Kilkenny hurling legend DJ Carey has been remanded in custody pending his sentencing next Monday.
Carey previously pleaded guilty to 10 charges of defrauding people of money contrary to Sections 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act when arraigned before the Central Criminal Court this on the 2nd of July last.
Carey (54) was due to be sentenced last Wednesday but failed to appear in court as he was in hospital.
This morning, Judge Martin Nolan heard that Carey defrauded €394,127.53 in various amounts from numerous persons after leading them to believe he needed financial support to seek cancer treatment in Seattle.
These included business tycoon, Denis O’Brien, who lent Carey over €125,000 as well as agreeing to provide accommodation, and a vehicle for him in the States.
Gardaí were able to establish that Carey, by his own admission during interview, had “never” received any cancer treatment, with US immigration records showing he had not been to the States since 2015.
Prosecuting counsel, Dominic McGinn SC told the court how the fraud had come to light after a financial institution became suspicious when an elderly female customer tried to transfer a substantial amount to Carey from her account.
Detective Garda Mick Bourke gave evidence of how a second injured party came forward to the Gardaí some time after this, which led to officers obtaining financial records from AIB, which revealed “the series of deceptions”.
Defending counsel Colman Cody SC, told the court that his client was cooperative with Gardaí through the investigation and had volunteered his car keys and mobile phone password which were subject to a search warrant.
Photos, emails, and notes on Carey’s phone revealed how he had crafted emails in order to advance the deception, in particular a fake hospital letter which was used to dupe Mr. O’Brien and his accountant.
Cody said that Carey had had his home repossessed by AIB and that at one point he had been living in his car and described to Gardaí that he had got himself “into a rut”.
He claimed that his client had been “derided” by “false and fake” images which had been circulated online.
In all, the fraud affected 22 victims, including personal friends of the accused.
Eoin and Ann Conway
On the 25th of March 2021, Ann Conway received a text message from Carey asking to speak to her husband, Eoin. Carey proceeded to ask Mr. Conway for a “short term loan” of €25,000 to pay off a bank debt, claiming that he was awaiting a negligence payout from the HSE of between €1.6 and €1.8 million.
The court heard that Gardaí were unable to find any records of the claim, which was found to be entirely fictitious.
Conway wrote a check for €25,000 after Carey showed him scars on his head which he claimed were as a result of cancer treatment he had received in Seattle.
Subsequent to this text messages were exchanged requesting the return of the money, however it was not returned.
Sharon and Mark Kelly were contacted by Carey about a trading arrangement as Sharon was involved in the drinks distribution company.
He claimed that he was sick and needed to go to Seattle for treatment and repeated the claim about the impending HSE negligence payout before receiving a transfer of €25,000. The couple were repaid a total of €7,200 in small amounts.
The court heard how business tycoon, Denis O’Brien met Carey in 1997 on a golf trip to South Africa. After this they remained friends in connection to the Mount Julius Golf Estate where O’Brien owned a property.
In 2014 Carey approached O’Brien seeking money to go to Seattle for treatment claiming he had a rare form of cancer. This led the billionaire to have his accountant send Carey various sums of money totalling €125,000 and $13,000.
As part of the fraud, Carey also supplied O’Brien’s accountant, Ann Foley, with a fake letter purported to be from a doctor from the Fred Hutch Cancer Centre in Seattle.
In 2017 O’Brien made an agreement to pay €60,000 to AIB on behalf of Carey to finalise a loan.
None of the monies, paid out between December 2014 – June 2020, totalling €125,82 and $13,000 were repaid.
In his victim impact statement, which was read by Mr. McGinn, O’Brien said that “when someone comes to you telling you they are seriously ill, you do not question their bonafides”.
He said that what Carey had done was “unconscionable” and “extraordinarily deceitful”, saying, “I believed him” and that “he came back to me time and time again” and “completely took advantage of my friendship,”.
O’Brien said that he had given Carey “somewhere to live in Dublin” and that to his “embarrassment” he was “completely duped by DJ Carey.”
In May 2022, Anne Kelsey got a text message from Carey about his “health issues” which claimed that he was entitled to free treatment in the States as he had been a “handball champion” there.
He claimed that he needed money as he had “already booked flights” and needed it as soon as possible or he would lose his treatment slots.
This led Kelsey to send him €10,000 from her AIB account on the 13th of May, which was not repaid.
Aidan Mulligan got to know Carey through his late wife Bríd who was the president of the Handball Association.
Mrs. Mulligan had organised a fundraiser for victims of the Omagh bombing in 1998, but passed away in 2019, which Carey became aware of death and contacted Mr. Mulligan to express his condolences.
During the communications with Mr. Mulligan, Carey said that he had to travel to the US for treatment and money. He claimed that lack of funds had caused him to miss some of his appointments.
Mulligan transferred €5,000 on the 8th of August 2022 before depending on another €3,000.
On the 22nd of September, Carey contacted Mr. Mulligan again, claiming to have only 2 in his pocket, and asking for €250 before being sent €500.
Tony Griffin and Christy Browne
Christy Brown was a friend of Mr. Griffin who got to know Carey through Brown.
Carey made the same cancer claim which led Griffin, Brown, and another party to send him a total of €1,000 which was not recovered.
Thomas Butler was the controller of a company with which Carey was also involved.
The pair got to know each other which led to a meeting in a Wexford hotel in October 2019 in the midst of which Carey told Butler that he was waiting for a negligence payout from the HSE which would award him €1.5 million.
He claimed to be in financial difficulty such that he had “barely enough petrol” in his car, Mr. McGinn told the court. This led Butler to give Carey the money from his pocket, totalling €860.
On the 16th of October, Butler transferred €10,000, before sending a further €3,000 and €1,000 the following June.
The court heard that he sent a total of between €12 – €13,000 to Carey “believing he was in serious trouble”. Butler also attempted to set up a fundraiser for Carey, which “never got off the ground”.
In his victim impact statement, which he personally delivered, Butler described his “shock” at receiving a phone call from Gardaí asking about his friendship with Carey.
He said that he “never imagined” that his sending €16,000 to the accused “would lead to 6 years of embarrassment in the public eye,” and described feeling “distress and mental torment” as his daughter’s wedding was taking place at the same time he would have been required to give evidence before the courts prior to Carey entering his guilty plea.
Butler said that the “fact that he used cancer was gut wrenching personally” as both parents died of the disease.
Although an accomplished accountant he felt he was now seen as a “stupid and naive” person.
As a lifelong Kilkenny supporter, he expressed his wish that the team would not suffer as a result of Carey’s actions.
Jeffrey Howes got to know Carey through a golf course and became friends with him which led to a meeting in February 2022 in a coffee shop in Kilkenny.
Carey said he was in bad health and needed funds before Mr. Hughes agreed to help out with money and add Carey as a payee to his account, however Carey pressed him saying he couldn’t afford to wait for this which led Hughes to make a direct transfer to €10,00 to him on the 22nd of February, which was not repaid.
Noel Tynan was friends with Cary for 10 years when he met him at a function where Carey told him he was sick.
In December 2021, Tynan got a text message from Carey asking to speak on the phone before he was told that the accused needed 20,000 in order to go to Seattle for treatment, which led Tynan to transfer him 10,000.
London Publican, Aidan Leaden came into contact with Carey when the ex-hurler brought the Ian McCarthy cup to his pub.
Carey asked Leaden for money, before the publican sent him £1,000.
Distant cousin, Edwin Carey got a call on the 21st of December 2021 from his DJ Carey who claimed that he needed €5,000 to travel to Seattle. The court heard that Edwin was “glad to help” as he believed he was helping to save his cousin’s life.
Larry O’Gorman made contact with Carey after learning that he was unwell. He subsequently sent him €5,000 as a “short term loan” on the understanding that this would be repaid within two months.
Carey repaid €500, before the balance of the money was repaid after his arrest in February 2023.
In February 2022, Carey called to the home of Peader Hughes where he related the story of how he needed money to receive treatment in the US.
He then drove Mr. Hughes to a branch of AIB in Carlow so that Hughes could make a transfer. When it transpired that this branch was closed, the pair drove to another AIB in Kilkenny. The court heard that “only then” did Carey say that he needed €3,000.
This sum was eventually returned in cash.
Donal Carroll was a friend of Carey who in 2021 heard that the accused was ill. He received a text from Carey asking to speak over the phone before the same account of having cancer and needing treatment was communicated, which led Carroll to send him €10,000, which was eventually repaid.
Margaret and Ger Kirwan
The court heard that when Carey learned that Mrs. Kirwan was suffering from multiple myeloma, he communicated that he was also suffering from the same cancer.
He proceeded to ask for 4,000 to help pay his way in the US, also claiming that as a “high level athlete” who had competed in the States, he was entitled to free treatment, but that this had “run out”. .
The court heard that Mrs. Kirwan made a statement to Gardaí while herself receiving cancer treatment. The money was returned to the couple in November 2022.
On the 4th of December 2020, Carey sought to speak to Paul Brennan who was a fellow past pupil of St. Ciarán’s in Kilkenny.
Carey claimed he needed €120,000 to pay a debt to AIB and claimed that he was about to receive a payout of 1.8 million from the HSE after falsely claiming that he had received “an excessive dose” of radiation at St. James’ Hospital.
Mr. Brennan, who was involved in the development of oncology drugs, agreed to transfer the six figure sum before engaging Carey in a repayment plan, although none of the money was returned.
Mr. Brennan took a successful civil action against Carey in order to recover the funds which were transferred in two transactions of €40,000 and €80,000.
Brendan Fleming contacted Carey looking for someone to work in sales for his company before Carey said that he might be interested himself.
After successfully interviewing for the job, Carey related the story about his cancer needs, saying that he would continue his treatment during holidays. He said that a sum of €4,000 would be helpful in his situation.
On the 3 of October 2019, Mr. Fleming became aware through another employee that Carey was seeking a loan from AIB to go to the US. Fleming offered to help before transferring €10,000.
Sometime after this, another employee said he had also given Carey a loan and was now “chasing him” for repayment. This information led Fleming to try and set up a meeting with Carey who became “evasive” before offering his registration. All of the €14,000 Mr. Fleming sent Carey was eventually repaid.
An employee of the same company, Sean Murray sent Carey €900 after learning of his supposed illness.
After initially giving a number of excuses, Carey eventually repaid Murray €1,000.
Judge Martin Nolan commended the victims for their generosity in coming to the aid of a person who they believed was unwell and in need of help.
Carey is to appear at 1pm on Monday where he will receive an “inevitable” custodial sentence.
