A young woman charged in connection with a phone scam that defrauded a man of over €16,000 will face trial in the Circuit Court after a judge ruled the case too serious for summary disposal.
Abbie Kinsella, 20, of The Green, Earl’s Court, Kill, Co Kildare, appeared before Tallaght District Court on Friday. Although she now lives in Kildare, the court heard she was residing in Dublin when the offence allegedly took place.
Garda O’Connor informed the court that the male victim received a text message purporting to be from Eir, claiming his mobile service would be cancelled unless an overdue bill was paid. Believing the message to be authentic, the victim entered his banking details and later discovered that more than €16,400 had been fraudulently withdrawn from his account.
Investigations revealed that €4,900 of the stolen funds had been transferred into Kinsella’s Revolut account. She has been charged under Section 7(1) of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010.
Judge Patricia McNamara refused jurisdiction for a summary trial, stating, “I do not consider this to be of a minor nature to be dealt with summarily.”
She ordered that a book of evidence be prepared and served within six weeks and that the case be sent forward to the Circuit Court. Kinsella was remanded on continuing bail and is scheduled to reappear before Tallaght District Court on June 26 at 10am.
