DJ Carey Sentenced to Prison for Fraud Charges

The 54-year-old is widely considered to be one of the greatest Hurling players of all-time, winning five All-Ireland medals with Kilkenny between 1992 and 2003. 

However, he has rather fallen from grace since, having pleaded guilty to 10 charges relating to defrauding people out of money while pretending to have cancer. His downfall was partly attributed to his well-documented struggles with gambling addiction, which had already caused him significant financial difficulties in previous years.

Carey was found to have defrauded a total of 22 people out of almost €400,000 with his scheme, in which he claimed he needed money to fund treatment in the US. 

His victims included Denis O'Brien, one of Ireland's wealthiest businessmen, who gave Carey more than €125,000 and provided him with accommodation and transport. 

When sentencing, the judge described what Carey did as “grossly wrong”, adding that he could not imagine a more “reprehensible fraud”. 

Carey was sentenced with concurrent jail terms of five and a half years, four years and one and a half years, and while he has paid back €44,200 in what he defrauded to date, there are totals of €349,927 and $13,000 outstanding.