A LIMERICK man who deceived an elderly woman out of her life savings, to the tune of €73,772.66, has been jailed for two years.
In 2007, Sean Higgins (74), of Ballinvana, Kilmallock, promised to properly invest the victim’s savings, the court was told. Instead, he pocketed €50,000 and put the remaining €23,722.66 into a business his son was running which eventually went to the wall.
Mr Higgins acted as the woman’s accountant, but had no accountancy qualifications, the court heard. And despite him owning a property and other assets, including a Jaguar that he said was valued at €130,000, he had only paid back €5,000 to the woman.
For almost 20 years, Higgins lied to the victim, regularly writing to tell her that her money was tied up in investment bonds, promising her she would see a seven per cent return on her so-called investment.
After the woman, now aged 82, made a complaint to Gardaí in 2020, Gardaí arrested Higgins, who lied and said the money was a loan from the woman.
“It was contrary” to all the letters written by Higgins to the woman, Gardaí told Higgins’ sentencing hearing.
When Gardaí confronted Higgins with the correspondence, he replied: “It looks like I have shot myself in the foot, I will have to pay her that.”
In November 2024, Higgins pleaded guilty at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court to one count of making a gain for himself or causing a loss to the victim by deception.
At that time he was given a chance by Judge Colin Daly to sell a property he owned and reimburse the victim all of her money.
Appearing before Judge Daly again, Higgins said: “I haven’t paid the money.”
Asked if he still intended to back the victim back all her money, Higgins replied: “I certainly do.”
Judge Daly said Higgins had stolen the victim’s money by “deception” and “under the false pretense of investing it for her”.
The judge said that, for a number of years prior to deceiving the woman, Higgins successfully acted as her accountant “but he has no such qualification”.
“He put €50,000 into his personal account and the rest into his son’s high-end car business, which failed thereafter.
“He used her hard-earned money in a family business which failed. It was premeditated with a large degree of sophistication,” the judge said.
“It was a deception that took place over 10 years, and he had told the victim that her money had increased in value when he knew it was gone.”
Judge Daly said he had to “consider the harm done and the loss of a considerable sum to the victim, and that there is no likeliness of a return of her money”.
Sergeant David Higgins told the court that over the course of eight years, the victim received 16 letters from the defendant referring to the “fictitious investment”.
Over the years, the woman repeatedly asked Higgins for a lump sum, but he continued the lie that her money was steadily increasing in value.
In 2015, despite the victim’s money being long gone, Higgins told her that her so-called initial €73,000 plus investment had increased in value to €127,000.
In a victim impact statement, the woman said she suffered “sleepless nights”, “upset”, and “stress”.
“I’m years and years trying to get my money back. If I had left my money in the bank, I’d have gotten a lot more.
“I never want to see or hear from that man again, all he has done to me. I want to put all this behind me and never, ever think of him again.”
The judge said a headline sentence of four years was appropriate, which he reduced to two years after taking into consideration mitigation, including, he said, Higgins’ “previous good character”, lack of any previous convictions, the tragic death of a family member, and his previous successful financial dealings with the victim.
– Court Reporting Scheme