DECEPTION CHARGES | 

Man who took part in staged car crash to ‘alleviate €100,000 drug debt’ jailed

Thomas O’Neill (47), his partner Ann Wilson (44) and his sister Deirdre Mellor (54) all appeared at Dublin Circuit Court in connection with a rear-ending incident that happened at Woodstown roundabout in Ballycullen, Tallaght on February 1, 2013

Amy Molloy

Today at 15:29

A father-of-five who claims he took part in a staged car crash in a bid to get money to clear a €100,000 drug debt has been jailed for two years.

Thomas O’Neill (47), his partner Ann Wilson (44) and his sister Deirdre Mellor (54) all appeared at Dublin Circuit Court in connection with a rear-ending incident that happened at Woodstown roundabout in Ballycullen, Tallaght on February 1, 2013.

O’Neill and Wilson were charged with deception after bringing personal injury claims following the minor crash, while Mellor was charged with attempted deception. All three pleaded guilty earlier this year.

The court was told how O’Neill, Wilson and their son were travelling in a Mazda car that was rear-ended by a Toyota Celica when approaching the roundabout. Following the incident, all three sued Axa Insurance for personal injuries.

Wilson, of Ledwill Park, Kilcock, Co Kildare, received compensation of €21,000. Her son – who was a juvenile at the time – was awarded €14,000. She also received €550 for the damage to the car. She said she did not recognise anyone in the other car at the time, despite the fact that Mellor was her partner’s sister.

Mellor was a passenger in the other vehicle. She made a statement to Axa about the crash and had initially planned on taking an injury claim, but on advice decided not to proceed with a case. Judge Martin Nolan handed her down a two-year suspended sentence for the attempted deception

The court heard that Thomas O’Neill has 70 previous convictions including 17 for driving with no insurance, four for dangerous driving and a series of other minor road traffic offences. He also has a previous conviction for possession of drugs.

His barrister told the court that his client’s issues with drug addiction began in his late teens. He said O’Neill racked up a debt of €100,000 after drugs in his possession “were seized on his watch”.

O’Neill, of Glenmore Green, Ballyboden, claimed that he was approached about the “scam” and told it would be a way to “alleviate that debt”.

The court was told that O’Neill and Wilson ‘were not the brains behind the operation”.

O’Neill has been stable on methadone for a number of years.

Judge Martin Nolan said he “actively participated in this fraud” and took steps to defraud the insurance company.

He said he deserved to go to prison and sentenced him to two years in jail.

In relation to Wilson, he said he would need time to sleep on the decision and adjourned her sentencing until Wednesday.

“I will decide then whether I send her to prison,” he said.

The court heard how she had addiction issues with alcohol and crack cocaine and spent some time in Coolmine rehabilitation centre in Dublin. She lost custody of her children for a number of years. However, after graduating from Coolmine in 2020, she was given full custody of her children again.

The court was told how her son was involved in a serious road traffic accident in 2015 and is now paralysed from the waist down. She is his full-time carer. Her youngest child is 23 months old.

Counsel for Wilson said she would not be in a financial position to return the compensation received as a result of the staged accident.

She had to quit working as a cleaner due to her family situation, the court was told. Her mother suffers from schizophrenia and she is not currently in a position to work. However, counsel said she hoped to be in a position to pay the money back in the future.

In a statement, Axa said: “It is incumbent on Axa to fight insurance fraud, and we will continue to work with An Garda Síochána to ensure fraudsters are prosecuted in the criminal courts