Two men accused of defrauding golf clubs denied bail

Tom Tuite

Two men have been accused of defrauding golf clubs in Dublin and Co Wicklow out of thousands of euros worth of equipment.

Dubliner Dean Kelly, 31, and UK-Indian national Harpreet Gosal, 32, were charged with two counts of deception and one for attempting to deceive involving Stackstown, Beaverstown and Powerscourt golf clubs from March 28th to April 5th this year.

Mr Kelly, also known as Dean Murphy, of Chandler's Guild, James's Street, D.8 and Gosal, with an address at Parlaunt Road, Langley, Slough, England, appeared at Dublin District Court but were denied bail.

Judge Marie Quirke heard that on March 28th, the pro shop owner at Beaverstown Golf Club, Donabate, Co Dublin, received a call from a particular 085 phone number.

The caller ordered two electric caddies for €2000, gave payment details and asked for delivery to an address in Dublin 7 that day.

However, the pro shop owner took a call from another male with an English accent, giving a different name and claiming to be a business associate of the first customer.

He allegedly ordered two sets of irons and a set of drivers, using a bank card for transactions of €2000 and €1800, which went through.

They were also delivered to the same Dublin 7 address where the shop owner saw a purple Range Rover and met an Irish male.

However, the shop owner was notified that the three transactions were recalled four days later.

The golf professional at Stackstown Golf Club, Co Dublin, reported receiving a phone call on April 3rd from a male seeking to buy golf clubs.

The bail hearing was told that the caller provided bank card details and made a phone payment for clubs valued at about €4000.

The man arranged for a taxi to go to the club that day, pick up the clubs and bring them to the Dublin 7 location.

However, the bank contacted the golf professional the following day, saying, "The transaction for these golf clubs was flagged as fraudulent, and the money was not processed."

As a result, he received no payment for the clubs.

The court heard another person contacted Powerscourt Golf Club, Co. Wicklow on April 5th requesting €2000 worth of golf balls to be collected by a taxi ordered on the Uber app.

When the manager told the caller there was an issue with the payment, they hung up, and the Uber Driver also received a cancellation.

The driver told gardaí he had been instructed to bring the package to a location that was a short drive from Powerscourt and close to the M11.

Minutes later, gardaí, stopped a Range Rover in Bray, Co Wicklow with Harpreet Gosal and Dean Kelly.

Gardaí said they recovered phones connected to the alleged frauds, and they believed one was linked to Dean Kelly's Revolut account.

Their barrister, Kevin McCrave, submitted they had the presumption of innocence. He said they could provide the same address in Dublin, which gardaí did not accept, and added that Mr Gosal intended to remain in the jurisdiction if granted bail.

Judge Quirke remanded the pair, who have yet to indicate a plea, in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court on Thursday.

Their legal aid applications have been deferred.