Worker stole €100k from employer to send to men met in web chat rooms
‘Romantic interests’ duped him with tall tales, court told
‘Never apologised to fellow workers’ ‘Tall tales of death and hospital bills’
A MAN stole more than €100,000 from his employer and gave it to men he met online in chat rooms, a court has heard.
Billy Mooney took thousands of euro at a time from Templecrone Co-operative Agricultural Society in Co. Donegal over a period of almost two years, then gave it to men he had a romantic interest in.
Letterkenny Circuit Court heard that the men were living abroad and appealed to him for money to help with a range of family and personal problems, which gardaí believe were likely invented to exploit Mooney for cash.
The court also heard the online liaisons that Mooney had ‘were romantic relations in his mind’ and he held a ‘twisted belief’ he was merely borrowing the money.
The 52-year-old, who pleaded guilty to 18 charges of fraud, did not receive a cent from the €102,180 he stole in a complex fraud at the retail chain’s office in the village of Annagry, the court heard, but none of the money has been recovered by his employer.
In addition, the company had to shell out €16,000 to have a forensic accountant examine their accounts as a result of the fraud.
It also had to cover the pay Mooney claimed while out sick for a number of months following the discovery of the scam, and it was heard that a number of key employees had left the company due to the stress of the situation.
The men Mooney engaged with online claimed they desperately needed the cash for a variety of reasons including having sick relatives and also losing their jobs.
A garda explained how Mooney took the money which was due to be deposited into an ATM at the Annagry branch of The Cope, where he was located.
However, through a series of cover-ups, Mooney was able to extract various sums of money but made it appear as if they were still on the company books.
The court heard how Mooney stole various lump sums of money on separate occasions between July 1, 2014, and January 1, 2016, of between €2,000 and €19,800.
Mooney, of St Peter’s Terrace, Dungloe, took the money from the company but managed to cover his tracks before wiring it by Western Union Transfer to various people he had met online.
Management at the company, known as The Cope, were alerted to the fraud when Mooney sent texts to another employee. He told the other employee that he was in trouble having become caught up in a scam and was in debt to the tune of up to €80,000 and was having to borrow the money to cover himself.
Detective Garda John Gallagher, from Milford Garda station, investigated the fraud at the store which has around 110 employees.
He said CEO of the company, Mark Sharkey, had contacted gardaí believing there had been a major fraud. In a victim-impact statement, Mr Sharkey said the theft had put the company under severe pressure and how it had struggled to survive. He said that during and since the theft, Mooney had never apologised to the company or his fellow workers.
Mr John McLaughlin, barrister for the accused, said his client got involved in these chat rooms with other men and that in his mind he was in a romantic relationship.
‘He was so caught up in this scam that it overrode everything else in his mind,’ he said. ‘When interviewed he used phrases like he was “borrowing money”. Not to excuse what he did but it was his twisted belief he was borrowing and not stealing. There are no suggestions that he retained these monies himself.’
When asked about the fraud, Detective Garda John Gallagher replied: ‘I don’t believe that he has gained financially.’
Mr McLaughlin said the internet scam started around 2012 and that the online relationships ‘were romantic relations in his mind’.
‘He was in daily contact with these men,’ Mr McLaughlin said.
He added that Money kept records of the money so that the money could be returned. However, his computer broke and the records could not be retrieved.
Mr McLaughlin said Mooney was a trusted member of staff and was well-liked by customers and staff and added he had been motivated by human sympathy and ‘tall tales of death and hospital bills’.
Judge John Aylmer adjourned the case until Wednesday for sentence.