Courts

Woman who wore mask to withdraw €22,000 from dead cousin’s account jailed for nine months

Sheila Aherne saw ‘opportunity to strike’ during what should have been a period of grief and reflection, says judge

Sheila Aherne presented herself in the name of her dead relative, Kathleen Cahill, at Synergy credit union in Fermoy, Co Cork.
Sheila Aherne presented herself in the name of her dead relative, Kathleen Cahill, at Synergy credit union in Fermoy, Co Cork.
Olivia Kelleher
Thu Apr 25 2024 - 18:10

A 61-year-old woman who entered a credit union in Fermoy, Co Cork, wearing a scarf and a Covid-style mask and withdrew close to €22,000 using a credit union book belonging to her recently deceased cousin has been jailed for nine months.

In sentencing Sheila Aherne at Cork Circuit Criminal Court in Co Cork, Judge John Martin said she had seen the death of her 77-year-old cousin as “an opportunity to strike”.

Judge Martin said the period after the passing of pensioner Kathleen Cahill should have involved “grief and reflection”. He said that, instead, Aherne had showed contempt for the memory of her cousin.

“You [Aherne] went to the credit union disguising yourself, masquerading as a person who was dead, only just dead, to profit for yourself. To get her bank details, get into her credit union and impersonate her.

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“Fortunately you were foiled, and all but €50 was returned. You knew this person you were stealing from. [You stole the money] in the most difficult time for a family.”

Judge Martin said that Aherne, of Liam Burke Terrace, Ballyhooly, Co Cork, had been willing to deprive the deceased’s family of her estate. The offence had occurred within 48 hours of Kathleen Cahill’s death.

Det Gda Brian O’Connor said in evidence that Aherne had worn a Covid mask and scarf and presented herself in the name of her dead relative, Kathleen Cahill, at Synergy credit union in Fermoy, Co Cork, on December 22nd, 2022.

She closed the account and cleared it of its contents of more than €21,900. Most of the withdrawal was in the form of a cheque.

Aherne tried to lodge the cheque in her own bank account in Fermoy. As it was in the name of another person, the transaction could not be completed.

However, Aherne returned to the credit union, again wearing her scarf and mask. Det Garda O’Connor said she asked the teller to write a cheque in her own name of Sheila Aherne. She was posing as Kathleen Cahill and claimed that Sheila Aherne was her niece.

Aherne then went back to her own bank to lodge the cheque. Her behaviour caused suspicion and she was subsequently arrested and charged with theft, deception and money laundering. She entered a guilty plea on all charges.

Judge Martin noted that Aherne was extremely remorseful for her actions and had apologised to the family of Ms Cahill. He also was cognisant of her early guilty plea in the District Court.

“You didn’t prolong the misery, and you faced it. I am sure you do feel shame, embarrassment, and are apologetic.”

He said that the accused’s previous record of shoplifting was an “aggravating factor” in the case. He described an appropriate sentence prior to the mitigating factors as in the region of three years’ imprisonment.

Taking into account the mitigating factors, which included her difficult personal circumstances, he jailed Aherne for 18 months, suspending the last nine months of the sentence.

During the hearing, Aherne told Judge Martin she was “very close” to her late cousin.

Patrick Cahill, a son of the late Kathleen Cahill, told Judge Martin that Aherne had regularly done the grocery shopping for his late mother.

“My mother always treated her well. And everything Sheila did for her, my mother paid her. It was such a hard time when my mother died. To get the phone call [about the theft] that night of my mother’s removal… I will never forget it.

“I could not grieve my mother properly. I had this situation on my mind throughout the funeral. My mother worked hard for what she earned.”