Disgraced DJ Carey sentenced to prison after faking cancer to scam family and friends

DJ Carey has been jailed for scamming his friends, family and fans out of almost €400,000 to treat a cancer he never had.

The former Hurling star DJ Carey went to extraordinary lengths in his campaign to dupe friends and family into handing over hundreds of thousands of euros.

He managed to cheat his way to almost 400,000 euros with claims about a battle with cancer.

To make it seem real he stuffed a phone charger cable up his nose to look like a medical cord and get people to give him money for treatment.

The former hurler for Kilkenny faked medical records and told his victims that he was in line for a one million euro payout from the HSE which he would use to pay them all back.

When police initially caught up with him and questioned him about his cancer claims, he said he concocted the story first in 2014 when in reality he was suffering from a heart condition.

Images of him pretending to be in a hospital bed with the iPhone cable up hid nose were met with derision and completed the fall from grace for the former GAA legend.

Businessman and friend Denis O’Brien loaned him more than 125,000 euros he claimed he needed for cancer treatment and to pay loans.

O’Brien told the court he had been “duped” by Carey who also bought him a car and provided free accommodation for him in Dublin.

He said it had been “unconscionable” to lie about a cancer diagnosis to fleece friends for cash.

At one stage Mr O’Brien asked for evidence of the medical treatment and was provided with letters claiming to be from the Fred Hutch medical centre in Seattle. The centre later denied any contact with Carey.

Carey also pocketed 16,360 euros from Thomas Butler, a friend from golf and GAA in 2014 after telling him he required it to pay for cancer treatment.

Mr Butler used money from a pension lump sum to help DJ Carey in what was presented to him as a life and de@th situation.

Mr Butler said in a victim impact statement that Carey’s deceit had been “gut-wrenching” particularly as his own parents had di£d from cancer.

Carey’s School friend Thomas Brennan, who was involved in the development of an oncology drug, transferred two payments of 40,000 and 80,000 euros to Carey as he fell under the fraudster’s spell.

Carey was due to be sentenced last Wednesday but provided a medical certificate excusing him from attending court.

On Monday, Nov. 3,  he appeared at the Criminal Court of Justice in Dublin where he was jailed for five-and-a-half years.

Mr Carey, of Maynooth, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of dishonestly inducing people to pay him money after he fraudulently claimed to have cancer and needed finances for treatment.

Judge Martin Nolan said the sportsman “exploited the good nature of people, he knew alot of these people… and they knew him”.

He added: “It is a very serious matter” and told how it was “reprehensable behaviour”.

The 10 counts Carey pleaded guilty to involved a total of 13 complainants, including billionaire businessman Denis O’Brien, Owen and Ann Conway, Mark and Sharon Kelly, Aidan Mulligan, Tony Griffin and Christy Browne, Thomas Butler, Jeffrey Howes, Noel Tynan and Edwin Carey.

Judge Nolan said that while he does not think Carey will reoffend in the future, “his reputation has been destroyed”.

The 52-year-old rose to fame during an impressive inter-county GAA career with Kilkenny and went on to be known as one of the most decorated and acclaimed hurlers to ever play the sport.

He appeared in court yesterday,  Nov. 3, dressed in a purple jacket, navy shirt, and black shoes. Judge Martin Nolan told him to stand and Carey was given a five-and-a-half year long custodial sentence before being led away.