Former hurler DJ Carey to receive 'inevitable' jail term at sentencing

Former Kilkenny hurling star DJ Carey is to be sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty to defrauding 13 people by pretending he had cancer and looking for financial support for treatment in the US.

Carey was a high-profile prisoner in Cloverhill over the weekend and is being "watched like a hawk" by officers over concerns for his welfare.

A custodial sentence is "inevitable", Judge Martin Nolan said for the Kilkenny native as he hears his fate at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

The 54-year-old, with an address of The Drive, Newtown, Maynooth, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty last July to charges. He had been due to stand trial at the same court.

Carey had been due to be sentenced on Wednesday last, but a sick note was handed into the court by defence counsel, and Judge Martin Nolan was told that Carey was not present.

The former hurler and handball player even duped his cousin out of thousands of euros, using his own father’s death from cancer to secure the money.

The sports star approached his relative Edwin Carey at DJ’s father’s funeral in 2021.

Within days, he followed up with a phone call to his cousin, during which DJ falsely claimed he also had cancer and needed to travel to the US or Canada, asking for €5,000.

Edwin Carey said he was ‘happy to help’, lending his famous cousin the money, believing the cash would help save his life.

DJ Carey later sought further payment, but because he was ‘vague’ about the treatment, Edwin Carey decided not to give him any more cash.

The revelation is detailed in a new book, The Dodger: DJ Carey and the Great Betrayal, by journalist Eimear Ní Bhraonáin.

Last Friday, Judge Nolan said victims may "feel foolish and taken advantage of", but added that they were good people. He said he will also take into account the victim impact statements when passing sentence at 1pm.

Carey was remanded in custody until today in Cloverhill prison in solitary confinement.

The 13 named people fell victim to the claims, which occurred between 2014 and 2022. The court is taking into consideration 10 other related cases.

The court was informed that businessman Denis O’Brien is one of the named individuals who gave him money to pay for cancer treatment on unknown dates between January 2014 and September 2022, contrary to the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act.

He gave Carey more than €130,00 in total. This was never repaid.

Some of the other well-known people he received money from include former Clare Hurler Tony Griffin and publican Noel Tynan, who owns the Celt Bar on Talbot Street in Dublin city centre.

Tom Brennan, a businessman from Laois, was also named as one of Carey’s victims. Mr Brennan provided a total of €120,000 to him in two tranches, one for €40,000 and another for €80,000.

The court was informed that Carey became friends with Mr O’Brien in 1997 following a golf trip in South Africa.

Financial help

Seventeen years later, in 2014, Carey approached the billionaire seeking financial help, alleging he had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. He said he needed to travel to America for special treatment, which would be covered due to his status as an ‘elite’ handball athlete.

Mr O’Brien’s accountant transferred significant sums of money to the Kilkenny man.

Carey said he was having difficulties with AIB due to his debts, and Mr O'Brien arranged to help him with this. Carey detailed the same story of being in trouble with AIB to other victims.

The court heard victim impact statements and submissions on behalf of the prosecution and defence.

Prosecution barrister Dominic McGinn SC outlined to the court that an injured party made contact with gardaí, alleging they had been deceived by Carey.

Money was given to him as they understood Carey needed treatment for a certain illness. Gardaí were contacted about the matter, and they sought access to the Kilkenny man’s bank accounts.

Mr McGinn SC said gardaí acquired passport records for Carey, which showed the last time he travelled to the US was 2015, and Homeland Security corroborated this.

Gardaí also searched the notes section of his mobile phone. Information for a 2016 letter purporting to be from Fred Hutchinson Hospital in Seattle in the US was on it. The hospital confirmed to gardaí that they had no record of a patient called DJ Carey.

Colman Cody SC, defence counsel for Carey, detailed his client’s offending as "planned" and "calculated" and to people who were known to him.

Carey’s position, he added, is now one where he has suffered a "stunning fall from grace".

The total amount of money involved is €394,127; €44,000 has been repaid, and €349,000 remains outstanding.

Two of the victims gave victim impact statements, including Mr O’Brien.

Mr O’Brien revealed that, “DJ Carey came back to me time and time again over a number of years. He took advantage of my friendship," continuing that Carey was "extraordinarily deceitful."

In a victim impact statement, Mr O’Brien said he had received hundreds of requests over the years from other people for support and was never defrauded by any of them.

Defence Counsel informed the court last July that while Carey did not have cancer, he did have "genuinely significant" health issues and required heart surgery last year.

A psychological report was also asked to be prepared ahead of Monday’s sentencing.

Carey had been on bail in advance of the hearing with strict conditions attached.