‘Thugs go after the vulnerable, I got convicted but saw no cash' says blackmailed money mule as teens targeted by gang
THOUSANDS of teenagers in Ireland have been targeted by one of the world's most violent cyber crime gangs, we can reveal.
A special investigation by The Irish Sun today tells how young people — aged between 17 and 22 — have been used by the Black Axe crime gang as part of their efforts to launder €84million through Irish
6
Young people have been used by the Black Axe crime gang
Credit: Garda Info
6
Funmi Abimbola was a facilitator for the gang
Credit: COLLECT
6
Giuseppe Diviccaro posed as a fashion photographer in Ireland to help run a Europe-wide fraud scam
Credit: COLLECT
Those in the sights of the mob include people with addiction issues, individuals who are homeless and those who come from broken homes.
But others include those who have to pay off drug debts, the children of millionaires and top students.
They have blackmailed kids to act as money mules after obtaining intimate images of their targets.
The online criminals — classified as 'master manipulators' by
READ MORE IN NEWS
Once interest is shown, the fraudsters outline how the money will be paid if they can have full access to the target's bank account.
And that's exactly what happened to 'John', not his real name, when he agreed to act as a 'money mule' for the infamous
Investigators believe the money mule was recruited by one of the gang's main 'herders' in Ireland.
The top criminal has since been arrested by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and remains a key target under 'Operation Skein'.
Most read in Irish News
At present, the mob is classified by Interpol as an 'ultra violent cyber crime gang' with more than 30,000 members.
'John' spoke exclusively to The Irish Sun after he received an 18-month suspended sentence for money laundering.
Inside France's brutal crypto crime wave with chopped off fingers, delivery van street kidnaps & £10million ransoms
He told us: 'I was duped by these people and wish I could turn back the clock.
'I was homeless at the time and got this Snapchat message offering me €500 in exchange for my bank account details, and I thought it was easy money.
'I have never been in trouble in my life and never once thought that doing something like this was a form of money laundering.
'I was vulnerable and that's why they targeted me — and I never received any payment.
'I WAS DUPED'
'I was duped by these people and I would urge anyone not to respond to requests of this nature.'
John was contacted on Snapchat and agreed to hand over his personal bank details.
Once obtained, €49,500 then landed in his account. Two other young men were also targeted by the same 'herder' and laundered €14,900 in one account and €7,500 in another account.
He also handed over his bank card and PIN number after he was instructed to meet one of the gang's associates in Dublin.
SPENDING SPREE
One week later, the cash was gone as the criminals went on a spending spree, buying designer clothes and electronic devices.
But it wasn't until the following year when details of the huge cash lodgement was uncovered by Gardai.
A probe was launched by investigators from the DMR South Serious Crime Unit at Sundrive Road Garda Station after they were contacted by Interpol.
On that occasion, Interpol suspected that the cash had been stolen from a machinery company in Hungary using an 'Invoice Redirect' fraud.
HOW SCAM OPERATES
The scam operates by fraudsters cloning the emails of legitimate companies and asking the firm in Hungary to send payments to a different account in Ireland.
But, after identifying the fraud, the firm supplied Interpol with the bank account details of where the money had been sent.
The information was later passed to Gardai.
Once Gardai received details of the bank account, they established John's identity and then analysed the account, identifying any other transactions.
ADMITTED GUILT
John was arrested by Garda detectives on August 8, 2023 and admitted his guilt.
He later pleaded guilty to a money laundering offence and received a fully suspended 18-month sentence, on March 14 of this year.
John added: 'I am now in a good place and just want to get on with my life.
'I would also have no hesitation in going into schools and telling the young people there about my own experience.
'STAY WELL AWAY'
'If young people engage with these fraudsters then it could seriously affect their future — my message is to stay well away.'
Det Supt Michael Cryan confirmed money mules were an 'integral part' of the major crime gang.
The senior officer said: 'Individuals need to realise that if they act as a money mule, they are interacting with vicious transnational organised criminals.
'You owe them and they control you. If the money is frozen by the bank, they have been known to demand that you pay up yourself — like drug dealers.
US HAS 'HARSH SENTENCING'
'The money mules have no idea what their account will be used for, how much or where it was stolen. If stolen in the USA, they may look to extradite you there to charge you and sentencing is very harsh there.
'They also need to realise that they are helping organised crime gangs who traffic humans, who run brothels, as well as funding their lavish lifestyles.
'People who get involved in this are destroying their own futures because they could go to jail, end up with a criminal record and be prevented from getting jobs.'
As part of 'Operation Skein', Gardai have identified 1,100 people connected to the Black Axe gang in Ireland.
OPERATION SKEIN
They have also made 565 arrests, prosecuted 300 people and cautioned 39 juveniles.
Over 50 senior members of the gang have also been arrested here.
Our revelations on the gang come after Innocent 'Lucky' Aigbekaen, 31, from Dundalk, Co Louth, became their latest member to be jailed here in November 2024. The conman — who used the name 'Nino Blanti' — recruited money mules and laundered €331,623 through Irish accounts.
Bank worker Funmi Abimbola, 26, from Rosse Court Terrace in Lucan, Dublin, who was a facilitator for the gang, was jailed for three years in October last year.
Also caged was Italian conman Giuseppe Diviccaro, 48, who was locked up in 2021 after he posed as a photographer in Ireland to launder €200,000 through Irish accounts.
6
Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan said money mules were an integral part of the crime gang
Credit: Brian Lawless/PA
6
Some €84million has been laundered through Irish banks
Credit: Getty
6
The mob has blackmailed kids to act as money mules
Credit: Paul Sharp - Commissioned by The Sun Dublin
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
5 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Inside Sunny Jacobs' hellish 17 years on US death row for crime she didn't commit before tragic Irish house fire death
AFTER enduring a hellish 17 years on death row in a Florida prison awaiting execution for a crime she did not commit, Sunny Jacobs found peace in the west of Ireland. But, in a tragic twist, Sonia, alongside her carer Kevin Kelly, sadly perished in a house 5 Sunny was wrongfully convivcted of murdering a cop Credit: Getty 5 Irishman Pringle and Sunny met in New York Credit: Getty The 78-year-old had moved to Ireland a number of years ago with her Irish husband, Peter Pringle, who had also been condemned to death before his conviction was quashed. But Jacobs hailed from across the pond in She spent 17 years of her life on death row in a Sunny, who was 28 at the time, was travelling to Read more in Irish news Her When the couple ran into A shooting incident broke out at the Interstate 95 rest stop where they had stopped, resulting in the deaths of a Florida Highway Patrol trooper and a Canadian Jacobs and Tafero were tried for murder and convicted, with both sentenced to death row. Most read in Irish News Tafero was executed in 1990, but a malfunctioning electric chair meant it took several attempts and 13 minutes to kill him. Jacobs remained in a tiny solitary confinement cell during her time on death row. COPING MECHANISM It was there that the mother-of-two discovered her love of yoga and used it as a coping mechanism. Walter Rhodes, who had been in the back seat of the car, had received a life sentence for testifying against Jacobs and Tafero. He later confessed to the murder although he retracted the admission. Jacobs, meanwhile, was granted a new trial in 1992 after an appeals HOPEFUL LEGACY She entered into what is known as the Alford Plea on two counts of second degree murder. Both Sunny's parents died in a plane crash while she was incarcerated and her daughter Christina was put into foster care. Her son, Eric, who was aged in mid-teens at the time, supported himself with a part time food delivery job while his mum was behind bars. And when Sunny was released from prison in 1992, both her children had grown up. 'CHOICE TO HEAL' On her exoneration, Jacobs became a leading advocate against the death penalty and teamed up with Amnesty International to campaign against it. She lived in Los Angeles for a time and taught yoga, having solidified her love for the And she vowed not to become bitter, opting instead to leave her children with a legacy of hope. In 2006, she said: "It was very important, that choice I made to heal, rather than to spend the gift of a new life that I had looking backwards at the wrongs that were done to me." MEETING PARTNER In 1998, she met Peter Pringle at an Amnesty International Event which called for the sentence to be abolished. Pringle himself had been sentenced to death in Ireland for the murder of gardai John Morley and Henry Byrne during a He was acquitted in 1995 and the pair married in 2012, moving to Connemara in the same year. Jacobs once told The Irish Times : "The stone in the west of Ireland makes me feel grounded; it anchors me.' 'GONE TO BE WITH HER PETER' In 2008, Jacobs published her book, Stolen Time, about her life in prison, which went on the become a bestseller. In 2023, Pringle passed away. Jacobs remained in Connemara until her death just days ago, after which she was remembered as a "hero". One person said: 'Sitting here numb and sad, Sunny Jacobs has gone to be with her Peter Pringle in the afterlife. "What a sad sad day. Until we meet again, One Love Sunny.' And another added: "I am sad to share news of the passing of my dear friend, a true hero and a champion for Justice, Sunny Jacobs.' 5 Sunny and Peter Pringle were married in 2012 Credit: Getty 5 She spent 17 years in prison in Florida Credit: AFP 5 Sunny was killed in a house fire just days ago Credit: gettyimages
Sunday World
6 hours ago
- Sunday World
Pictured: The man Gardaí want to interview over Denis Donaldson murder
Man jailed for plot to kill Johnny Adair and Sam McCrory could hold key to solving 2006 murder This is the man detectives in Donegal want to interview about the murder of Denis Donaldson, the Sunday World can reveal. Antoin Duffy (49) from Mullaghduff, near Kincasslagh, is currently serving a 17-year sentence in Scotland for conspiracy to murder top loyalists Johnny 'Mad Dog' Adair and Sam 'Skelly' McCrory. He is a gifted artist whose paintings reach high-end prices on the Irish art market. However, Duffy and a gang of disparate associates had planned to machine-gun the Belfast men near their homes in Ayrshire. The murder plot was rumbled, however, when MI5 learned that Duffy had purchased a deadly AK47 rifle to use in the double murder mission. The powerful rifle was found hidden among Christmas presents in a house in Paisley and Duffy and his mates were charged with conspiracy to murder. The Sunday World has learned that Duffy now qualifies for parole under Scotland's early prison release scheme. Anton Duffy, pictured being interviewed by police in 2013 over a plot to kill Johnny Adair And he could soon be heading back to Donegal, for questioning in relation to the murder of former IRA man and top Sinn Féin aide Denis Donaldson. The development emerged during a Coroners Court sitting in Letterkenny, when a judge asked a senior Garda officer to account for a lengthy delay in bringing the Donaldson case to court. The officer informed the judge that DNA evidence had been recovered from the Donaldson murder scene, which was found to be a match for an unnamed man, currently serving a lengthy sentence in another jurisdiction. And the officer also revealed Garda detectives were in the process of arranging for this individual to be interviewed in Donegal at the earliest opportunity. Last week, the Sunday World learned Antoin Duffy is now eligible to apply for parole due to having served over half of his 17-year sentence. And we have also learned the Scottish Prison Authorities may object to Duffy's early release, due to his involvement in a number of disruptive incidents. Last Saturday, Johnny Adair, who was targeted in Antoin Duffy's murder conspiracy, said he was aware the Donegal man could soon be applying for parole. He said: 'At this stage, no one knows exactly when Duffy will be applying for parole. But when he does, it's going to be very interesting to see what happens next.' Former UDA boss Johnny Adair. 'I knew nothing about this man until the police picked me out of a line at Glasgow Airport coming back from holiday. 'I was complaining that I was a victim of police harassment, but the detective took me to an office where two MI5 officers were waiting for me. 'The MI5 men explained they had arrested Antoin Duffy from Donegal for conspiracy to murder Skelly and I. 'It made sense because Skelly and I regularly visited a Belfast man who was in jail with Duffy. 'We both gave evidence at his trial and I came away with the impression Duffy was a dangerous individual, who was capable of anything,' said Adair. 'From now on, it's going to be very interesting in regard to Denis Donaldson.' Last week, former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams successfully sued the BBC over a Spotlight programme it made which quoted an unnamed source as saying Adams gave the go-ahead for the murder of Denis Donaldson in 2006. Adams denied any involvement in the Donaldson murder and, in a lengthy five-week libel trial which ended on Friday, he robustly defended his position. Agreeing Adams had been defamed, a jury awarded him £84,000. Outside the court in Dublin on Friday, Adams called on the Irish Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan to meet with the Donaldson family as soon as possible. Former Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA. He said: 'I am very mindful of the Donaldson family in the course of this long trial and indeed the victims' families who have had to watch all of this. 'I want to say that the Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan should meet the family of Denis Donaldson as quickly as possible and that there's an onus on both governments and everyone else, and I include myself in this, to try and deal with legacy issues as best that we can.' However, Denis Donaldson's daughter Jane hit out at Adams' legal teams' approach to her evidence. In a statement also issued on Friday, Jane Donaldson, who is married to a senior Sinn Féin figure, said: 'Although the plaintiff claimed sympathy for my family, his legal team objected to me giving evidence to challenge the account of his witnesses. Antoin Duffy 'The jury heard sensitive, privileged family information tossed around, without our consent, but did not hear my testimony. 'Limitless legal resources and vast expense were invested in this case, while there is supposedly a live Garda investigation into my daddy's murder.' And calling for a public inquiry into the matter, she added: 'The public interest can now only be fully served by some form of public inquiry with a cross-border dimension which is ECHIR Article 2 compliant, empowered to investigate the whole truth about the conspiracy to expose and murder my daddy.' Jane Donaldson also revealed how she gave evidence, but without the presence of the jury. Denis Donaldson She said the family did not accept the claim of responsibility issued by the Real IRA, three years after her father was murdered. And she insisted that her father had been 'thrown to the wolves' as part of a conspiracy to expose him as an agent. Denis Donaldson and Gerry Adams were among a small group of men who were invited to join the republican movement in the early 1960, shortly after the failure of the IRA's 'Border Campaign'. They were involved in supporting the campaign for Civil Rights. But a major split occurred in the Republican movement, and they both sided with the Provisionals and remained close allies. Denis Donaldson in prison with Bobby Sands in the 1970s At one stage, Donaldson was even asked to go on an IRA trip to meet rogue Arab State leader Muamar Gaddafi. They persuaded the Libyan leader to arm the IRA as it geared up for a war with the British over Northern Ireland. Following the Good Friday Agreement, Donaldson was appointed Head of Administration for Sinn Féin at Stormont. He was arrested as part of a PSNI inquiry into an alleged Sinn Féin spy ring, but the case was later dropped. Weeks later, however, Donaldson fronted a televised press conference, where he admitted having been a long-term British agent operating inside Sinn Féin. And he disappeared without trace. But in March 2006, a Sunday World investigation traced Donaldson to a remote cottage near Glenties in Co. Donegal. And in a secretly recorded interview, Donaldson claimed he had been cast aside by his British paymasters in order to 'save David Trimble', the Unionist First Minister who had signed the Good Friday Agreement, which paved the way for the power-sharing government at Stormont. From the Short Strand in east Belfast, Donaldson was sworn into the IRA at a secret ceremony in Ormeau Park in 1964. And six years later, he took part in the defence of St Matthew's Catholic Church, holding at bay a mob of loyalists who were intent on burning it to the ground. But a Historic Enquiries Team (HET) investigation into the death if Henry McIlhone decades later revealed he hadn't been killed by loyalist gunmen as believed. He had, in fact, been shot dead by Denis Donaldson, who was unable to control a Thompson sub-machine he was firing. In the same incident, Donaldson shot and wounded IRA leader Billy McKee. Speaking to the Sunday World after the report was published, Henry McIhone's widow Sue said: 'I was told lies about this. I only discover the truth when the HET detectives called to see me. 'Henry wasn't a member of the IRA and I was always told he had been shot bt loyalists. I knew nothing about Denis Donaldson.'
The Journal
6 hours ago
- The Journal
Nursing home chain at the centre of RTÉ Investigates programme issues apology
LAST UPDATE | 20 mins ago THE NURSING HOME chain at the centre of a programme by RTÉ Investigates has issued an 'unequivocal' apology to residents and their families. Emeis Ireland, formerly known as Orpea, operates 27 nursing homes across the country after entering the Irish market in 2022. The RTÉ programme that is to air tonight highlights poor treatment and practice within two of the homes under the chain's brand. Two RTÉ researchers worked undercover in two different homes; one in The Residence Portlaoise, and one in Beneavin Manor in Glasnevin. Taoiseach Micheál Martin today said that he is 'very, very concerned' about the investigation's findings. 'I think it's shocking what is likely to be revealed following the report,' he told reporters in Dublin. He said that it was 'unacceptable' that the operator had allowed the failures to occur within its nursing homes. A statement from the company said that it has begun a comprehensive review across both nursing homes as a result of the failures identified within the programme. 'The findings are deeply distressing, wholly unjustifiable, and entirely unacceptable. We express our deep concern, as the wellbeing, dignity, and safety of residents in our care will always remain our foremost priority.' It said that it has issued 'clear guidance' to all its employees, which it said would be reinforced through targeted training and enhanced supervision in 'individualised resident handling, continence management, and safeguarding'. 'We will not tolerate any individual or systemic neglect, nor any practices that compromise resident safety, rights, or dignity.' Advertisement Within the programme, which The Journal has previewed, staff at the nursing homes are seen to have left residents dressed in inappropriate incontinence wear, left unchanged for hours at a time, and being discovered in wet clothing after they had wet themselves. It also shows a man with dementia, recorded with secret cameras installed by RTÉ, being 'roughly handled' by staff. The company also said that it is reviewing the oversight and management of medical supplies and clinical practices across all of its nursing homes. 'Assistance programmes for residents, families, and staff are being established in response to the serious issues identified. 'Staff, residents, families, and members of the public have access to a confidential whistleblower portal through which concerns can be raised without fear of reprisal. 'All concerns are promptly investigated, reported to the appropriate regulatory authorities, and followed up with individualised safeguarding plans and strengthened oversight to mitigate the risk of recurrence,' Emeis said in a statement. Staff members at Emeis-operated nursing homes made protected disclosures to the Health Information and Equality Authority (HIQA), but it took 17 weeks for follow-up inspections to be carried out, the programme reports. Charity ALONE said that it is shocked and dismayed at the revelations featured within the programme. Its CEO Seán Moynihan said, 'But shock and anger aren't enough – the Leas Cross Nursing Home scandal was 20 years ago. This needs to finally be the wake-up call that sparks real change in how we support and care for older people.' 'Inside Ireland's Nursing Homes' airs tonight at 9.35 pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player. With reporting by Eimer McAuley Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
