Estate agent ‘misappropriated’ €42,000 from property sale

A Co Cavan estate agent sold a Dublin woman's holiday apartment in Turkey before "falsely and dishonestly misleading her and misappropriating" the €42,000 proceeds in a personal AIB account, a judge was told on Monday.

Barrister Clodagh Gartlan said in the Circuit Civil court that Seán Boylan, of Annalee Grove, Cootehill, Co Cavan, had "continuously deceived" Marian Ryan, of Rushbrook View, Templeogue, Dublin, about the sale through his company M&M Marketing Strategies Limited.

Ms Gartlan, who appeared with Vincent and Beatty solicitors for Ms Ryan, told Judge Jacqueline Linnane it was feared Mr Boylan may have already transferred the money from his personal account.

She said Ms Ryan had reported to An Garda Síochána the misappropriation by Mr Boylan of the sale proceeds due to her and an investigation was taking place into the matter.

Marian Ryan stated in an affidavit that she had asked Mr Boylan’s company, formerly Extra Sales Consulting Limited trading as Extra Sales, to sell her apartment in Gold City, Analya.

Liquidator

Mr Boylan had formerly been a director of M&M Marketing Strategies prior to the High Court’s appointment of a liquidator last July.

She said she had appointed M&M Marketing Strategies to sell her apartment in January 2013 and in March last year a sale was agreed at €40,000 on the basis that at least €36,000 would be transferred into her bank account. At the behest of Mr Boylan, she had executed a Power of Attorney in the Turkish embassy in Dublin.

A month later she had lost a personal direct sale of €45,000 because Mr Boylan had told her it was too late to withdraw from the already agreed €40,000 transaction.

Ms Ryan said that on April 21st last Mr Boylan had “falsely and dishonestly” informed her the sale of her property would be concluded within six weeks knowing the sale had already concluded a month earlier.

She said she had been coerced into unknowingly relinquishing possession of her apartment on the basis the new owners wanted access to take measurements.

Transferred

A Turkish agent, who handled the sale for M&M Marketing Strategies, had confirmed to her he had already transferred €42,000 to Mr Boylan’s personal bank account.

Mr Boylan, who represented himself on the basis his solicitor was busy in another court, asked Judge Linnane for an adjournment which she refused. He said the money had not been paid into his personal AIB account but into an account “including the name Property in Bulgaria Ltd.”

“It has always been my wish that we come to some agreement and that over a period she would get it all. I will do everything I can to do that. It has been my focus. I don’t have the money,” Mr Boylan told the court.

Judge Linnane said Ms Ryan had not seen a single cent of her money despite having tried for months to recover it. She said the liquidator had confirmed it had been paid to Mr Boylan’s AIB account.

She directed Mr Boylan not to reduce his assets in Ireland below €42,000 pending further order of the court and warned him the matter was serious.