Latest news with #Henegan
Perth Now
08-07-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Ex-broker's $68k fraud of major bank
A former financial broker gained $68,000 in commissions by forging tax accountant letters for people who were not entitled to business loans for cars through a major Aussie bank, a court has been told. Charleen Henegan's conduct was undone by her own hand, after she wrote a letter to Macquarie Bank admitting to creating the letters on 18 occasions, allowing several people to obtain business loans they were not entitled to. Macquarie Bank paid out $729,000 as a result, Brisbane District Court was told. In lieu of a jail term, Henegan walked from court on Tuesday with an 18-month suspended sentence, after pleading guilty to a single charge of fraud - dishonestly inducing a person to act. District Court Judge Deborah Richards noted an irony at the heart of Henegan's offending, in that she committed the offence out of significant 'financial pressure' at the time, yet had paid the 'ultimate price … (of) financial ruin'. Charleen Henegan received a suspended jail term after pleading guilty to a single charge of fraud, related to her forging tax accountant letters for customers to obtain a business loan through Macquarie Lending. NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia 'You've lost your finance brokerage, you won't be licensed again,' Judge Richards said. 'There's been a very heavy financial penalty that you've paid for this offending, for not particularly significant reward.' The court was told Henegan's co-accused was a car dealer who set about obtaining business loans from Macquarie Leasing – a subsidiary of the bank – for his prospective customers. In order to secure the business loans, the co-accused inflated the value of the vehicles through a combination of falsifying tax invoices, winding back odometers and instructing 'customers to create ABN numbers' for their loan applications. Henegan became involved as a passive financial broker for these applications, crown prosecutor Rhys Byrne said. 'As part of a business loan application, Macquarie Leasing usually requires a letter from an accountant to confirm the car was being used for business purposes,' Mr Byrne said. Macquarie Bank ultimately paid out $729,000 in loans as a result. Dan Peled / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia Between December 2018 and April 2019, Henegan forged accountant letters on 18 occasions, falsely asserting customers were entitled to a business loan. Mr Byrne said Henegan received $68,000 in brokerage commission as a result. An investigation began in 2019 over the irregularities. Henegan admitted to Macquarie Leasing in a letter that she had used old account letter templates to forge the documents and that she was under financial pressure at the time, Mr Byrne said. Justice Richards questioned this, saying: 'She could have just said no'. She also noted Henegan was not 'entirely ignorant' of what she was doing, saying police found emails on her computer with customer pay slips, demonstrating they were not self-employed or sole traders. Henegan (centre) obtained $68,000 in brokerage commission as a result, but admitted to the bank in her own letter that she forged the 18 letters. NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia The court was told Henegan had demonstrated significant remorse and her offending was out of character. NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia 'There was also an email found on your computer from the car company telling you exactly what these false letters should say … that the vehicles would be used predominantly for business … and the tax was up to date,' Judge Richards said. Henegan's barrister Evan O'Hanlon-Rose said the offending was an 'uncharacteristic aberration' in the life of his otherwise law-abiding client. 'The combination of all that was going on in her life at the time led to an impairment of judgment,' he said. The court was told Henegan's co-accused – who was described as the 'driver' of the offending – was sentenced to two years' jail, suspended after 140 days in pre-sentence custody. Mr O'Hanlon-Rose said Henegan's offending was not as serious as the co-accused's, due to him being involved in 24 loans that resulted in Macquarie Bank paying out just over $1m. Henegan was subjected to significant financial and personal pressure at the time due to the combination of writing the letters, her own business experiencing problems and the death of a family member weighing on her. Several references attested to Henegan's good character. She is currently the primary financial and practical carer for her husband, who is awaiting open heart surgery following a heart attack in 2022, Mr O'Hanlon-Rose said. 'She is a woman who has been self-reliant from a very early age,' Mr O'Hanlon-Rose said. 'She's worked hard to achieve success in the financial services industry and her poor decision making has destroyed that work.' Judge Richards took into account Henegan's significant remorse and 'shame', imposing an 18-month sentence, suspended immediately for three years.
Irish Daily Mirror
19-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Daily Mirror
Heartbroken husband receives compensation after sudden death of wife of 55 years
A man who sued over the sudden and unexpected death of his wife at Mallow General Hospital five years ago has settled a High Court action for €90,000. Mother of five and grandmother to thirteen, Katherine Heneghan was 71 years of age when she died as a result of a blood clot on September 10, 2020. The family's counsel, Dr John O'Mahony SC with Doireann O'Mahony BL, told the High Court there was a 'bed issue' at Cork University Hospital and Mrs Heneghan had been admitted to the Mallow hospital Counsel said it was their case that at Mallow General Hospital the pensioner was allegedly not tested properly and not screened appropriately in relation to blood clots and if she had been given blood thinners she may have survived. Counsel said it was a very sad death and Mrs Heneghan was a 'dearly loved wife, mother and grandmother.' The settlement against the HSE is without an admission of liability. At the time of her death Mrs Heneghan and her husband Philip had been married 55 years. In the proceedings it was claimed that when Mr Heneghan arrived at Mallow General Hospital on September 10, he was allegedly given the news of his wife's death in a hospital lift by a nurse and he nearly passed out with shock. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week Philip Heneghan (83) of Mallow, Co Cork had sued the HSE over his wife's death. Mrs Heneghan who had been complaining of shortness of breath and had a swelling on her leg was seen at Mallow General Hospital and kept in overnight on September 9, 2020. It was claimed there allegedly was no assessment of Mrs Heneghan in relation to the probability of a blood clot by the admitting medical team at the hospital. It was contended if there had been such an assessment it would have become apparent there was a moderate to high risk of the pensioner developing a blood clot. But for the alleged failure to consider pulmonary embolism as a possible diagnosis it was claimed Mrs Henegan would have survived. It was claimed that a breathless patient presenting to a hospital emergency department needs to have a blood clot considered as part of the differential diagnosis and there was no documentation it was alleged that this was considered a possibility in Mrs Heneghan's case. It was further claimed that there was an alleged failure to deliver a reasonable and safe standard of care and an alleged failure to assess for the possibility of a blood clot and Mrs Heneghan had allegedly been deprived of the chance of survival. It was further contended that the news of his wife's sudden death had been conveyed in an alleged unprofessional manner causing Mr Henegan profound shock and distress. All of the claims were denied. Noting the settlement Mr Justice Paul Coffey conveyed his deepest sympathy to Mr Heneghan and the wider family.
