A woman who admitted defrauding a well-known Dublin barbershop out of more than €35,000 has been given a fully-suspended sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Linda Finnegan (51), of The Orchard Drive, Stamullen, Co Meath, and her late father, Liam Finnegan, set up the Waldorf Barbers on Westmoreland Street, Dublin 2 together and ran it successfully for many years, the court heard.
However, the relationship between father and daughter soured and Finnegan pleaded guilty to fraud under the Companies Act on March 27th, 2019 about a month after her father’s death from cancer.
At her sentencing on Wednesday, the court heard that Finnegan fraudulently induced Bank of Ireland to transfer the sum of €29,000 to her on the day in question.
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The court heard that she had initially denied three charges of theft and taken a trial date, but that she pleaded guilty to a fourth count of fraud when this was presented.
Judge Orla Crowe said Finnegan’s actions caused the company to go into liquidation, but she acknowledged that the defendant thought she was entitled to withdraw the money.
Judge Crowe set a headline sentence of 2½ years, but in light of Finnegan’s guilty plea and other mitigating circumstances, she reduced this to one year and nine months, suspended in full.
The court also noted that Finnegan had shown remorse and was a hardworking mother who had cooperated fully with the Garda investigation.
At a previous hearing, Garda Martin Doohan told Garrett McCormack BL, prosecuting, that Ms Finnegan and her late father were both directors of the barbershop until they had a “significant falling out” in 2016. The court heard that when Mr Finnegan was diagnosed with cancer in 2016, he stopped his day-to-day running of the business and two other employees took over.
Mr Finnegan died in February 2019 and the two employees continued to run the business.
Bank statements handed to gardaí by the company the following year show two withdrawals in March 2019 made without permission by Linda Finnegan for sums of €4,950 and €28,000. A month later, she withdrew €2,651 from Waldorf Babers, again without permission from the company.
Gardaí obtained warrants to search Finnegan’s house and she brought officers to her bedroom where she pointed out two envelopes containing cash sums of €4,950 and €10,000. This money was seized.
The total sum misappropriated by Finnegan amounted to €35,601, said Garda Doohan.
The court heard that the late Mr Finnegan had owned 75 per cent of the business and his daughter had a 25 per cent share. Mr Finnegan’s will bequeathed his 75 per cent share to the two other employees running the business, the court heard.
The company went into liquidation as a result of the fraud but the two former employees are still trading as Waldorf Barbers under a new legal name.
Garda Doohan agreed with Rebecca Smith BL, defending, that the accused had written a remorseful letter, saying if she could turn back time and change how she dealt with the situation, she would. Garda Doohan accepted that she was unlikely ever to come before the courts again.
Several letters were handed into court from the accused’s friends, neighbours and family confirming her good character and expressing shock that someone like her could come before the courts.
Finnegan is on social welfare and has three children, two of whom live with her. They are currently experiencing housing difficulties, counsel said. The court heard that she has made the sum of €14,900 available to the company’s liquidator.