Uninsured man ‘was duped on Facebook’
A MAN who drove without insurance was duped by an online scam, Bray District Court heard.
Viorel Anton (41), 13 Mountkennedy Court, Newtownmountkennedy, was driving at Woodstock Road in Kilcoole on November 13, 2016.
He produced a certificate of insurance which turned out to be invalid.
Solicitor Joe Maguire explained that his client had paid €1,500 for a policy he thought valid. ‘ The gardai were assisted by my client in trying to track down the culprits,’ said Mr Maguire. Mr Anton showed gardai proof that he had paid for the bogus insurance policy.
‘He had seen it on Facebook,’ said Mr Maguire. At the time, the defendant had been getting quotes ranging from €2,000 to €4,000, he thought that this rate was the best he could get.
‘ The certificate looked genuine but turned out to be fraudulent,’ said Mr Maguire.
The court heard that Mr Anton had been establishing a business in Kilcoole for the past five years. He was putting in 12-hour days without taking an income, while working two or three nights a week in his old job.
Funds were tight and his wife needed the car for doing the school run and so forth.
Gardai accepted that those were the circumstances. ‘He accepts his behaviour was foolish,’ said Mr Maguire. ‘He’s not the first person to be caught in this scam. There was no malicious intent on his part. He was trying to do everything he could to fund his family.’
Judge David Kennedy remarked that the Moldovan man has lived in Ireland for 12 years. ‘How did he think he could get insurance over Facebook? Judge Kennedy said that he would exercise his discretion and not impose a disqualification. He handed down a fine of €500.