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THE ‘RINGLEADER’ OF a series of thefts totalling over €30,000 by a group of employees from a catering company operating in the Aviva Stadium has been jailed for 18 months.
Roy Oti (22) stole €13,974 from his employer while his accomplices each stole lesser amounts using the same modus operandi.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the thefts exploited the cashless Sumup card reader system used by the catering company in the stadium.
The group set up their own Sumup accounts and diverted some customer card tap payments in each of their shifts to their own bank accounts.
Another staff member became suspicious when she spotted one of the group using her phone repeatedly during her shift to divert the card reader from the till to her account and alerted gardaí.
Roy Oti, of Rosse Court Rise, Balgaddy Road, Lucan, pleaded guilty to theft on dates between June and November 2022. He has eight previous convictions.
Two co-accused, his sister Nikkel Oti (21), and Chidera Anago (22), pleaded guilty to thefts over shorter periods during the same time frame. Both have no previous convictions.
The thefts by Nikkel Oti, also with an address at Rosse Court Rise, Balgaddy Road, Lucan amounted to €2,371, while the thefts by Anago, of Letts Field, Ninth Lock Road, Clondalkin, amounted to €4,888.
They are both to be dealt with by way of Section 100 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 and will be discharged from the indictment if they make a €750 donation to The Simon Community in advance of their sentence finalisation date in July.
A further co-accused Sean Atowo (23) of Roseberry Hill, Newbridge, Kildare, also pleaded guilty to thefts. His case was adjourned until May 26 to allow a probation report be completed.
A fifth co-accused has already been given a one year suspended sentence earlier this year and a sixth is awaiting sentence.
Judge Elma Sheahan said the offences involved pre-planning and pre-meditation, were repeated and were a serious breach of trust.
In the case of Roy Oti, Judge Sheahan noted he had previous convictions for dishonesty and that he had an organising role in the offending. She also noted his guilty plea and remorse.
The judge set a headline sentence of four years and imposed two and half years imprisonment. She suspended the final year of the sentence.
Judge Sheahan indicated 12 month sentences in the case of Nikkel Oti and Anago but said given their circumstances, the case could be dealt with appropriately under section 100 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006.
She ordered them to pay €750 to the Simon Community and deferred their cases for finalisation on July 31 next.
Detective Garda Shane Griffin told Patrick Jackson BL, prosecuting, that all the accused were employed by a catering company at Aviva stadium during various sporting and entertainment events.
He said the Aviva is cashless stadium, and all customers have to tap or use cards for payments.
Det Gda Griffin said the company used Sumup as their payments company and the devices that customers tapped would direct the payments into the companies account.
According to Griffin, the accused parties set up their own Sumup accounts which they were able to login into and direct payments to their own accounts rather than the company account.
They used their own identity documents and photo ID to set up the accounts.
The accused parties used different versions of “Aviva Stadium” in their account names so that it would not arise suspicion when it appeared on customer bank statements.
No customers were at a loss. The group would divert some payments and then switch back to correctly operating.
Another staff member became suspicious when she noticed Nikkel Oti using her mobile phone, which was used to divert the payments via Bluetooth, quite a lot during her shift and an investigation began.
Gardaí were able to use a geodata map to see that their were multiple sum up accounts operating within the stadium when only the one belonging to the catering company should have been present.
Search warrants were obtained for the accused person addresses and various piece of evidence found including a Sumup debit card in the name of Aviva Stadium at the Oti residence.
The court heard Roy Oti appeared to be the “ringleader” and had details of how to commit the fraud. All the co-accused were friends or a family member of Roy Oti.
Det Gda Griffin said all parties co-operated fully with gardaí, made full admissions and entered early guilty pleas. None of the accused have come to any further garda attention.
Roy Oti stole €13,974 in total and gardai were able freeze and recover €2,011 in his account. He has not paid any compensation, but has made a “modest” charitable donation.
Nikkel Oti stole €2371 in total, with €1094 recoverable, and she has paid the balance of compensation.
Chidera Anago stole €4888 in total, with €2352 recoverable, and paid the balance in compensation.
Sean Atowo stole €4210, with no money recoverable.
The total amount stolen overall including all persons involved was €32,489, with €9,334 recoverable, leaving the catering company at a loss of €23,154.
The garda agreed with defence counsel Emer Ní Chúagáin BL, defending Chidera Anago, that the accused had a “naive approach” to the offending with the cash seen almost as “free money without consequences.”
John Moher BL, defending Roy Oti, said his client came from a decent hardworking family and his parents were professionals. He handed in a letter of apology and said Oti was remorseful.
He said Oti has now an appreciation of the significance and seriousness of his offending and the breach of trust. He said Oti is asking for an opportunity to make good the loss occasioned to his former employer.
Moher said Oti had previously been studying biomedical science but was now in full time employment.
He said Oti was willing to put aside all income apart from necessities and should be in a position to make full restitution within 6 months.
He said Roy Oti was still a young man with a lot of potential and asked the court to stay its hand.
Neasa Frawley BL, defending Nikkel Oti, said her client also lived with her hardworking parents. She is taking a year out from her university studies and is working full time in a department store.
Frawley said her client regrets her involvement and handed in a letter of apology.
She said every day she wishes she could go back and make a different choice. Counsel also handed in letters from her father and her partner. She said her client had the full restitution in court.
Counsel said Nikkel Oti had an impressive work history and very good prosects.
She said her client had been very young at the time – just 18 years old – and had an otherwise unblemished record.
She had been noticed acting suspiciously and had not been someone who disguised what was going on very well. Counsel said the offending was out of character.
Emer Ní Chúagáin BL, defending Chidera Anago, said her client had been studying pharmaceutical science but had taken a year out of his studies to work full time.
She said both his parents held responsible jobs and handed in a letter from his mother.
She said he is now cognisant of the harm done and the abuse of trust. She said he accepts full responsibility for his actions and submitted this was a “once in a lifetime mistake.”
She said he has been assessed as at low risk of reoffending. She handed in a letter of apology from her client.
Kevin McCrave BL, defending Sean Atowo, said his client had entered into the offending naively and used the money he gained to visit his sister in the UK.
He said he had a good family background and is a full time student. He said his client has apologised and is remorseful in relation to his offending behaviour.
Counsel said a court ordered probation report was not yet available and asked the court to put the matter back for a time to allow it be completed.
He said his client could have money available by the end of March.
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