A TAXIMAN who organised false car accident injury claims which cost insurance companies almost £200,000 is to expose solicitors and a doctor involved in the fraud.
Brian Carthy (51), Ennafort Park, Raheny, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to eight charges of conspiring with others to defraud motor insurance companies on dates between 1989 and 1993.
Mr Patrick MacEntee SC (with Mr George Birmingham), defending, said Carthy was prepared to swear evidence on oath concerning the involvement of two solicitors and a doctor in making the fraudulent claims. He could not have carried out the crimes without their professional help.
"He is essentially a man of blameless character who was corrupted by a suggestion from these professional people. He is emphatic that he wishes to give all the evidence he has to the gardai about them," said Mr MacEntee.
Judge Cyril Kelly said every citizen in the State was involved in this case because insurance premiums increased for them as a result of fraudulent claims.
Carthy's offer to assist the Garda further would need more time to be carried out and he adjourned sentence to July 10th.
Earlier, Mr Patrick Gageby SC (with Mr Shane Murphy), prosecuting, described Carthy's role as that of someone "who offered a consulting service which set out the A-Z of how to make false insurance claims". Carthy had an arrangement with two solicitors and a doctor to provide the necessary documentation.
The claimants would go to these people and get a letter seeking an advance of perhaps £2,000 on foot of the impending award for personal injury and would collect this sum in cash from a bank.
Carthy would arrange to meet the person that night or the next day and collect sums of from £500 to £1,000 from them. "He would then have a bundle of ready money within a day or so of each accident," said counsel.
Det Garda Kevin Monks said a freight company with two trucks went out of business after one of its drivers took a £2,000 payment from Carthy to help a false claim and as a result its insurance premium went up to £80,000. The truck owners were completely blameless in this matter.
Det Garda Monks said some of the accidents were genuine, but others were staged. Personal injury claims were made by people who were never in the cars involved in some of the cases.
In one case, Carthy made a claim with Xrays and medical reports in the name "Brian Brady", but a consultant noticed that he had already Xrayed the same person as Carthy himself.
Following a genuine accident in 1989 on the Stillorgan dual carriageway, Carthy persuaded the driver to name him as a passenger. The garda investigating this accident had not seen any passenger, but Carthy got six people to make statements that he was there.
Det Garda Monks said Carthy picked on people in poor circumstances with no previous convictions or involvement in litigation to take part in the offences by portraying the claims as an easy way for them to get out of their financial problems.
Everything was prearranged for them when they visited the nominated solicitor and doctor. They often did not know what was going on and had to say nothing. Some women involved made claims in both their maiden and married names.
Det Garda Monks said a total of £192,000 was defrauded, of which almost £4,500 had been repaid. There were 29 false claimants and 23 of these had been convicted in the District Court. Three of them got nine month sentences, which were appealed. Carthy was married with two grownup adopted children.
Mr MacEntee said his client's marriage had broken down and his health had seriously deteriorated since the charges were made against him. He had little to show for the fraud due to a passion for gambling and a drink problem, now under control.
Carthy had worked since he was 15. He eventually bought two pubs in Dublin, but the effects of a long bus strike forced him out of business. He then became a taxi driver, but was unable to work now due to his health.
"He is deeply sorry to have become involved and only now realises the effects such fraud can have," said Mr MacEntee.