Man stole lotto winnings from his grandmother's partner

Sonya McLean

A man who stole some of his grandmother’s partner’s lotto winnings after he offered to help the man set up a bank account has been given a 12-month suspended sentence.

Luke McGann (20) later added the man’s bank details to his Apple Pay account and over the course of three weeks and 24 separate transactions, he stole €14,886 from the man’s €87,000 winnings.

McGann, of St Catherine’s Green, Rush, Co Dublin, came forward from the District Court on signed pleas of guilty, which were 24 charges of theft from the man on dates between June and July 2023. He has no previous convictions.

An investigating garda told Derek Cooney BL, prosecuting, that McGann was under financial pressure at the time as he had been the victim of intimidation arising out of a drug debt. He initially used the money to pay off these debts but then bought a scrambler bike and other items.

The court heard that the bank fully re-imbursed the victim and he forgives McGann. McGann’s grandmother and mother were in court to support him.

Judge Orla Crowe said it was “a huge lapse of judgement by a very young man who has since shown insight and remorse”.

She said the thefts represented a huge breach of trust that had been placed in him but acknowledged that he made immediate admissions and co-operated with the Garda investigation.

Judge Crowe set a headline sentence of 18 months before she reduced this to 12 months, taking into account McGann’s mitigation. She imposed a sentence of 12 months but suspended this in full on strict conditions after commenting that he “deserves a chance to contribute to society”.

The court heard that the man won €87,000 in the lottery in April 2023 but had to set up a bank account, for the first time in his life, in order to receive the funds.

McGann assisted him with this but then uploaded the card details to his own Apple Pay account.

In July 2023, the man noticed there were funds missing from his account and contacted the bank.

The various unauthorised transactions were discovered and as McGann was the only other person with access to the account, he was nominated as a suspect.

McGann came to the Garda station voluntarily the following October and made admissions. He said he was under pressure with money at the time but then got carried away.

There was no victim impact statement in court.

It was accepted by the Garda that McGann has aspirations to join the Army and he has also been working with a local farmer who sees his potential as an employee into the future.

Defence counsel submitted that her client was “a young man with a bright future”. It was accepted that he stopped stealing the money “of his own accord” before the victim spotted the cash had been taken.