A former solicitor has pleaded guilty to eight charges relating to fraud, forgery and theft amounting to in excess of €300,000.
Mark Cronin (40) of New Street, Macroom, who appeared before Cork Circuit Criminal Court,pleaded guilty to the theft of €24,000 in cash at Cronin Solicitors in Macroom between July 2009 and December 2013.
He also pleaded guilty to forgery by changing a bank draft reading €223,500 to read €333,500 in the autumn of 2010. He admitted deception in which he sent a cheque for €100,000 to a solicitor on the South Mall, Cork, in September 2010, knowing the account did not have sufficient funds to cover it.
Cronin also admitted deception in which he induced an individual to lodge €48,500 into a VAT account with the intention of making a gain for himself. He pleaded guilty to three further counts of theft on various dates between March 2011 and February 2012. Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin heard Cronin stole two sums of money – €30,000 and €40,000 – and a bank draft for €100,000 from the same two people.
Cronin was remanded on continuing bail to facilitate his continued attendance with a psychiatrist. He will be sentenced at Cork Circuit Criminal Court on November 23rd.