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Extra.ie
10-07-2025
- Extra.ie
Man who claimed covid payments of six people receives jail sentence
An unemployed father of four who could not explain almost €60,000 lodged into his accounts and who was receiving six other people's Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) has been jailed. Stefan Muntean, a Romanian with an address at Meadowbrook, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, was handed a three-year sentence by Judge Keenan Johnson at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court. The 39-year-old, who was on social welfare, pleaded guilty to money laundering using his account in his local credit union and the finance app Revolut, and welfare fraud in 2022. A man who claimed COVID-19 payments for six people has received a jail sentence. Pic: Gareth Chaney Collins The investigation was triggered when the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau became aware of suspicious transactions. Det Garda Kenneth Nerney stated that from July 1 to October 24, 2022, Muntean had €48,752 deposited into his Revolut account. The source of the funds could not be identified, with Muntean telling gardaí that friends or relatives transferred money to him. Unexplained cash lodgements to his credit union account came to about €11,000 from May 18 to November 25, 2022. A man who claimed COVID-19 payments for six people has received a jail sentence. Pic: KarlM Photography/Shutterstock Det Garda James Martin stated that the investigation identified six PPS numbers of people who were not living in Ireland at the time but who were receiving PUP support, totalling €16,786, and which was also paid into Muntean's credit union account. The PUP was a temporary social welfare payment for people who were out of work due to COVID-19. Muntean, who has previous convictions for theft and trespass, spent €90,000 in an online casino and withdrew €68,622 from his gambling account. He had been entitled to a carer's allowance to look after his father and had worked intermittently. Gardaí accepted he had no display of wealth, the court heard. Defence counsel Desmond Dockery said Muntean, who came to Ireland almost 20 years ago, was a member of the Roma community who suffered with health problems, had a gambling habit, and now lives in squalor and was estranged from his family. Judge Johnson sentenced Muntean to five years and six months' imprisonment, but suspended two and a half years on the condition that he did not reoffend for five years. A concurrent two-year term was imposed for the PUP fraud.
Sunday World
09-07-2025
- Sunday World
Unemployed father-of-four jailed for €60k suspected crime proceeds and benefits fraud
Stefan Muntean was handed a three-year sentence by Judge Keenan Johnson at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court An unemployed father of four who could not explain almost €60,000 lodged into his accounts over four months and was receiving six other people's Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) has been jailed. Stefan Muntean, a Romanian national with an address at Meadowbrook, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, was handed a three-year sentence by Judge Keenan Johnson at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court. The 39-year-old, who was on social welfare, pleaded guilty to money laundering using his account in his local credit union and the finance app Revolut, and welfare fraud in 2022. The investigation was triggered when the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau's financial intelligence unit became aware of suspicious transactions. Athlone based Detective Garda Kenneth Nerney from July 1 to October 24, 2022, Muntean had €48,752 put through his Revolut account. The source of these funds could not be identified, with Muntean telling officers that unnamed friends or relatives transferred some money to him. Unexplained cash lodgements to his credit union account came to about €11,000 from May 18 to November 25, 2022. Detective Garda James Martin stated that the probe identified six PPS numbers of individuals not residing in Ireland at the time but who were receiving PUP support, totalling €16,786, and which was also paid into Muntean's credit union account. The PUP was a temporary social welfare payment for employees and self-employed individuals who were out of work due to COVID-19. Judge Johnson described them as serious offences that were a fraud on the State Over that time, he spent €90,000 in an online casino and withdrew €68,622 from his gambling account. Muntean, with prior convictions for theft and trespass, had been entitled to a carer's allowance to look after his father and had worked intermittently. Gardaí accepted he had no display of wealth, the court heard. Desmond Dockery SC, defending, said his client was admitting he was reckless in allowing his account to be used for the pandemic payments. Stefan Muntean Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 9th In a plea for leniency, the defence said Muntean, who came to Ireland almost 20 years ago, was a member of the Roma community who suffered with health issues, had a gambling habit, and now lives in squalor and was estranged from his family. The accused, who listened to the proceedings with the aid of an interpreter, did not address the court. Passing sentence, Judge Johnson said the money laundering offence attracted a headline prison term of seven years. Taking into account his guilty plea and the mitigation, he reduced it to five years and six months. However, he suspended two and a half years on condition that Muntean did not reoffend for five years. A concurrent two-year term was imposed for the PUP fraud.
Irish Times
09-07-2025
- Irish Times
Jail term for man who received pandemic unemployment payment from six others
A man who received six other people's State-supplied Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) has been jailed. Father-of-four Stefan Muntean, with an address at Meadowbrook, Athlone, Co Westmeath, was handed a three-year sentence at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court. Muntean (39), who was on social welfare, pleaded guilty to money-laundering using his account in his local credit union and the finance app Revolut, and welfare fraud in 2022. The PUP was a temporary social welfare payment for employees and self-employed individuals who were out of work due to Covid-19. READ MORE An investigation was triggered when the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau's financial intelligence unit became aware of suspicious transactions. The court heard Muntean could not provide an explanation for €60,000 lodged into his accounts over four months. Athlone-based Detective Garda Kenneth Nerney said €48,752 went through Muntean's Revolut account between July 1st and October 24th, 2022. The source of these funds could not be identified, with Muntean telling officers that unnamed friends or relatives transferred some money to him. Unexplained cash lodgments to his credit union account came to about €11,000 from May 18th to November 25th, 2022. Det Gda James Martin said the investigation identified six Personal Public Service (PPS) numbers of individuals not residing in Ireland at the time who were receiving PUP support, totalling €16,786, which was also paid into Muntean's credit union account. Judge Johnson said the offences were serious and a fraud on the State Over the relevant time, Muntean spent €90,000 in an online casino and withdrew €68,622 from his gambling account. Muntean, with prior convictions for theft and trespass, had been entitled to a carer's allowance to look after his father and had worked intermittently. Gardaí accepted he had no display of wealth, the court heard. Desmond Dockery SC, defending, said his client admitted he was reckless in allowing his account to be used for the pandemic payments. He said Muntean, who came to Ireland almost 20 years ago, was a member of the Roma community and suffered with health issues and had a gambling habit. Muntean lived in squalor and was estranged from his family, the court heard. Muntean, who listened to the proceedings with the aid of an interpreter, did not address the court. Judge Keenan Johnson sentenced Muntean to five years and six months in prison. He suspended two-and-a-half years on the condition Muntean does not reoffend for five years. A concurrent two-year term was imposed for the PUP fraud.
Irish Examiner
09-07-2025
- Irish Examiner
Man with an unexplained €60k in his account jailed for receiving six other people's covid benefits
An unemployed father of four who could not explain almost €60,000 lodged into his accounts over four months and was receiving six other people's Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) has been jailed. Stefan Muntean, a Romanian national with an address at Meadowbrook, Athlone, Co Westmeath, was handed a three-year sentence by Judge Keenan Johnson at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court. The 39-year-old, who was on social welfare, pleaded guilty to money laundering using his account in his local credit union and the finance app Revolut, and welfare fraud in 2022. The investigation was triggered when the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau's financial intelligence unit became aware of suspicious transactions. Athlone-based Detective Garda Kenneth Nerney said that from July 1 to October 24, 2022, Muntean had €48,752 put through his Revolut account. The source of these funds could not be identified, with Muntean telling officers that unnamed friends or relatives transferred some money to him. Unexplained cash lodgements to his credit union account came to about €11,000 from May 18 to November 25, 2022. Detective Garda James Martin stated that the probe identified six PPS numbers of individuals not residing in Ireland at the time but who were receiving PUP support, totalling €16,786, and which was also paid into Muntean's credit union account. The PUP was a temporary social welfare payment for employees and self-employed individuals who were out of work due to covid-19. Judge Johnson described them as serious offences that were a fraud on the State. Over that time, he spent €90,000 in an online casino and withdrew €68,622 from his gambling account. Muntean, with prior convictions for theft and trespass, had been entitled to a carer's allowance to look after his father and had worked intermittently. Gardaí accepted he had no display of wealth, the court heard. Desmond Dockery SC, defending, said his client was admitting he was reckless in allowing his account to be used for the pandemic payments. In a plea for leniency, the defence said Muntean, who came to Ireland almost 20 years ago, was a member of the Roma community who suffered with health issues, had a gambling habit, now lives in squalor and was estranged from his family. The accused, who listened to the proceedings with the aid of an interpreter, did not address the court. Passing sentence, Judge Johnson said the money laundering offence attracted a headline prison term of seven years. Taking into account his guilty plea and the mitigation, he reduced it to five years and six months. However, he suspended two and a half years on condition that Muntean did not re-offend for five years. A concurrent two-year term was imposed for the PUP fraud.
Sunday World
01-07-2025
- Sunday World
Two men linked to Black Axe crime network facing multiple gangland and money laundering charges
It follows a major investigation by detectives from the the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) Two male suspects with alleged links to the Black Axe global crime network are due to face multiple money laundering and gangland charges later today. It follows a major investigation by detectives from the the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB). The two men have been among the fraud squad's biggest targets as part of their massive Operation Skein investigation. The Irish Independent has learned the suspects are linked to a huge romance fraud scam where many hundreds of thousands of euro was stolen from an elderly woman in a European country. Investigations have also linked them to a lucrative romance fraud in another country. Neither suspect is expected to get bail when they appear before court later because of the nature of the criminal charges against them. The charges against the men means that so far up to 20 people have been charged with serious gangland style offences as part of Operation Skein and associated investigations. Black Axe has had a significant presence in Ireland for a number of years, but the GNECB has been involved in a large number of arrests and successful prosecutions against gang members and their associates in recent times. The mafia syndicate first emerged in Nigeria the 1970s when it was involved in ritual murders, but has evolved into one of the biggest fraud mobs operating across the world, often recruiting intelligent gang members such as computer specialists in universities. Many international police forces have visited Ireland to study the pro-active approach taken by gardaí in following the money trail. Called Operation Skein, it has led to over 100 arrests under organised crime legislation, while over 400 people have been arrested for money-laundering offences. In total well over 1,000 people have been identified so far with links to Black Axe and the organisation is estimated to have laundered over €84 million in Irish banks. At present, around 50 per cent of all international requests sent to the Gardai are linked to the area of fraud. Around 20 Black Axe operatives have been jailed in this country so far with many more before the courts and 50 senior gang members arrested. Dozens of money mules have mostly received suspended sentences after being convicted. Some of the Black Axe operatives working in Irish financial institutions who have been targeted by the GNECB in recent years include a man working in a bank who checked accounts for the criminal organisation and then sent screenshots of internal bank systems to a more senior criminal, who was involved in laundering huge sums through accounts in that bank. Garda stock image Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 1st
