A 51-year-old legal clerk, who admitted stealing and embezzling over €225,000 from his employers over a ten-year period, has been jailed for three years at Limerick Circuit Court.
Garry Carroll of Russell Court, Fr Russell Road in Limerick, pleaded guilty to 35 charges of the theft, larceny and embezzlement of funds from Connolly Sellors Geraghty - one of the biggest legal firms in Limerick city.
The accused man was employed by Connolly Sellors Geraghty since he was 19-years-old and was a trusted member of staff, working as a legal executive for over 30 years.
However over a ten-year period from 1999, he defrauded money from the company’s client accounts and put it in his own account. Frequently he endorsed cheques made out to others and lodged them for himself.
The practice was not questioned by the banks nor was the fraud uncovered by the company’s internal or external audits.
What was described as Mr Carroll's deplorable behaviour only came to light when a client, a property developer, complained about a portion of a mortgage not being paid.
The court heard Mr Carroll undertook the fraudulent transactions to fund a significant gambling addiction, about which neither his family nor his employers knew the full extent. Since he had been found out, and confessed, he received psychiatric treatment and counselling.
He still attends meetings three times a week and has not placed a bet for over two years.
His barrister Mark Nicholas said his double life had resulted in him losing his marriage, his job, his friends, and his once good reputation and high regard.
Sentencing him to three years, Judge Carroll Moran said while he accepted there was a connection between Mr Carroll's addiction and the offences, substantial amounts of money were involved over a very long time.
The accused had breached the trust placed in him, the company was at a huge loss, and they had to endure the public tarnishing of their reputation.
