Two men stand accused of embezzling a wealth of equipment from Wicklow and Dublin golf clubs, amounting to several thousands of euros. Dean Kelly, aged 31, and Harpreet Gosal, aged 32, were formally accused with two instances of fraud and a single count of attempted deception. These allegations are linked to illegal activities that occurred between March 28th and April 5th of the current year, implicating Stackstown, Beaverstown, and Powerscourt golf clubs. Both men appeared in Dublin District Court, however, their bail requests were refuted.
Judge Marie Quirke listened to the narrative that unfolded, which began on March 28th. The owner of the pro shop in Beaverstown Golf Club, situated in Donabate, Co Dublin, received a phone call. An order was placed by the caller for two electric golf caddies, totalling €2,000, with the caller specifying a Dublin 7 address for same-day delivery. A further phone call from a man with an English accent, claiming to be the initial customer’s business partner, resulted in additional orders being placed for further equipment, two iron sets and one driver set. These items, totalling €3,800, were successfully charged to a bank card and delivered to the aforementioned Dublin 7 address.
It was here that the shop owner noted the presence of a purple Range Rover and interacted with an Irish man. Just four days later, the shop owner was informed of the recall of the three transactions.
Further fraudulent activity was reported by the golf pro at Stackstown Golf Club who, on April 3rd, received a phone order for golf clubs worth approximately €4,000. Despite arranging for a cab to transport the clubs to the Dublin 7 address, the bank contacted the golf pro the day after the delivery, notifying him that the entire transaction had been flagged as fraudulent and the payment would not be processed. Consequently, the golf pro never received the agreed payment.
A final fraudulent event took place on April 5th, with Powerscourt Golf Club in Co Wicklow being contacted for €2,000 worth of golf balls. The balls were to be collected by an Uber, which was ordered via the app.
In an incident regarding a payment dispute, the manager informed the caller only to be hung up on immediately. This also led to a cancellation for the Uber driver who was instructed to deliver a parcel to an area near M11, which was not too far from Powerscourt.
Following these events, police detained a Range Rover in Bray, County Wicklow, which had Harpreet Gosal and Dean Murphy inside. According to the police, they discovered phones related to the accused fraudulent activities. They suspected a connection between one of these phones and Mr Kelly’s Revolut account.
Defence lawyer Kevin McCrave declared Mr Gosal and Mr Kelly’s entitlement to the presumption of innocence. He argued that they could provide a consistent Dublin address, which the police declined to accept. Furthermore, he reported that Mr Gosal had plans to stay within the jurisdiction, should he be granted bail.
Yet to enter a plea, Judge Quirke confined the two men awaiting them to appear at Cloverhill District Court on Thursday. While their legal aid applications have yet to be granted, they have indeed been postponed.