DJ Carey to be sentenced for fraud after case adjourned due to him being in hospital

Sentencing of Kilkenny hurling star DJ Carey is to take place on Friday after he pleaded guilty to defrauding 13 people by pretending he had cancer and looking for financial support for treatment in the US.

The 54-year-old, with an address of The Drive, Newtown, Maynooth, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty last July to charges. He had been due to stand trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

The Kilkenny native had been due to be sentenced on Wednesday but a sick note was handed into the court by defense counsel and Judge Martin Nolan was told that Carey was not present.

Those in court were informed by prosecuting counsel that they had just received a photocopy of the medical letter which said Carey was in Portiuncula University Hospital in Ballinalsoe, Co Galway.

Prosecution Counsel said gardaí had been alerted to the situation on Tuesday. Gardaí called the hospital and were told that Carey was not an in-patient as of then.

After further inquiries, the court was informed that the father-of-two went into an emergency department on Monday but was not kept there.

Prosecuting lawyers said gardaí had been told that he was now back in hospital. He had not been detained but was waiting for a bed. The case was then adjourned to Friday.

Carey is pleading guilty to 10 of the 21 counts he was facing which include dishonestly inducing people to pay him money after he falsely claimed to have cancer.

Thirteen named people fell victim to the claims which occurred between 2014 and 2022.

Businessman Denis O’Brien is one of the named individuals who gave him money to pay for cancer treatment on unknown dates between January 2014 and September 2022, contrary to the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences).

Defense Counsel informed the court last July that while Carey did not have cancer, he did have "genuinely significant" health issues and required heart surgery last year.

A psychological report was also asked to be prepared ahead of Friday's sentencing.

Carey has been on bail in advance of the hearing with strict conditions attached.

The total amount of money involved in the cases has not been disclosed.