A Longford company director has been jailed for six years by Judge Yvonne Murphy at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for his role in insurance fraud scams totalling almost £324,000.
Michael Byrne (39), of Prucklish, Newtownforbes, a director of Michael Byrne Motors, was convicted by a jury last month of conspiring with others to defraud the PMPA by falsely pretending that a genuine road accident had occurred in 1994 at the M50 near Lucan, Co Dublin.
He also pleaded guilty to additional charges of falsely obtaining money from the PMPA and from Cornhill Insurance for a further series of staged accidents and from falsely reporting that a car had been stolen.
Judge Murphy sentenced Byrne to two six-year terms, with three years suspended in each case, and to three terms of four years, with the final two years suspended in each case, all to run concurrently. The offences occurred on dates between 1994 and 1996 in various locations in the midlands.
The judge complimented the gardaí for what she called "exemplary work" in the case and she directed that €5,000 of €50,000 which Byrne had lodged in court be paid to the Garda Benevolent Fund, with the balance being paid to the PMPA.
Michael Daly (31), of Longridge, Carbury, Co Kildare, a co-accused, who was also found guilty of conspiracy by a jury last month in the M50 matter, and for falsely pretending that he had been injured in that scam, was jailed for 12 months.
Byrne, Daly and another man had pleaded not guilty during their 10-day trial and the jury returned its verdicts following more than five hours of deliberation. The third accused who was being tried was acquitted by the jury.
Judge Murphy suspended the final six months of Daly's sentence and directed that €1,000 of €9,000 he had offered as compensation also be paid to the GBF, with the balance going to the PMPA.
She said that fraudulent insurance claims could not be tolerated and the courts had to send that message out by imposing custodial sentences.
Michael McDonald, of Dundalk, who is serving a 30-year sentence in England on arms charges relating to the self-styled "Real IRA", was involved in one of the fraud charges with Byrne through a company called Portfleet Ltd, of which he was named as managing director.
Det Insp Joe McHugh said it was obvious in several of the scams that vehicles offered for inspection by insurance assessors were previously-crashed ones, and the values claimed for were for newer vehicles. Innocent parties' names had also been used, without their knowledge, to defraud large sums.