Hurling legend DJ Carey has been remanded in custody pending his sentence on Monday after admitting he dishonestly induced 13 people to pay him sums to fund treatment for cancer which he did not have. Other counts related to about nine more people will be taken into account.
Judge Martin Nolan said today he would give his sentence decision on Monday at 1pm but Carey could expect a custodial sentence.
The judge said he wanted to compliment people who responded to Carey in what they thought was his hour of need. Everyone understand how they feel now, but it is not foolish to be generous when someone is thought to be in distress, he said.
The total sums obtained by Carey from more than 20 people, including businessman Denis O’Brien, were €394,127 and US$13,000 US dollars. Of that, €44,200 was repaid, leaving the outstanding sum at €349,927 and US$13,000.
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In a victim impact statement, Mr O’Brien said he had got hundreds of requests over years from other people for support and was never defrauded by any of them.
“To my embarrassment, I was completely duped by DJ Carey,” he said.
Thomas Butler, who gave Carey more than €16,000, said the fact Carey used cancer as a means to obtain money under a false pretense “was gut wrenching personally for me as both my parents died of cancer”.
“I was also a volunteer driver for the Irish Cancer Society and there he was obtaining money by lying that he needed finance to obtain life saving cancer treatment,” said Mr Butler.
Carey’s counsel said he offered a heartfelt and sincere apology to all affected by his offending. That was all he could do in a situation where there was no immediate prospect of restitution of the sums outstanding, Colman Cody SC said.
Carey’s “descent into shame” has been “equally meteoric” to his career achievements, counsel said.
The former hurler has a genuine heart condition which was the reason for his attending hospital earlier this week, counsel said. He had moved from a situation of security to a most humble one involving him living a transient life including, on occasions, sleeping in his car.
In evidence at Carey’s sentencing hearing on Friday, Detective Sergeant Michael Burke agreed with prosecution counsel Dominic McGinn the counts taken against Carey related to him falsely representing he needed cancer treatment.
A Garda investigation concerning Carey started from an alert from a financial institution in summer 2022, counsel outlined. An older female customer wished to transfer money to Carey, the institution considered that might be suspicious and alerted gardaí.
Another person made contact with gardaí, saying they believed they were deceived by Carey. They had given money to him believing he needed it for a medical issue but considered that might not be true.
As a result of information from banks, gardaí put together a series of deceptions which occurred over time.
In December 2022, gardaí obtained warrants for Carey’s home, a hotel room in Co Kilkenny, and his car. When gardaí arrived, he invited them into his room and gave them his car keys and his phone and its PIN number. His passport was seized and he was advised to consult a solicitor. A large quantity of data was downloaded. There were references to cancer and to having to Seattle for treatment, and messages also revealed numerous excuses for non payment of monies, often saying he was in Seattle or blaming the banks for sums not going through.
Gardaí found letters purporting to be from the Fred Hutch cancer centre in Seattle. When gardaí contacted them, they had no record of a patient named Denis or DJ Carey.
Carey had contacted the investigators and on December 14th, 2022, arrived by appointment at a Garda station where he spoke to gardaí under a voluntary caution.
He said he had been sick in 2012 with a heart wall virus and, at that time, he made up a story he was sick with cancer in order to buy time because he had a substantial debt with AIB.
He admitted he had never been sick with cancer and never sought treatment for that.
Passport details showed Mr Carey had not travelled to the US since 2015 and the Fred Hutch cancer centre had no record of him.
Inquiries were made about Mr Carey’s medical history and none of his records referred to cancer treatment. Inquiries also established there was no record of any claim against the HSE by Mr Carey.
Among the 10 charges admitted by Carey was that he, dishonestly and by deception, induced businessman Mr O’Brien to give him money to pay for cancer treatment on unknown dates between January 2014 and September 2022.
He pleaded guilty to the same offence in relation to: Owen and Ann Conway on unknown dates between March 25th, 2021 and November 3rd, 2022; Mark and Sharon Kelly on unknown dates between May 26th, 2021 and December 10th, 2022; Aidan Mulligan on unknown dates between June 1st, 2022 and September 22nd, 2022; Edwin Carey on unknown dates between December 21st, 2021 and November 12th, 2022; former Clare hurler Tony Griffin and Christy Browne on unknown dates between September 1st, 2022 and October 26th, 2022; Thomas Butler on unknown dates between October 1st, 2019 and November 11th, 2022; Jeffrey Howes on unknown dates between February 1st, 2022 and August 8th, 2022; Noel Tynan on unknown dates between January 1st, 2017 and October 12th, 2022; and Aonghus Leydon on unknown dates between March 14th, 2022 and March 21st, 2022.
The court heard Denis O’Brien met Carey about 1997 during a golf trip to South Africa. Mr O’Brien had further contact with Carey, then living in the Mount Juliet estate and their friendship continued over some years.
About 2014, Carey approached Mr O’Brien seeking financial assistance to travel to Seattle, saying he had a rare form of cancer and needed treatment there. He said he had won a national handball championship in the US and that meant, as an elite athlete his treatment would be paid for, but he needed funds for travel.
Mr O’Brien had provided funds and also provided accommodation and a car for Mr Carey’s use in Dublin. Mr O’Brien authorised large transfers to Carey over a number of years and agreed to pay a €60,000 debt which Carey said he owed to AIB.
Carey had produced letters dated in 2015 and 2016 said to be from a cancer research centre in Seattle in order to sustain the fraud, the court heard. He had also said he was due a payout from the HSE.
Between December 2014 and June 2022, Mr O’Brien paid €125,182 to Carey, plus US$13,000 dollars to cover treatment expenses, as well as providing him with the accommodation and car. None of that was repaid, the court heard.
Among the charges taken into consideration was a count related to Tom Brennan, who had gone to the same school as Carey, St Ciaran’s in Kilkenny. Carey contacted Mr Brennan in 2020 seeking €120,000 to clear a debt with AIB, saying he was due a medical negligence payment over purportedly receiving an excessive dose of radiation at St James’ hospital.
Mr Brennan, who was then involved in the development of oncology drugs, paid him €120,000 on the understanding that would be repaid but it was not.
Carey received €25,000 from Owen and Ann Conway after he told them he was undergoing cancer treatment in Seattle and showed them scars on his head which he said were from the treatment. That was not repaid.
Sharon and Mark Kelly who also transferred €25,000 to Carey for purported cancer treatment were repaid €7,000, the court heard.
Aidan Mulligan, the court heard, got to know Carey through his late wife Brid who organised a fundraiser for handball players to assist in the aftermath of the Omagh bombing.
Ms Mulligan died in 2019. After Carey learned of that in 2022, he offered his condolences to her husband during which conversation he told Mr Mulligan he needed to travel to US for cancer treatment but was in financial difficulties about doing that. Mr Mulligan transferred a total of €13,000 to Carey’s AIB account. Later in 2022, Carey again contacted Mr Mulligan, saying he had €2 in his pocket and asked him for €250. Mr Mulligan sent him €500.
The court heard Thomas Butler was in 2019 a financial controller in a company. Carey was then in the same line of work and they got to know each other.
In 2019, Carey met Mr Butler in a Wexford hotel and told him he needed funds for medical treatment and was awaiting payment of €1.5 million for a negligence claim. Mr Butler gave him €860 cash after Carey said he had barely enough petrol to get to Wexford. Mr Butler also transferred sums of €10,000, €4,000, and €1,500 to Carey and, in total, gave him more than €16,360. Nothing was repaid.
Jeffery Howes, the court heard, knew Carey from their involvement in a golf course. Carey also told him he needed funds for cancer treatment and needed to get flights and Howes transferred €10,000 to him in February 2022.
Noel Tynan, a publican, was friendly with Carey for about ten years, the court heard. After Carey told him he needed €20,000 to get to Seattle for cancer treatment, Mr Tynan gave him €10,000 in 2021 and 2022.
Aonghus Leyden’s only connection with Carey was when Mr Carey brought the Liam MacCarthy cup to his pub, the court heard. Mr Carey later phoned him, saying he needed €80,000 for an operation in Seattle. Mr Leyden transferred Stg£1,000 to Carey’s account but he felt everything “did not sound kosher”, Mr McGinn said.
Edwin Carey, a distant cousin of Carey’s, met him at Carey’s father’s funeral in 2021. Some days later, Carey phoned him saying he needed €5,000 to travel for cancer treatment. Edwin Carey transferred that and had said he was glad to help because he believed he was helping save his cousin. He had planned to give Carey more money but did not because Carey was vague about the type of treatment.
Regarded as one of the greatest hurlers, Carey captained Kilkenny to Liam MacCarthy Cup success in 2003 and was also a member of the victorious teams in the All-Ireland finals of 1992, 1993, 2000 and 2002.
He was named Hurler of the Year in 2000 and won nine All-Star awards. Since retiring from play, he has managed the Kilkenny U21 hurlers and was a selector for the county senior team.
