'Very serious conviction': Clare man admits money laundering charge linked to phishing scam

The dangers of being associated with incidents of so called phishing were highlighted at Ennis District Court when a father-of-two pleaded guilty to money laundering offences.

Ronan Moloney, aged 28, of Knock Cottage, Main Street, Quin, was before the court arising from an incident which saw criminal elements fraudulently obtain a large quantity of cash from another individual.

Sergeant John Burke said the injured party was the victim of a "phishing incident" and that €1,400 was transferred from their account into the defendant's account. He confirmed the victim was refunded by their bank and that they are not at a loss.

Solicitor Tara Godfrey told the court that the money was deposited into Mr Monley's account by an "online friend" without his knowledge as to where the money was coming from. "He didn't make a gain," she said.

Read next: Hiss-teria in popular Ennis pub as snake discovered living in toilet

Mrs Godfrey explained that Mr Moloney supplied his account details to his "online friend" and that this account was used to transfer the money which was obtained fraudulently.

While noting the submissions, Judge Alec Gabbett stated that while money can easily be lodged into a bank account it is "quite difficult" to get it out.

The judge said explanations such as "Oh I gave out my bank details," do not stack up.

He noted that with modern technology and smartphone apps, withdrawing money from a bank account "requires more then just providing your bank details for someone to use your account."

He added: "It also requires the account holders co-operation".

This, he said, is because most online banking apps require users to confirm the transaction using additional security measures such as two-factor authentication or receiving a code via text message.  "You have to authenticate it," stated the judge.

He added that in many money laundering cases, if the money is not reverted back to the original account by the bank within a short timeframe, the money is transferred out and is often used to buy cyrptocurrency making it near impossible to recover.

In her plea of mitigation, Ms Godfrey said her client is currently in receipt of Disability Allowance and that he is "quite anxious and very worried" about the matter and the prospect of having a "very serious conviction" on his record.

Judge Gabbett ordered a Probation Report and he remanded Mr Moloney on bail until February 18,2026.

He indicated that he may consider a Community Service order of the defendant is deemed suitable.