Longford court hears money mule is 'suffering consequences' of trying 'to make a quick euro'

A young man who had “all the signs of a money mule” after he “unfathomably” gave his bank account details to a third party will return before Longford Circuit Court in January.

Anis Lawal (20) of 31 Yeats Hall, Prospect Woods, Longford faces a charge that on dates between May 24 and May 25, 2022 he engaged in handling property which was the proceeds of criminal conduct, to wit €19,180 credited to a Permanent TSB account in the name of Terrance O'Dowd, knowing it was the proceeds of criminal conduct.

Witness for the State, Detective Garda Clive Glancy, outlined details of the investigation that brought the defendant before the court.

Gardaí were contacted by victim Terrance O'Dowd, a retired firefighter, who was the victim of a smishing scam. Smishing scams use fake mobile text messages to trick people into sharing sensitive information or sending money to cybercriminals.

The injured party received a text message purporting to be from his bank warning him of unusual activity on his account.

When Mr O'Dowd clicked the link he was directed to enter three of the digits of his verification code.

The victim was then directed to another page, which had all the appearances of his bank's webpage that asked him to input the remaining digits. In a short period of time three transactions removed €19,180 from the injured party's account.

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Detective Garda Glancy told the court that the money was transferred to the bank account of Mr Lawal. The defendant made a series of withdrawals from the Longford and Mullingar branch of his bank, made a number of electronic purchases and also transferred money into a digital current account called Money Jar.

Gardaí executed a warrant to investigate the transactions following the money from Mr O'Dowd's account. A search warrant was also executed on the home of Mr Lawal.

Gardai found no “trappings of wealth”, but a mobile phone and a Money Jar card were seized.

In an interview the defendant said he was contacted just after his 18th birthday on Snapchat by a person he had known when he was in primary school. Mr Lawal said they asked him for his bank account details. He said although there were no direct threats, there was a veiled threat with the other party telling him they knew his address.

The defendant told Gardaí that he was “sacred for his mother and younger brother”. Having given the other party his account details, money was lodged in his account.

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He claimed that men drove down from Dublin and brought him to banks in Longford and Mullingar and waited as he withdrew the money. In the interview Mr Lawal said the other party parked away from the banks so they could not be seen on CCTV.

The defendant told the officers when he went in to make a withdrawal and was not allowed to make any more money from the bank account they got impatient and were giving out and yelling at him. He said he took a video of the interaction, but the

Gardaí never found it in the course of their investigation.

Judge Connolly was told Mr Lawal had provided a name and that person is under investigation, with the matter at an advanced stage.

The defendant was cooperative at all times. He had provided passwords for his phone, email and Snapchat account and had allowed a search of his bedroom.

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Detective Garda Glancy said the defendant showed “all the signs of a money mule” and said there was no indication he got any financial benefit from the fraud, beyond €840 he had spent in shops.

The victim impact statement from retired firefighter Terrance O'Dowd told how he felt “sickened and foolish” as a result of the fraud. He said he was too embarrassed to tell friends and family.

The bank did reimburse the funds, but Mr O'Dowd checked his account every day and no longer trusts any message he gets about money. He spoke of feeling “empty and vulnerable” and concluded by saying: “The person who did this probably never done a hard day's work in their lives.”

The court was told the defendant had no previous convictions. Originally from Nigeria the defendant lives with his mother and little brother, and his father passed away in 2012.

Mr Lawal has a heart condition and will be taking medication for life. A full time student the defendant also works part time as a bar man to pay his way through college. He had €2,000 in court as a “tangible token of remorse” and had penned a letter of apology to the victim.

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Judge Connolly said it was very difficult to reconcile Mr Lawal's actions: “It's unfathomable that you would hand over your bank account details to someone you only somewhat know.”

The defendant was initially remanded in custody to the following Wednesday, and when the matter returned Judge Connolly said: “It's a crying shame he has brought this on his family and I hope he is suitably ashamed.”

The judge highlighted the lessons for the general public arising from the smishing case: “The injured party was asked in disguised stages to give his information and I think the message has to go out that, just because you're not putting in your PAC or your pin number in one transaction, doesn't mean you're not doing it in a number of disguised transactions.

“This was an excellent Garda investigation, which brought one of the cogs in this criminality - albeit a small cog - to justice.”

With regard to sentencing Judge Connolly said: “The probation report is “not beneficial”. He denies any real understanding of what was happening.

“It appeared he was holding back information during any offence-based discussion. He claimed naivety and presented himself as a wholly innocent, naive character who was duped into handing over his bank account details. I think he did it to make a quick euro and now he's learning that there is no such thing and he's suffering the consequences.”

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Remanding Mr Lawal on bail to the January sitting of Longford Circuit Court to assess his suitability for the restorative justice programme the judge said the programme could help Mr Lawal understand the consequences of his actions by meeting with the victim and hearing from them how the offending has affected them.

Judge Connolly directed the defendant pay the sum of €450 to Permanent TSB. He was admitted to bail on an own bond of €500 to keep the peace and be of good behaviour until the determination of sentence.

Mr Lawal will also be under the supervision of the probation service and the probation service has been directed to consider his suitability for the Restorative Justice Programme. He was remanded on bail to January 16 for a further sentence hearing.