Irish who went shopping after a € 760 thousand fraud ‘an outcast’

A woman who stole a staggering 760,000 euros and went shopping for designer bags, clothes and jewelry has lost all her friends, her family, her home and has become an outcast in her local city, according to reported a court.

Co Donegal’s wife, Tara Sweeney, had pleaded guilty to stealing the cash over a six-year period from the Donegal Education Center.

The 47-year-old was an account manager in downtown Donegal Town from 2009 to 2015.

The Donegal Circuit Court heard that one’s mother was responsible for payroll and had access to several bank accounts.

In 2015, a new director of the company suspected large sums of money were missing and an investigation was launched.

The investigation led Ms Sweeney, of Glebe, Donegal Town, to resign from her job.

A search of his house by Gardai found a room full of black bags containing documentation from the school.

An accounting firm was drafted showing wire transfers to Ms. Sweeney’s account for a staggering 760,000 euros.

Further investigation showed that Ms Sweeney had spent much of the money on clothing, designer handbags, perfumes, and jewelry with many high-end brands, including Prada and Gucci.

Many of the recovered bags and clothing were not even removed from their packaging, the court heard.

He eventually pleaded guilty to 20 sample counts, having originally faced 44 counts of theft.

Ms. Sweeney’s attorney, Mr. Peter Nolan told the court that the case and his actions have destroyed her life.

Since the case came to light, Ms. Sweeney has received hate mail and is afraid to go out.

However, she said that she is in the process of selling her house, which is worth € 150,000 and that the profit of between € 60,000 and € 70,000 will be returned to the Donegal Education Center.

Mr. Nolan said: “This has been a catastrophic event in your life. He has lost his home, he has lost his family, he has no friends and is now in an outcast in Donegal City. “

He added that it was a sad and unusual case and that if some money is recovered from the recovery of all the designer brands, perhaps it can be returned as well.

The court heard that the Donegal Education Center is also initiating Superior Court proceedings against Ms. Sweeney.

“She does not have a credit card and only uses a debit card and this will not happen again,” added the lawyer for the accused.

Judge John Aylmer said he had some sympathy for Ms Sweeney in the sense that the case has been pending with her for a year due to Covid.

He said he will sentence her next week and said there will be no further postponements in the case.