An alleged financial scam by an Irish businesswoman, targeting people whose homes were about to be repossessed, was used to fund a lavish lifestyle including foreign holidays and a luxury car, it has emerged.
Catriona Carey, an accountant who played hockey for Ireland and camogie for Kilkenny, is alleged to have taken €500,000 from families who were already under extreme financial pressure.
Two years of bank statements from her company, Careysfort Asset Estates, have revealed a money trail showing that clients’ deposits were used to fund everything from shopping at Lidl to a trip to a ski resort in Switzerland.
On Thursday night’s Prime Time, RTÉ Investigates revealed that more than €200,000 was apparently spent on items and services for personal use, €22,000 was spent on a trip to Florida and more than €55,000 was spent on a BMW car.
As of last month, just €488.10 remained in the account to pay homeowners back their deposits. Ms Carey, the sister of Kilkenny hurling legend DJ Carey, is the sole director and owner of Careysfort Asset Estates.
RTÉ Investigates, which first exposed the ‘con’ on Monday, said in its follow up programme that in one 12-month period, more than €380,000 was lodged to the account, the bulk of which was sourced from client deposits.
