Soccer coach ‘pawn’ in scam is spared a criminal record

Daniel Kearney (21) gave his Revolut details to a fraudster he met on Snapchat, after being promised €200 in return.

December 14 2021 07:55 AM

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A soccer coach who let scammers use his account to launder €3,000 which had been stolen in a “smishing” attack has been spared a criminal record.

Daniel Kearney (21) gave his Revolut details to a fraudster he met on Snapchat, after being promised €200 in return.

Judge Bryan Smyth gave him the benefit of the Probation Act, leaving him without a conviction, after hearing Kearney had been a “pawn”.

Kearney, of Castle Riada Grove, Lucan, pleaded guilty to money laundering on July 12 last year.

Dublin District Court heard a smishing scam at Bank of Ireland was investigated after a customer received a text message about an unauthorised transaction.

He clicked on a link in the text and entered his PIN. His account was accessed and €8,500 was transferred to the account of a 16-year-old.

Some €3,000 was transferred into Kearney’s Revolut account and withdrawn at ATMs. Kearney was not involved in the withdrawals, or the organisation of the scam.

The case had brought extreme stress for Kearney, who had lost two stone in weight, his defence barrister Vanessa Frawley said.

“This has been a serious mistake in his life,” she added.

“He was foolish enough to allow himself to be taken advantage of. He was a pawn in this situation.”

Kearney coached football at a serious level in the League of Ireland and had done volunteer charity work in Africa.

Judge Smyth said he found it extraordinary that anyone would get involved having been approached by a stranger.