Jailed fraudster gave girlfriend false name, told her he was undercover garda, took €6k from her
The case was heard at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court. File Pic
A former traffic warden in Waterford, who pretended to be a Detective Garda and defrauded his former partner out of thousands of euro, was jailed when his sentencing hearing took place at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court.
Orville Farrell, with an address at Nurney, Co Carlow, had his sentencing hearing heard before Judge Eugene O’Kelly. Outlining the nature of the matter, State Prosecutor, Conor O’Doherty, said it was a case where Farrell pleaded guilty on March 23, 2023, to a charge of making gain for himself and causing loss to another by deception, and with impersonating a Garda.
Garda Brendan O’Leary told the court that Farrell met his victim, a woman from Waterford, who he would go on to have a four-year relationship with, online in March 2018.
“A relative of the injured party became suspicious of the accused,” said Det. Garda O’Leary, and that resulted in an investigation taking place and a statement being taken from the injured party.
The court heard Farrell told the woman that he was a member of the gardaí and that he worked as an undercover detective.
Gda O’Leary said Farrell was arrested on May 21, 2022, “under Section 6 of the Theft and Fraud Offences Act”.
The Garda said he interviewed Farrell who said money forwarded to him by the injured party was “a loan”.
“He did not accept that he said he was member of the gardaí,” said Gda O’Leary.
Undercover in Limerick At that point Mr O’Doherty told the court that Farrell told the injured party he was working as an undercover detective based in Limerick and that his name was David Farrell.
Gda O’Leary said Farrell told the injured party that the nature of his duties were such that it could put both of them at risk. The court also heard he told her he was separated from his wife.
“He said he was no longer in a relationship with the mother of his child and I believe he lied about the child’s name,” said Gda O’Leary in evidence. The judge heard Farrell had four previous convictions but none for similar offences to those before the court.
Judge O’Kelly was told by Mr O’Doherty that €3,850 was repaid to the injured party, however, Gda O’Leary said: “The money transferred by the injured party exceeded that amount.”
The injured party read a victim impact statement into evidence and told the judge that she met ‘David’ in 2018. She said they got on great and she found him to be “funny, charming and good looking”.
In their first video call online he told her that he had moved to Limerick because he was a detective garda in the drugs squad. The injured party thought he was being open and honest and he said he had to keep his private life undercover.
“I trusted David and believed him,” she said.
“I trusted him completely. He was a member of the gardaí and he led me to believe we had a future.”
The injured party said she didn’t hesitate to loan him money when asked and commented “why would I?”
Loan
“I loaned about €6,000,” she said. She said Farrell had met her parents, along with some of her friends and family members.
“I lost my job in 2020 and he knew the money I loaned him was from my savings and he never repaid me,” she said.
“I will never forgive him,” she added. “When I learned the truth I was physically sick.”
victim said she was embarrassed by what happened and that it affected her confidence. She said that having learned of his deceit, he “eventually said his name was Orville Farrell”.
“He was so good at lying that I questioned everything I knew,” she said, while also pointing out that she was trying to study while dealing with the stress of what was going on.
“I feel mortified that I allowed myself to be fooled by someone I loved,” she said.
She also told the judge she still hadn’t told her parents or family. She said she wanted to know why Farrell did what he did.
“I would love to meet someone and be happy but I’m not sure if that will ever happen because I am not sure if I can trust anyone again,” she said.
“I am emotionally drained from it all,” she added. Commenting that she wanted to put “it all behind me”, the victim said she hoped that by coming forward it might help other people out there in similar situations.
When it was pointed out by Gareth Hayden BL, acting on behalf of Farrell, that €2,000 was credited to her account in 2020, the victim said: “I made that payment and it was paid back but over €6,000 was paid, and that €2,000 was paid back.” Mr Hayden said that a sum of €3,850 was paid by his client through his solicitor before Christmas.
Mr Hayden said €3850 was paid by his client. He also said Farrell wished to apologise for what he did, to which his victim replied: “Well, it’s a little bit too late. That should have come from the start.”
Gda O’Leary then told the court: “He did not fully accept that he deceived the injured party. I believe he said they were both aware they were not giving each other the full details.
“He did not accept he put himself forward as a Garda,” added Gda O’Leary, who also said that Farrell had said he told the injured party he was a Government official. At that point the judge was also told that Farrell had worked as a traffic warden for Waterford City and County Council for three years.
“Have you established if he was a traffic warden in Waterford?” Judge O’Kelly asked Gda O’Leary, to which he replied: “I have not explored that.”
“I need to be satisfied as to the level of deception the victim was subjected to,” commented Judge O’Kelly.
Mr Hayden said his client “might not have grasped the full extent of the impact on the injured party” but added he was concerned about the impact on his future work prospects. The court was told Farrell was employed with a company dealing with financial risk management.
“He deals with clients to release funds and transfer funds,” said Mr Hayden.
“He is 43 years of age and is a separated man with one child,” he added, outlining his client’s personal circumstances.
“He worked as a traffic warden for three years,” he said, while also adding that his client had studied for a law degree.
“He is at the low risk category of reoffending,” said Mr Hayden, referencing a Probation Report risk assessment.
“He asked me to apologise to the injured party and is sorry for the hurt he caused her,” he said.
“I am concerned about the level of remorse,” commented Judge O’Kelly, in his summation. Referencing the Probation Officer’s report, the judge said: “He seems aggrieved that a family member went to the Gardaí and that but for their interference the matter could have been resolved between them. What sort of concern is that? That he was concerned about a family member being concerned.” “As recently as last October he was still aggrieved that his false identity was questioned by a family member,” said Judge O’Kelly.
The judge noted that in March 2023, Farrell pleaded guilty to one count of deception and a further count of impersonating a Garda. He said he had deliberately given a false name and occupation to the victim.
“He put himself forward as a detective garda, undercover investigating the criminal underworld in Limerick,” said Judge O’Kelly, who described it as a serious offence.
He said the victim had genuinely suffered as a result of the betrayal and felt humiliated and emotionally drained.
“The public must have confidence that if they believed themselves to be interacting with a member of the police that they have trust,” he said.
With regard to the impersonating a Garda charge the judge imposed a three-year sentence. Having considered the mitigating factors, including an early guilty plea and the fact that money was repaid, he reduced the sentence by nine months.
With regard to the deception charge he imposed a two-year prison sentence but on mitigation reduced it by six months, with the final portion of the sentence suspended for six months, post-release. Both sentences will run concurrently and Farrell was ordered to enter a €100 bond to keep the peace during imprisonment and for six months upon release.
