‘Completely foolish’ Laois student admits money laundering

A ‘completely foolish’ student admitted money laundering €1,900 from a text scam. 

Conor Mullen (27) of 27 Ashgrove, Mountmellick, pleaded guilty to money laundering at the Bank of Ireland, Portlaoise on November 29, 2021. 

Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby thanked the defendant for the guilty plea. He said the injured party received a text claiming to be from Bank of Ireland. She followed the instructions and later noticed €1,900 had been taken out of her bank account without permission. 

“€1,900 had been sent to the account with the name of Conor Mullen,” said Sgt Kirby. 

He said the accused had no previous convictions. 

Solicitor Barry Fitzgerald said his client was in college in Waterford at the time of the offending. He said the man was approached in Waterford and asked for his account to be used. 

“The defendant actually benefitted nothing from it,” said Mr Fitzgerald. He said his client had been “completely foolish” and there would have been underlying issues with intoxicant use. 

Judge Susan Fay ordered a probation report and adjourned the case back to Portlaoise District Court on April 20.