Two women in their 20s have been given suspended sentences for their part in a Revolut scam, which saw a doctor lose €11,000.
Courtney Fitzpatrick (26) of Yeats Avenue, Kincora Park in Limerick, and Leah York (22) of Ashfield, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, were before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Monday, where they pleaded guilty to money laundering on September 3rd, 2023, by possessing the proceeds of crime.
Detective Garda John Sheedy told the court that a doctor received a call that afternoon from an unknown person purporting to be an agent from Revolut.
The caller told her that her account had been compromised, and requested access to her app. He told her that her account and card had been frozen.
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A number of transactions were then carried out on her account, with €5,500 being transferred to York’s account and €5,500 to Fitzpatrick’s account. The money was subsequently transferred into a cryptocurrency account.
The women were identified and interviewed by gardaí. Neither wished to name the man who was using their account numbers, and Garda Sheedy accepted that this was due to fear. He also said the women had co-operated with the investigation.
Fitzpatrick’s counsel said she had not had an easy life, and would present as vulnerable and naive.
“I think you’d want to be very, very naive to allow your account to be used by a third party and not know there was something illicit going on,” remarked the judge.
“These two young ladies co-operated with somebody who has made a lot of money,” he said. “What these criminals needed were bank accounts to launder the money.”
He said they had given their details and allowed these people to get away scot-free.
“It’s rather tiring dealing with stupid young people,” he said. “They were stupid. To some degree, they were used.”
However, he said that they knew what was happening was criminal.
He imposed a one-year sentence on each woman, but suspended their sentences on condition that each offers €1,500 to the injured party within nine months.
“This is to punish these two young ladies somewhat, and to remind them not to be stupid and so gullible,” he said.
“The doctor has lost €11,000, and I’ve no doubt that doctor worked very hard for that money,” he added.
Both women wiped their eyes as they entered their bonds.
