Rental scam allegedly carried out on Cork's northside

AN investigation was launched into an alleged room-rental scam after three individuals informed gardaí they had been scammed out of money after renting a room at Willowbank View in Fairhill.

Now-24-year-old Craig O’Connell, formerly of Hollyville, Hollyhill, Cork, has been charged with burglary at the property and three counts of deception where he allegedly pretended to be a landlord renting a room.

Sergeant Aisling Murphy outlined the allegations against the accused so that Judge Mary Dorgan could decide on the issue of whether or not she would accept jurisdiction to deal with the case at Cork District Court or send it forward to be dealt with at circuit court level. The judge did accept jurisdiction.

All three complainants said they responded to an advert on Facebook about a room for rent and they went to meet a named woman at that property. Instead, they met a young man called Thomas.

The first man said he went there on August 29, 2022, when he met a man who gave his name as Thomas and who showed him the property. He met him again two days later and handed over €500 as part-deposit for a room.

He said he was given two keys, one for an internal door, and the other did not work on any door at the property. On August 31, the injured party again met with ‘Thomas’ and gave him a further €100, understood as the balance of the deposit that was required, the court heard.

The second complainant was a woman who said she also met a person called ‘Thomas’ at the property on August 30, 2022. She said she was also shown around the house and given a key when she handed over €350. She said she asked for his ID and she photographed the public service card in the name of Craig Thomas Healy O’Connell. The third complainant said he handed over a deposit of €650 to a man called Thomas on the same date, and was given a key that did not work.

Garda John O’Sullivan, who took the complaints, went to the property and found the back kitchen window had been smashed.

Through contact with the owner, it was established that nobody had permission to be present during her temporary absence from her home in August 2022. The defendant is a relative of the owner and similarly had no permission to be there or to rent a room, Sgt Murphy said. The owner also stated that her TV had been stolen and sold.

Craig O’Connell is charged with burglary and three counts of deception by pretending to be a landlord and renting out a property that did not belong to him.

The defendant claimed to gardaí that he did have permission to be in the house. He admitted putting the house up for rent, but denied receiving any money for this.

Defence solicitor Eddie Burke applied for a copy of the prosecution statements in the case. Judge Dorgan adjourned the case until April 30 so that the accused could indicate if he was pleading guilty or not guilty.