court heard he used variations of his name and email when applying for the cards but it was always his own home address.
Cummins ‘found a loophole and utilised it but he would have been caught eventually’, the court heard.
One of the charities was the Moses Foundation from Cork, which helps communities in Africa. The court heard the charities were not at a loss. The thefts of fuel took place at the Topaz garage at Newfoundwell, Drogheda, Co. Louth, over five year years. Cummins of Finian’s Park, Drogheda, Co. Louth, admitted ten sample counts out of a total of 306 on dates between 2010 and 2015. The amount involved was €12,886.
Judge Martina Baxter was told Cummins was repaying Topaz €200 a month on foot of a lawsuit and this was then reduced to €25 a week. When he stopped paying it, the firm went to gardaí. A sum of €7,712 remains outstanding.
Cummins said he had done it as a way of ‘keeping the bills down,’ and ‘he thought he could pay the monies back’. He is extremely and genuinely remorseful, his solicitor said.
Judge Baxter remanded him in custody to November 30 for sentencing.