This article is from page 17 of the 2011-05-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 17 JPG
GARDAÍ in Ennis are following a definite line of enquiry after a scam involving the office of the Bishop of Killaloe and businesses in the town.
€ 3,000 worth of electrical goods were fraudulently ordered for the Bishop by an individual, during a number of transactions. A member of staff at the Diocesan office’s name was used by the individual who ordered the goods. A request was made that the goods would be collected at another business in the town and that the invoice be sent to the Diocesan office in Ennis.
A version of the Diocesan office stationery and the Bishop’s signature were used to confirm the order.
However, the Bishop of Killaloe Kieran O’Reilly and his staff didn’t have any knowledge of the order and did not receive any of the goods.
The Diocesan office was alerted to the incident when it received a phone call from the business indicating that the remainder of the order was ready for collection. This was after part of it had been collected by an unknown individual from another business premises.
Gardaí say that a number of transactions were carried out in recent weeks, but that similar issues have not arisen previously and say this is an “isolated incident”.
“We are following a line of enquiry on it,” said Ennis Superintendent Peter Duff.
“There were a few incidents but it is not endemic of a crime wave,” he said.
He advised business people in Ennis to be mindful of this incident. “If people get orders in a person’s name, they should check did they make an order. We would encourage all suppliers of goods to deliver to the address on the order,” said Supt Duff.
Killaloe Diocesan Communications Officer Fr Brendan Quinlivan said, “When we became aware of it, we contacted the guards straightaway.”
“We felt it was important to alert people, in case they got caught up in the scam,” he said.
“The idea was they would be left somewhere to be collected after office hours. This is the first time our offices have been used in this way. The Bishop would be very unhappy that his name and the Diocesan office would be used to perpetrate a fraud on small businesses especially in the current climate when they are trying to survive. Ennis is a small town. Trust erodes when you have to put businesses on alert,” he added.