Ex partners of men named as crime gang bosses avoid jail for money laundering
Three women who laundered money for an organised crime group involved in the Drogheda feud have avoided jail after receiving two-and-a-half-year suspended sentences at Dundalk Circuit Court.
Jade Heeney (27), Castlemanor, Ballymakenny, Drogheda; Annie Julia Smith (28), Candy Lodge, Stamullen Road, Gormanston and Marlena Aleksandrowicz (29), Bridgefield Northwood, Santry, Dublin 9 Cedar Place, Swords; each admitted one count of money laundering through their respective Revolut accounts which they allowed the gang to use.
Jade Heeney
News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, August 5th
The defendants were described as at the lower scale of a money laundering enterprise for the Boylan Organised Crime Group. None of them profited from it. They had no previous convictions.
Keith Boylan was named in court last June as the alleged head of the Boylan OCG and his brother Josh as the alleged second in command.
Jade Heeney is the former partner of Keith Boylan, while Annie Julia Smith is the former partner of Josh Boylan. Marlena Aleksandrowicz was a friend of Keith Boylan's girlfriend.
Judge Dara Hayes said it was accepted by gardaí that the defendants were at the lower rung of the money laundering enterprise.
However, they provided significant assistance to launder the gang's proceeds.
Jade Heeney
They were not naive women. Each knew who they were involved with and the type of criminality they engaged in.
Judge Hayes continued that fear of the criminals in question played a role.
The three women 'got in over their heads'.
They were each involved in serious criminality, albeit at the lower end of that serious criminality. The amounts of money were relatively small.
The judge said that the defendants had people who thought well of them.
It appeared what happened was an aberration.
The court heard previously that as part of an investigation into the gang's activities a large amount of bank and other accounts were probed and each of the three accused were identified as money laundering the proceeds on behalf of the OCG.
Between July 10, 2020 and February 27, 2021, €16,348 went into Marlena Aleksandrowicz's Revolut account from associates of the OCG and €14,950 was withdrawn.
Marlena Aleksandrowicz
Gda John Walsh said that between December 20, 2020 and January 31, 2021, €13,033 was transferred by members of the OCG to Jade Heeney's Revolut account and €12,551.37 withdrawn.
For approximately four years she had been the partner of Keith Boylan. The relationship had ended by the time of this offending.
She had been given €1,000 to put into the account after being directed to download the app and to hand over the card to a person unknown to her.
Evidence was given that between June 17, 2020 and June 3, 2021, associates of the OCG put €8,967.50 into Annie Julia Smith's Revolut account and withdrew €5,080.
She was the former partner of Josh Boylan between 2018 and December 2020. The relationship ended on bad terms.
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