A RETIRED man running a "forgery factory" making fake bank statements and payslips for loan applications, car documentation and ID cards has been given a suspended sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
John Molloy had started out making party invitations and curriculum vitaes after retiring due to ill health, before being "pressurised" by people to whom he owed debts to begin forging documents.
Molloy (53), Willow Drive, Clondalkin, Dublin, pleaded guilty to eight sample counts of making fake National Car Test certificates, a false driving licence, insurance certificate, motor insurance disc and a P60 social welfare certificate at his home between February 2003 and February 2005.
Judge Frank O'Donnell said that by running a "forgery factory", Molloy was "undermining the structure of our society". He imposed concurrent sentences totalling four years which he suspended on strict conditions.
Garda Eamonn Tighe told Lisa Dempsey, prosecuting, he believed it was "a great relief" to Molloy when gardaí appeared at his house with a search warrant and confiscated forged documentation, computer equipment, specialised paper and paper-cutting equipment.
Molloy told gardaí he charged €50 for a fake insurance certificate, €30 for a driving licence and €10 for tax discs and identification cards. He said people contacted him through "word of mouth" and he falsified figures on bank statements and payslips for bank loans "without asking questions."
Garda Tighe said Molloy had no previous convictions.