This article is from page 1 of the 2006-06-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 1 JPG
THE Clare People has uncovered a failed attempt to defraud Clare County Council of more than €300,000 over a two-year period.
The dramatic revelation comes two years after a former traffic warden was jailed for defrauding another Clare local authority – Ennis Town Council – of €300,000 in coins.
The latest attempt came to light following publication of a local government auditor’s report which shows that an effort was made to defraud the council of €317,000, during 2003 and 2004. As a result, internal control and safety procedures have been further enhanced.
The report by auditor Thomas O’Callaghan stated that counterfeit paying orders “in the sum of €317,000 had been presented to the council’s bank. The sum included paying orders of €185,000, which the bank regarded as being fraudulent and did not debit to the council’s account.”
The balance of €132,000, which had been debited, was subsequently recredited to the council’s account.
Council Finance Officer Niall Barrett told The Clare People there was no loss to the council and Gardai were informed.
Asked to outline the circumstances around the attempted fraud, Mr Barrett said, “It is not appropriate to get into the transactional detail as the future effectiveness of the relevant control procedures could be diluted.”
The bold attempt to defraud the council follows a successful bid by former traffic warden, Chris Harford, to defraud Ennis Town Council of €300,000 in coins between August 1999 and September 2002. Mr Harford was jailed for three years in 2004 at Ennis Circuit Court where Judge Carroll Moran said that it was “extraordinary” that Mr Harford could steal such a huge sum undetected.
Mr Harford’s counsel, Michael Fitzgibbon BL, said the fact that his client could steal a staggering amount of money in coins over a three-year period and not be detected was astounding.
He said the lack of proper internal vetting and account procedures at Ennis Town Council was quite unbelievable.
The audit report in relation to the attempted €317,000 fraud was published and was up for discussion at the council’s June meeting. However, councillors chose not to refer to the attempted fraud. Instead, Clare’s mayor, Cllr Patrick Keane (FF) confirmed that County Manager Alec Fleming briefed councillors on the issue at a recent meeting of the council’s Corporate Policy Group (CPG), which is not open to the press or public.