Scammers stole over €15k from Louisburgh builder

Sophisticated, streetwise scammers used naïve and vulnerable ‘money mule’ to rip off roofer

A man described in court as a ‘money mule’ hacked into a Louisburgh builder’s email account and intercepted a payment of €15,250 before it reached him.
Donhodza Gambe (20) of 9 North Frederick Street, Dublin 1, was subsequently tricked out of the money by supposed friends who told him they needed it to fund their rap careers in the UK.
After hearing evidence and mitigation, Judge Rory MacCabe said while the offence carried a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, Mr Gambe’s offence had been at a very low level and he had been used by other more sophisticated criminals.
He imposed a 12-month sentence, suspended for 12 months, on the Zimbabwean national and warned him about his future conduct.
State prosecutor, Mr Patrick Reynolds, BL, outlined the facts and said the incident had occurred June 2019. Mr James Heneghan, a heating and plumbing contractor from Liscarney, Westport, was building four houses in Balla and employed James Ruane from Falduff in Louisburgh to roof the properties. A price of €15,250 was agreed, and Ruane completed the work and sent an invoice to Heneghan for payment.
In the meantime, Ruane’s email was hacked and a similar, but fake email address, set up. Another request for payment was sent to Heneghan from this address looking for payment to a bank account controlled by Mr Gambe.
The requested sum was electronically transferred, and evidence was given of Gambe withdrawing the money from his personal account at banks in Dublin on June 5 and 6, 2019.
The following week, Ruane contacted Heneghan saying he hadn’t received payment for the work carried out in Balla, and the theft came to light. Garda Paul Lafferty gave evidence of obtaining CCTV of Gambe withdrawing the stolen money and said he made a full admission when interviewed on July 7, 2021.

‘Not the mastermind’
In mitigation, Mr Diarmuid Connolly, BL, said his client was vulnerable and naïve and had been put under duress from the start by more streetwise friends. They told him they needed money to pursue a rap career and used his account to intercept the funds being transferred between the Mayo builders.
“My client was not the mastermind; he was the receptacle. He believed he was doing friends a favour and then it turned nasty. My client fully accepts his guilt,” Mr Connolly stated.
Judge MacCabe said probation reports showed that Mr Gambe is at a very low risk of reoffending and was a small cog in a bigger wheel. He described the crime as a modern offence which is relatively sophisticated in diverting money from legitimate people to illegitimate sources.
He imposed a suspended 12-month sentence on Gambe.