A Clare businessman may be called to give evidence in the US about a fake Irish lottery operating through Shannon. The scheme, which claimed to be operating the "Irish Sweepstakes", targeted thousands of elderly Americans, some of whom lost their life savings.
The business later moved to a Limerick address before it was closed down last year.
Five Americans have been charged with fraud this week and each is facing up to 40 years in prison.
Federal prosecutors said they are considering calling Shannon taxi-company owner Michael Bolger, whose business was used as a mailing address for the scheme. Mr Bolger told Shannon gardaí he passed sacks of envelopes to an address in Amsterdam that was controlled by one of the accused. Advertisements for the lottery were also allegedly sent to victims using Mr Bolger's address. However, both US prosecutors and a Garda detective said Mr Bolger merely passed on mail and is not suspected of any wrongdoing. Contacted this week, Mr Bolger repeatedly said he knew nothing about the case.
The lottery ran through a front company, the Shamrock Agency, which claimed in mass mailings that victims would be guaranteed huge earnings through group purchase of tickets for an "Irish Sweepstakes".
The scheme claimed the operation was run by a non-existent Irish aristocrat supposedly living in either Clare or Cork.
Along with other lottery schemes, the conspirators are alleged to have made more than $25 million (almost €30 million) in the last 15 years.
One elderly victim, Clarence Enge, lost tens of thousands of dollars to the Shamrock Agency scheme, according to a sworn statement by US Internal Revenue Service criminal investigation agent Tim Nugent.
Mr Nugent said he opened one letter sent to Mr Enge and discovered an advertisement for a fake lottery run by the Shamrock Agency with a return address of "C12 Smithstown Industrial Estate, Shannon, Co Clare", Mr Bolger's business address.
In his statement, Mr Nugent said Det Garda Larry Donnellan had interviewed Mr Bolger and was told that his business address was used by a US-based lottery. Mr Bolger allegedly also said that he used his home address at Cill Chais, Shannon, as a mailing address for the lottery.
Mr Bolger told Det Garda Donnellan he received payment for his services, including $3,000 via wire transfer in November 2004.
Mr Bolger identified one of the accused, William Cloud (57), owner of the Flying Dutchmen café bar in Amsterdam, as one of the people running the lottery.
The scheme stayed in business by occasionally sending small-value but already cancelled cheques to victims. Some 10,000 such cheques, mostly valued under $10, were preprinted with the sender named as "International Irish Escrow Group".
Assistant US attorney for the Central District of California Ellyn E Lindsay said she was not yet sure if Mr Bolger would be called to give evidence.
"We don't have any subpoena power over him, so he would either have to come here voluntarily or we would have to go to Ireland and do a deposition."