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A married couple who are former lawyers created 60 false identities, disguised themselves, and paid homeless people for their PPS numbers in order to scam banks and credit unions out of several hundred thousand euros, Cork Circuit Criminal has heard. .
Keith Flynn (46) and Lyndsey Clarke (37) of Blarney Street in Cork City previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud, as a result of a garda investigation into the theft of funds from various banks and financial institutions during a 18 month period. period.
Garda Detective Alan McCarthy told the court that the couple created 80 fake accounts using 60 fake identities to defraud the Bank of Ireland, AIB, Ulster Bank, and various credit unions by dishonestly obtaining personal bank loans.
He said the criminal activity of the couple, who have a three-month-old son, began in January 2017 when they began applying for personal bank loans using false identities.
The couple, who met when Ms. Clarke began working for Flynn in her legal practice eight years ago, obtained several loans from financial institutions using false identities. Banks and credit unions have a loss of € 394,804 as a result of their criminal activity.
Prosecuting attorney Siobhan Lankford SC said the couple was in effect running an “identity factory.”
Det Garda McCarthy said the couple applied for loans using fake driver’s licenses obtained online, fake bank statements and fake pay stubs. They even paid members of the homeless community for their PPS numbers to use in their criminal activity.
They also used bogus Virgin Media, Airtricity and Electric Ireland invoices and had 30 SIM cards with various contact numbers.
In September 2017, the Bank of Ireland’s Financial Crimes Unit became suspicious of activities on six accounts and contacted gardaí. An investigation was subsequently launched and in July 2018 a search was carried out on an apartment the two lived in in Sunday’s Well in Cork.
The couple were not present for the search. Gardaí recovered laptops, wigs that were used to disguise themselves when going to banks and ATMs, and a locked safe. More than € 92,000 was recovered from the safe which was opened after Mrs Clarke and Mr Flynn voluntarily handed over a key.
When Gardaí opened the safe, they found 21 fake Irish driver’s licenses, 19 fake bank cards and 16 credit union books with different names.
Det Garda McCarthy said the duo had opened 19 fake accounts with Bank of Ireland in Cork and Dublin, 19 fake credit union accounts, 19 fake accounts with AIB and three fake accounts with Ulster Bank. Loans were approved with all these institutions.
They also had fake accounts with An Post, Permanent TSB and KBC, but no loans were approved on those accounts, he added.
Det Garda McCarthy said the loan applications were a “quick enough process” for the couple who had an extensive operation underway.
He said the defendants fully cooperated with Gardaí after their arrest. They made guilty pleas in interviews with the garda in August 2018 when they said they were motivated solely by financial gain.
Det Garda McCarthy said that Flynn had two children from a previous marriage that had broken up and that Clarke was the mother of another child from a previous relationship.
The court heard that had the case proceeded to trial, it would have involved an extensive document trail with the couple facing more than 300 charges each.
Alice Fawsitt SC, on behalf of Ms. Clarke, said that her client and Mr. Flynn had voluntarily surrendered the keys to the safe. He stressed that although they had robbed the banks, they saved the state an enormous amount of money by pleading guilty and avoiding a trial. She told Judge Seán O’Donnabháin that her client had a history of depression.
She said that at no point had Ms. Clarke attempted to blame her husband, but instead insisted that she participated equally in the scheme.
Ms. Clarke said that she lost her father when she was 20 years old and that her mother also died. Ms. Fawsitt said that Ms. Clarke was an only child with no family support rather than an aunt.
She said her client had no idea how she got into this situation, but was willing to get her personal affairs in order before going to prison. Ms. Fawsitt requested that she be released on bail for a few days to put her family affairs in order.
Séamus Roche SC, representing Mr. Flynn, said that his client had lost his family and his business and was depressed about going bankrupt. The court heard that the couple had displayed an aberration of judgment by engaging in criminal activity.
Mr. Flynn was held in custody until Friday for his sentencing, while Mrs. Flynn was released on bail until then to make arrangements for her children.
The couple were removed as attorneys in 2018 over completely separate issues from this Garda investigation.
They had been suspended in 2016, but were not canceled until two years later. They were fired for failing to perform their duties properly in a practice that was deemed “chaotic”. The couple stopped practicing in November 2016.
When the married couple first appeared in Cork District Court in connection with the charges, they were awarded free help. The court heard that Mr. Flynn was working as a chef while Ms. Clarke was on a return to work plan.
The couple practiced at Keith Flynn & Company. Ms. Clarke is a former Fine Gael candidate who submitted her name for the party in the Cork North West Ward in the 2014 Cork City Council local elections. She received just over 300 votes.
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