'Too good to be true' - Trial over deception continues at Waterford Circuit Court
The trial is being held at Waterford Courthouse.
The trial of Catherine O'Brien continued at Waterford Circuit Court on Thursday, July 3.
O'Brien, of An Grianan, Ballinroad, Dungarvan, Co Waterford, stands accused of three charges of making gain or causing loss by deception contrary to Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001.
A jury of seven women and five men heard more evidence about the circumstances leading up to the complainant John Blake transferring upwards of €20,000 to the accused for the purchase, transport and insurance of a French broodmare named Lingreville.
On Wednesday, July 2, investigating officer Detective Garda Joe Wyse and State prosecutor Conor O'Doherty went through extensive messages shared between the accused and the complainant John Blake.
The parties first came into contact through the dating site Plenty o' Fish in late 2017 and began a regular correspondence.
The messages detail how Mr Blake came to invest €20,000 into the breeding rights of a stallion horse named Shakeel based in Ireland.
O'Brien claimed to have bought the stallion in late 2017 from renowned breeder Aga Khan. In January 2018, she sent Mr Blake a picture of the thoroughbred stallion Shakeel.
O'Brien told Blake through Whatsapp that there was 'zero' risk for investing in the breeding rights of the stallion, promising a yearly return of €14,000, tax-free.
She messaged: "I'd really love for ordinary people to do well in the equine industry."
Mr Blake wrote that the premise was 'too good to be true'. In the messages, O'Brien claimed to want to 'help people' experience and thrive in the equine industry: "Success should be shared."
Over several months, O'Brien wrote about the work she put into buying broodmares and trying to attract investors into buying breeding rights.
She claimed at the time to have bought 72 mares, but needed 150.
Soon after he invested €20,000 of his savings into the breeding rights of Shakeel, O'Brien broached the subject of buying a broodmare for the stallion.
She claimed to have found a mare named Lingreville from French blood agent Guy Petit. It was understood to Mr Blake that the mare would be brought to Ireland to be 'covered' by Shakeel.
After some discussion, Mr Blake agreed to pay €20,000 for the horse, and secured a loan from the Credit Union.
By April 2018, he was shown a mare that he believed to be Lingreville at the Kinnegad stud farm in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, alongside O'Brien's associate John Walsh.
Defence barrister Simon Donnagh put it to Mr Blake that the horse he had actually purchased was a mare named Shamalana, not Lingreville. Mr Blake rejected the claim.
Toward the end of 2018, Mr Blake tried to arrange to meet with O'Brien only for meetings to be cancelled last minute due to various misfortunes suffered by O'Brien.
On more than one occasion, from late 2018 until early 2019, a meeting was cancelled by O'Brien because her mother or another relative was in hospital. On another date, she claimed that her car broke down. Soon afterwards, she told Mr Blake that she had been kicked in the chest by a horse and had broken ribs. On another date she claimed that she was headbutted by a horse and suffered a broken nose and fractured jaw and cheekbone.
On Thursday, July 3, the jury heard from professionals from the equine industry about the various rules and arrangements in place when exporting or importing a thoroughbred horse from one country to another. Under the official guidelines, thoroughbreds have to be registered with identity documents that hold all their information relating to DNA, pedigree, markings, etc. The jury heard that a thoroughbred cannot be exported or imported to other countries without the proper documentation. There was no record of Lingreville being exported to Ireland in the years 2018 and 2019.
In June 2019, O'Brien told Mr Blake that the mare had given birth to a foal after a 12 month gestation, and sent him videos of a colt.
By September 2019, however, Mr Blake travelled to Lismore to find John Walsh and his home, where he believed Lingreville to be. At this address, Mr Blake learned that the horse was not there, and eventually learned that the horse was never registered as having left France.
He messaged O'Brien multiple times seeking answers about the horse and the foal.
O'Brien wrote: "I have CCTV and I have your car reg and I have gone to the Guards.
"Should anything happen to me John I have sent these texts to others." Mr Blake responded: "Not my problem nothing to do with me."
This was the last message between the two parties heard in court. O'Brien was charged by the DPP in September 2021.
A document from October 2021 suggested Mr Blake received a sum of €22,000. A document from that time pertained that John Walsh, Catherine O'Brien and John Blake had agreed on a settlement over the mare named Shamalana and the breeding rights of the stallion Shakeel. At the outset of the trial, Mr O'Doherty told the jury that such a settlement was not a defence against deception charges. Mr Blake stated on the witness stand that he couldn't recall signing the document.
The trial continues before Judge Eugene O'Kelly.
