An employee of the Canada Life assurance company stole cheques worth some £320,000 from her employers, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard yesterday. The accused, Ashling McGrath (18), became infatuated with a Nigerian who asked her to steal three company cheques for him. He later cashed £2,250 before fleeing to Amsterdam.
Det Garda Sharon Kennedy, of the National Bureau of Fraud Investigation, said McGrath first stole a cheque worth £291,794. Her co-accused, Adebayo Ogunkoya Demuren, changed the name of the cheque recipient but, following a security check in Britain, he received no money.
Another woman accomplice later posed as a legitimate Canada Life customer and lodged two forged cheques worth £10,000 and £18,191 in two Irish banks. Demuren withdrew £2,250 on the £10,000 cheque and fled to Amsterdam before agreeing to return to Ireland for his arrest.
McGrath, of St Brigid's Road, Killester, Dublin, pleaded guilty to three counts of larceny in 1998. Demuren (27), of Leyland Avenue, Clondalkin, Dublin, was jailed for 30 months last year. He had six previous convictions for fraud.
Mr Conor Devally, defending, said McGrath's actions had caused "incredible turmoil" for her family but they supported her.
Judge Elizabeth Dunne adjourned sentence to May 11th and said McGrath would not have to go to prison if probation reports indicated she was suitable for community service.