Last week, authorities in the US, named a number of Limerick and Shannon based businessmen associated with PacNet, the group sanctioned for allegedly laundering money from mail fraud schemes involving lottery payments and psychic predictions.
PacNet, a Canadian payment processing firm, was sanctioned by the Department of Treasury in Washington for alleged laundering money from schemes used to dupe people out of cash by seeking money to process fictional prizes.
A number of companies, their directors and others linked to PacNet’s Shannon base had their US assets frozen and the treasury department also made it illegal for any US citizens to trade with them.
Those named include, PacNet Holdings and Pacnet Services (Ireland) director Gerry Humphreys, a pilot from Brittas House, Brittas, Co Limerick.
British passport holder, Paul Davis, also known as Robert Paul Davis, who has an address at Ros na Greine, Ballycasey, Shannon was also listed as being a key position holder in Pacnet companies.
The pair have been accused of couriering cash within Europe, according to reports.
PacNet, according to company files, received up to €400,000 in State grants from Shannon Development between 2001 and 2006 and also received financing from AIB.
Others named in the investigation are Rosanne Day over day-to-day operations; Ruth Ferlow a director of several PacNet linked companies; Marie Boivin a Canadian executive; Monica Elizabete Bottcher managing partner for PacNet Brazil; Siobhan Ann Hanrahan company secretary for PacNet-linked companies in Ireland; Raffaella Ferrari director for PacNet-linked companies in Italy and the UK; Donna Maria MacBain, director for PacNet-linked companies in the UK; Mary Ann Driscoll, managing director for a PacNet-linked company based in Canada and Ireland, and a director for a company called Indian River (UK).
As part of the international investigation, the US treasury department lists six Irish companies, all with addresses at Shannon Airport House or at 4 Michael Street, Limerick.
PacNet manages credit and debit card transactions, direct debits, cheques and other payments in different currencies for businesses.
The alleged fraud is based on letters being sent to US residents advising them that they won a lottery and that a payment would be required to process the winnings.
US citizens who handed over processing payments did not receive any winnings.
The Treasury Department said that “PacNet, an international payments processor and money services business, has a lengthy history of money laundering by knowingly processing payments on behalf of a wide range of mail fraud schemes that target victims in the United States and around the world”.
Responding, PacNet said that the firm used all its efforts to prevent fraud at all times but unknown to them, some clients may have misled the firm and misused its legitimate payment processing services to “support their own deceptive conduct directed at consumers”.
