Waterford District Court told young man was 'duped' into taking part in €2.47 million international phishing scam
The solicitor for the defendant said that these types of cases are "coming fast and furious through the courts." Stock Image.
A judge at Waterford District Court said he was inclined to strike out a case against a young man who had been an unwitting participant in a €2.47 million phishing scam.
Robbie Harrington (21), of Corluddys Cottage, Carrigeen, Mooncoin, Co. Kilkenny, pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering on April 20 and 25, 2023.
Judge John Cheatle said that he believed the defendant had been “duped” into allowing the use of his Revolut account as part of a wider scam he had no other part in.
Acting for the defendant, solicitor Hilary Delahunty said these cases are “coming fast and furious through the court system”, and usually involve the targeting of young people.
Garda Detective Paul O’Flynn told Judge Cheatle that “money mules” are essential to the operation of a phishing scam, but they are usually unwitting.
Young men, in particular, he said, are being approached and offered money for the use of their bank or Revolut accounts.
“Typically, young men hand over their accounts for a small fee, not knowing the damage it does,” said Detective Garda O’Flynn.
Getting an account in Europe requires ID.
The “masterminds” of these scams use existing accounts to transfer money between accounts, with the end destination usually cryptocurrency.
Sergeant John Phelan told the court that money amounting to €4,096 and €9,900 was funneled from two accounts in Finland, through a Paysend account and into Mr Harrington’s Revolut account.
Garda Detective O’Flynn said this money was later traced to a cryptocurrency wallet worth €2.47 million.
When asked by Mr Delahunty if Mr Harrington had been “duped”, Garda Detective O’Flynn said he believed that was the case.
In the case of the Finnish accounts, Garda Detective O’Flynn told Judge Cheatle that the victims had received a text about parcels.
They clicked the link in the message and provided details, including financial, that they believed necessary to release the parcels.
Those details were instead used to take money from their accounts.
This scam resulted in losses to hundreds of people, but the international multi-agency investigation resulted in the arrest of the “mastermind”.
“We believe there is enough money to compensate all victims, but that relies on a conviction,” said Detective Garda O’Flynn.
Mr Delahunty told the court that the two Finnish victims in Mr Harrington’s case had already been compensated.
He said his client, with the help of his family, had repaid the money taken.
"We paid that, and it took a really long time. We had to go through Interpol," said Mr Delahunty.
This is usually done by the victim's bank, and that benefits the defendant, but Mr Harrington was “somewhat unlucky” this was not the case for him, his solicitor told the court.
Mr Delahunty said his client's parents were anxious to avoid a conviction.
“He was just stupid,” said Mr Delahunty.
Judge Cheatle put the matter back for six months to December 9.
He said that if the defendant had not come to any negative garda attention at that time, he would strike out the matter.
The judge noted the guilty plea and said the defendant had “met the case well”.
He agreed with the assessment by Garda Detective O’Flynn and Mr Delahunty that Mr Harrington had been “duped.”
