Jail for man who sold fake iPhone to woman on Cork city street for €700

A woman was duped into paying a man on the street €700 for an 'iPhone' and when she took it home she discovered that it did not work and when she presented it at an Apple store they told her it was a fake product.

“This was a mean offence,” judge Mary Dorgan said at Cork District Court in the case against Jason O’Driscoll, 26, with an address at 68 Noonan Road, Cork, who pleaded guilty to the deception.

He also admitted several other crimes including failing to pay a taxi fare and slapping the driver across the face with his open palm. And he pleaded guilty to another incident were he was verbally abusive to gardaí.

Sergeant John Kelleher said that on September 7, 2022 the injured party med Jason O’Driscoll and handed him €700 on Barrack Street believing she was buying a working iPhone 13 pro max.

On June 2, 2023 a taxi driver brought him to Noonan Road where he assaulted him and refused to pay.

On that same day in the early hours of the morning he was abusive to gardaí telling them: “F*** ye, ye c***s, ye have no right, why don’t ye f*** off and do yer jobs?” Incapacitant spray had to be deployed at the time, Sgt Kelleher said.

Eddie Burke said that the defendant was pleading guilty to all of the offences and was trying to turn his life around. He brought €25 to court for the taxi driver but he said that Mr O'Driscoll was not in a position to gather the €700 for the woman who bought the fake phone from him.

Judge Mary Dorgan imposed a total sentence of seven months.