2 YEARS FOR LAUNDERING WIFE’S VIRGIN THEFT CASH
A MAN whose wife stole over €800,000 from Virgin Media where she worked in payroll has been jailed for money laundering.
John Murray (43) of Kilfenora Rd in Kimmage, Dublin, pleaded guilty to three sample counts, representing 10 charges of possessing the proceeds of crime, on dates between January 2009 and July 2019.
He was sentenced to two years in prison after Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that his wife transferred a total of €872,470 to his Bank of Ireland account over the 10-year period.
The court heard that Murray’s wife, Kellie Walton (42), had been employed as payroll administrator for the company formerly known as TV3, apart from two periods when she took maternity leave.
Over the decade, Walton transferred an average of €80,000 a year to her husband’s account, most of which was spent on foreign holidays, premium TV channels and phone subscriptions.
Passing sentence yesterday, Judge Martin Nolan said Murray should have known at a very early stage that his wife was stealing and that it was “very reckless” of him to have let it continue.
He noted that the couple, who have four children, had squandered all the monies.
Conviction
When counsel for the defence commented that there was a “tragic quality” to the fact that the couple was left with nothing, Judge Nolan suggested it was more “tragicomic”.
Judge Nolan said Murray has no record of conviction, a very good work history and an impressive array of references on his behalf. He sentenced him to two years in prison.
The court heard that Walton was sentenced in January 2023 to four years in prison, with the final two years suspended.
She has already been released and is working part-time in a barbershop, the court heard.