Longford man involved in text scam avoids prison

Gift Osabuehien (21), of 25 Parc na hAbhainn, Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, was charged with money laundering after, at the age of 18, he allowed his account to be used to launder a total of €6,300, which was taken from the bank account of a man who followed a link in a text.

Garda Shane O'Connor gave evidence that, on February 18, 2022, he received a report from Gardaí in the community engagement hub in Cork City, which included a statement from a man who had received a text message and followed a link which resulted in his Bank of Ireland account being debited a sum of €2,900 and a subsequent sum of €3,400 in April 2021.

Enquiries carried out by Gardaí in Cork identified a bank account belonging to Mr Osabuehien, prompting them to send the report to the detective unit in Longford Garda Station.

Mr Osabuehien, when questioned, made full admissions to providing his own ID and documentation to open the bank account for the sole purpose of this activity and allowing it to be used by others. The account was subsequently frozen.

"He gave an account of a background into how he was involved. He'd be deemed a money mule - a lower tier of this activity," said Garda O'Connor.

"He outlined he was the lower tier, providing his bank account to a money herder who would get the details from a money mule. He was able to give details of how he fell into that trap."

Gda O'Connor added that Mr Osabuehien "entered freely" into the arrangement, with a view of being given a fee for providing his account.

"He comes within that age group who are stuck for money and this is an easy way to make a few pound, but unfortunately they are disposable," he said.

Garda O'Connor explained that the accused had no previous convictions at the time of the offence but has had subsequent convictions for affray, violent disorder and possession of an article with intent to cause harm. He has not been on the radar of the Gardaí with regard to further money laundering offences.

A victim impact statement read by Garda O'Connor expressed how the injured party felt "stupid" when he realised he had inadvertently allowed his savings to be taken from him.

"The feelings of 'how could I be so stupid' were never ending," he said, "it made me feel bad, and worse, powerless."

The injured party also stated that he had "little or no expectation that the person would be apprehended" but said he was "delighted and proud" of how the Gardaí had handled the situation.

The accused was due to receive a figure of €1,000 for his involvement in the scam but the court heard that, when he travelled to Dublin to take the money out, the bank card was stolen from him by "higher players".

"There's no honour among thieves," commented Judge Kenneth Connolly.

Mr Gerard Groarke, barrister for the defence, explained that his client had studied mechanical engineering and was hoping to get back to education. He also has a supportive family and was hoping there wouldn't be a custodial sentence imposed on him in court.

"It's worrying. This seems like a fine young man but he comes before me having pleaded guilty to a very serious crime that has a maximum sentence of 14 years," said Judge Connolly.

"It is very worrying that he has subsequent convictions," he added, noting that, while he will not be taking subsequent convictions into account in terms of the sentencing for this crime, those convictions do inform the court that this "was not a once off".

"It seems this is a young man very close to the edge of a precipice. He's going to have to be very careful unless he wants to spend his life behind bars."

There was a "very nasty nature" to this offence, he added.

"I appreciate he's the very lowest cog in the machine but he is part of the machine and every part is necessary for that machine to work. He played his part.

"This was a very nasty offence. It preys on vulnerability and the inexperience of using technology. It is very sinister and nasty," said Judge Connolly.

"The victim impact statement gives an insight into the self deprecation people engage in once they fall victim to these types of crimes.

"The victim did absolutely nothing wrong but is left feeling stupid and inadequate and that is the unfortunate aspect."

Aggravating factors included the fact that this was a nasty crime, into which Mr Osabuehien entered freely for personal gain.

"If it hadn't been detected, perhaps further sums would have gone through," said Judge Connolly.

However, an early guilty plea, the young age of the accused at the time, his cooperation with Gardaí and the fact he was the "lowest tier" in the scam, were among the points of mitigation. A probation report was also "extremely helpful".

Judge Connolly proceeded to set the sentence at 20 months imprisonment but substituted that sentence for a total of 240 hours of community service, to be completed within 12 months.

"If the remainder of his life is not offence free, he's going to end up in prison. I hope this young man will leave the court today feeling lucky," said Judge Johnson.

"Considering the gravity of this offence, he should be going to prison and it is his age that saved him," he concluded.