A SPORTS star scammed thousands after posting a picture of an iPhone wire up his nose to fake receiving cancer treatment.
DJ Carey – dubbed the “Maradona of hurling” – shamelessly conned well-wishers into giving him money by pretending to have the cruel disease.
He posted a picture on social media with a phone charger up his noseSOCIAL MEDIA COLLECT
PAThe ‘Maradona of hurling’ has pleaded guilty to inducing people to pay him money after fraudulently claiming to have cancer[/caption]
The 54-year-old pleaded guilty to 10 counts at the Circuit Court in Dublin’s Criminal Courts of Justice on Wednesday.
There were 28 witnesses lined up and ready to give evidence for the prosecution had the case gone to trial.
The charges related to 13 different complainants, including one of Ireland’s wealthiest businessmen – Denis O’Brien.
The 54-year-old was charged with inducing O’Brien to send money between January 2014 and late 2022.
Carey’s defence lawyer told the court the sports star “does have very genuine health conditions”, despite not having cancer.
He also mentioned how Carey previously underwent heart surgery for his condition and is frequently assessed.
The sportsman was remanded on bail and is due to be sentenced on October 29.
Carey, once hailed as one of the best in GAA history, has bagged five All-Ireland titles and nine All-Star awards.
He has a total of 34 goals and 195 points from 57 championship games which makes him one of top scorers.
On a recent episode of the Crime World podcast, he was described as the “Maradona of hurling”.
He retired from the game in 2006, but continued to be recognised as an “idol” for young upcoming players.
Since his appearance in court this week, shocking photographs of the former Hurling champ have circulated social media.
One showed him pretending to lie in a hospital bed with an iPhone wire taped up his nose.
It is understood the picture was sent to people he conned between 2014 and 2022, when Carey claimed to need money for cancer treatment.
In May 2011, the former sports star was made subject to a debt repayment court order for an eye-watering £7.3million.
He managed settle his debt in 2018 with an agreement that meant he only had to pay back less than one per cent of the original total.
In 2015, speaking on RTE’s Ray D’Arcy radio show, Carey said: “I am not one of those who would say ‘I don’t care’ about repaying debt.
“You borrow money, it should be paid back…to whatever extent that can be, I would still be conscious it has to be done”.
Carey first appeared in court in late 2023 charged with 21 counts under the Theft and Fraud Offences Act.
This comes as a mum-of-two faked having terminal cancer to con her distraught partner into giving her thousands of pounds for non-existent treatment.
Laura McPherson fabricated stories and sent fake photos at multiple hospitals and specialist visits as she swindled nearly £25,000 from Jon Leonard.
But instead of undergoing chemotherapy, she was actually splashing out on breast enhancement procedures and trips abroad, including a stay at an Austrian holistic and weight loss centre.
McPherson not only lied to Mr Leonard but also to her friends and even her own family including her distraught 12-year-old daughter, who is now 16.
McPherson, from Derby, had pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to fraud between March 1, 2017, and January 31, 2022.
A judge ordered McPherson to be electronically tagged as he imposed a curfew on her to stay at her home from 7pm to 6am every Wednesday to Sunday.
He imposed a community order for two years and ordered McPherson to complete 30 days with a probation officer.
He said if she breached her terms she would receive an immediate two-and-a-half year prison sentence.
Elsewhere, another woman shamelessly used dating apps to find men she could con by faking cancer.
Mum-of-one Rebecca Gray made innocent victim Sean Fry send her £10,000.
Now he has revealed to Channel 4 how he missed the warning signs in their new series, Love Cheats.
How to protect yourself from fraud
USE the following tips to protect yourself from fraudsters.
Keep your social media accounts private – Think twice before you your share details – in particular your full date of birth, address and contacts details – all of this information can be useful to fraudsters.
Deactivate and delete old social media profiles – Keep track of your digital footprint. If a profile was created 10 years ago, there may be personal information currently available for a fraudster to use that you’re are not aware of or you have forgotten about.
Password protect your devices– Keep passwords complex by picking three random words, such as roverducklemon and add or split them with symbols, numbers and capitals.
Install anti-virus software on your laptop and personal devices and keep it up to date – This will make it harder for fraudsters to access your data in the first place.
Take care on public Wi-Fi– Fraudsters can hack or mimic them. If you’re using one, avoid accessing sensitive apps, such as mobile banking.
Think about your offline information too – Always redirect your post when you move home and make sure your letter or mailbox is secure.
PACarey’s defence lawyer told the court the sports star “does have very genuine health conditions”[/caption]
PAThe sportsman was remanded on bail and is due to be sentenced on October 29[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
