Posted by BREAKING Catriona Carey arrested over alleged €600,000 mortgage scam
- Ms Carey (45) is being questioned at a south Dublin garda station
- She can be held for up to a week as detectives put around 20 criminal complaints to her
April 18 2023 06:00 AM
Former Irish hockey Catriona Carey has been arrested by fraud squad detectives as part of an investigation into an alleged €600,000 mortgage scam.
Ms Carey (45) was arrested yesterday afternoon by appointment by officers from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) and is being questioned about conspiracy to commit a serious offence, namely alleged deception.
She is being held under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act at a south Dublin garda station and can be held for up to a week as detectives put around 20 separate criminal complaints to her.
It is understood detectives are investigating allegations that Ms Carey was offering alleged fraudulent services to distressed mortgage holders from all across the country, in which she allegedly offered her services to refinance properties. Instead of doing this, it is alleged that the money she obtained was stolen.
Catriona Carey’s former home is back on the market for just over half a million euro
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Specialist detectives have identified three people as part of their long running investigation and Ms Carey is the second person to be arrested in the probe. Gardaí are not looking for anyone else apart from this trio in their detailed investigation.
Last month, a man was arrested and questioned for two days at Wexford Garda Station before being released without charge by detectives investigating the alleged massive mortgage scam.
He was also questioned about conspiracy to commit deception and it is expected that another middle-aged male will be arrested in the coming weeks as part of the investigation.
Last year it was revealed how former Irish hockey star Carey was involved in an alleged mortgage scam in which she received thousands of euro from people in financial distress after promising to help them secure new deals to keep their properties.
Ms Carey previously admitted that up to €200,000 deposited into an account by desperate homeowners was spent on personal items including holidays, a €55,000 BMW and designer clothing.
She said the money is now gone and not recoverable.
Ms Carey has been accused of scamming dozens of people after offering to buy debt from their mortgage lenders at a discount once she received deposits. However, the deals she promised never materialised.
Ms Carey also has a previous conviction for fraud. In February 2020 she was before the courts for altering a cheque she received from a client who hired her as his accountant.
In February, Carey was arrested as part of a separate investigation. The former camogie player was detained by officers from the Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) and brought to Carlow garda station for questioning.
She was released without charge after over 12 hours in custody.
The CEA is an independent statutory agency tasked with investigating suspected breaches of company law. The CEA investigation is separate from the ongoing garda probe which led to this week’s arrest of the alleged fake solicitor and the expected imminent arrests.
The CEA, based in Dublin’s Parnell Square, was given tough new powers when it replaced the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement in July of last year.
Catriona Carey hit the headlines in February 2022 when RTÉ Investigates aired a programme detailing complaints of alleged fraud regarding her Careysfort Asset Estates firm.
Property owners are alleged to have paid tens of thousands in deposits to Ms Carey’s UK-registered company, Careysfort Asset Estates, over two years.
Ms Carey also asked clients to transfer deposits to bank accounts in Germany and Belgium.
Earlier this month it emerged that Ms Carey made a complaint to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) about the criminal investigation into claims she ran a mortgage scam after a search of her Kilkenny home.
Separately last year she received a suspended prison sentence and a four-year driving ban for driving without a licence or insurance while disqualified from driving.
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