€1.2m judgment against fraudster

The Criminal Assets Bureau has secured a €1.2 million judgment against a Co Longford company director who was jailed last year for his role in insurance frauds.

Michael Byrne (39), Prucklish, Newtownforbes, a director of Michael Byrne Motors, now serving a six-year sentence, was convicted in October last of conspiring with others to defraud the PMPA by falsely pretending that a genuine road accident had occurred in 1994 on the M50 near Lucan, Co Dublin.

He also pleaded guilty to falsely obtaining money from the PMPA and from Cornhill Insurance for a further series of staged accidents and from falsely reporting that a car had been stolen. The frauds cost more than €400,000. In one instance €223,520 was paid out for a false claim.

CAB secured the judgment at Longford Circuit Court, and the €1.2 million includes interest and penalties.

The offences occurred on dates between 1994 and 1996 in various locations in the midlands.

In several of them vehicles offered for inspection by insurance assessors were previously-crashed ones, and claims were put in for the price of new cars.

In some cases people's names had been used, without their knowledge, to obtain large sums fraudulently.

Last week, in a separate case, CAB confiscated a block of apartments and retail space in Dublin worth over €4 million.

Eagle House, in the Smithfield area of the city, comprises 14 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments as well as retail and storage space.

The premises were owned by Christopher Dunne (62) and Noel Duggan (42).

Both men have convictions for handling stolen property, and the bureau is pursuing them for a settlement of over €4 million. The property will be sold at auction next month.