A FORMER Irish Life and Permanent employee has been jailed for four years for defrauding the company out of €300,000.
David Cullen (32) diverted money from ILP’s social fund, which was used to take clients out to concerts and matches, into a dormant company account. He then withdrew money from this account and used it to fund a lavish lifestyle for him and his friends.
When he was arrested, he told gardaí he had spent all the money and had nothing to show for it.
Cullen, of Tyrconnell Road, Inchicore, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to six counts of theft and fraud from ILP between October 12th, 2005, and September 1st, 2008. He stole a total of €302,000 over 25 transactions.
He told gardaí he stole the money because of “self-esteem issues” and used it to “buy the friendship of others”. A psychiatric report stated: “The fantasy of stealing provided him with a sense of confidence even though he knew he would be caught.”
Michael Bowman, defending Cullen, pleaded with Judge Martin Nolan not to jail him, saying the bank is less of an injured party than others the court might see.
Judge Nolan asked counsel if he was saying the bank is a less sympathetic victim.
“We’re all bearing their load and maybe Mr Cullen bore a little less of it,” Mr Bowman replied.
He submitted Cullen was a naval cadet and placed second in his class before leaving. He received a degree from UCD and is captain of his hockey team and a sailing instructor in his spare time.
Judge Nolan called the fraud an “ill-advised attempt to boost himself”. It was unusual for such a well-educated person to appear before the court and it was highly unlikely Cullen will reoffend. However, he said Cullen was intelligent enough to overcome the psychological difficulties that led to his crime.
Garda Paul McHugh told Gerardine Small, prosecuting, that Cullen started with ILP in 2003 and rose to sponsorship manager.
He was in charge of the bank’s sponsorship and charity activities and had access to its social fund. When the bank would pay for a social event, such as a concert or rugby match, he would siphon part of that money into a company account devoted to making donations to Focus Ireland.
This account contained about €8,000. Cullen added himself as a joint signatory and was able to withdraw money by forging another staff member’s signature.
He would withdraw the money using drafts and cheques. One draft was made out to a BMW dealership and another to RTÉ for use of its corporate box at Croke Park.
He left his job in 2008 because he felt guilty about the thefts and became depressed. He started to miss days in work and had a poor attendance record.
Mr Bowman said it was not a sophisticated fraud and it “maybe says something about how the institution was being run that it could have gone on for so long”.