A man who stole nearly €10,000 from his elderly friend’s savings while he was in hospital has been jailed for 18 months.
John McDonald (57), of North Circular Road, Dublin, will spend a further 18 months in jail if he is unable to come up with €12,000 in compensation for his victim within a month.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard McDonald met Matthew Murphy (80) at a senior citizens' event and they became friends. McDonald used to help Mr Murphy with his shopping and the two would go out for a drink together.
In December 2009, Mr Murphy became unwell and was unable to leave his flat. He needed to pay his rent and gave McDonald his ATM card and pin to take out money.
The court heard that Mr Murphy’s condition worsened and he was forced to go into hospital but McDonald did not return the card and would “fob off” the victim every time he asked for it.
When Mr Murphy was released from hospital he found that his account had been nearly completely emptied and went to gardaí.
McDonald used the ATM card to make 29 withdrawals totalling €9,843. After his discharge from hospital the victim found his savings account contained only €15.
McDonald was arrested and claimed Mr Murphy had agreed to lend him money because his family was in financial trouble. He claimed Mr Murphy had signed a written agreement to this effect but that he might not remember it because his mental health was poor at the time.
McDonald pleaded guilty in 2012, and asked for the case to be adjourned so he could repay the victim. He claimed he had just inherited €20,000 from his mother, and that he needed time for the cheque to clear. He then fled to Northern Ireland until 2015.
He remained in Belfast until earlier this year, when he was arrested at his Dublin home.
McDonald, who has 15 previous convictions mostly for forgery and larceny offences, pleaded guilty to nine sample counts of theft from Mr Murphy between December 2009 and February 2010 during various transactions around Dublin.
Judge Martin Nolan called it "a low crime", and said McDonald "behaved in a very devious and tricky fashion over the years" .
He imposed a three -ear sentence with the final 18 months suspended on condition that McDonald pays €12,000 to Mr Murphy within one month.
Defence counsel Dean Kelly said his client was married but the relationship broke down due to his drinking. He said McDonald also had significant addiction to prescription medications.