A Convoy man has pleaded guilty to deception after giving false and misleading information about a cottage in Ballindrait which he claimed was his.
James Gibson appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court where he pleaded guilty to the incident at the Property Registration Authority in Dublin on March 7th, 2017.
A second charge relating to a similar incident on August 25th, 2017, was taken into consideration by the court.
The case relates to two different affidavits relating to the same property folio which contain a cottage and approximately one acre of land.
Mr Gibson, aged 65, and from Finn Drum, Ballyboe, Convoy, was charged with the incident which is Contrary to Section 6 of the Theft and Fraud Offences Act.
Detective Garda Peter Cullen outlined the case.
The court was told that Mary Ellen Gibson, a sister of the accused man, had learned her brother had gone to the Property Registration Authority in Dublin to become the registered owner of the land.
An investigation was launched by the PRA which uncovered a number of documents including correspondence purporting to come from Ms Gibson which said she had no interest and would have no interest in the folio of land.
This letter was shown to Ms Gibson which she said she had no knowledge of and that the signature on it was not hers.
Prosecutor for the state, Ms Fiona Crawford, BL, asked Detective Cullen if he knew much about Mr Gibson and he said he knew very little about him but knew he had no previous convictions.
He added that there is also a civil case ongoing with regard to the property which was originally in the Gibson family’s great grandfather’s name and that there was an issue with succession.
Detective Cullen added that the fraudulent application has put the folio into Mr Gibson’s name but that the ongoing civil case is attempting to get the Property Registration Authority to have the folio put into the name of Mary Ellen Gibson.
Barrister for the accused man, Mr Sean McGee, said his client was a man of little education but who genuinely believed that the house had been left to himself and his sister Helen.
He added that his client said he had carried out some repairs to the property including plastering and roof to the work but that these claims were contested by other family members.
Mr McGee said the basis of Mr Gibson’s claims lay in the advice of a group known as The Helping Hand which handed down advice, which was dressed as legal advice but that it was ‘fireside advice.’
It was this group who advised Mr Gibson to go and seek the documentation and attend the Property Registration Authority and charged him €6,500 for this advice for which he had to get a credit union loan to pay for.
Mr Magee added that the property was eventually registered wrongly by his client in 2017 but Mr Gibson had claimed that his sister Mary Ellen had moved out.
Detective Cullen said the family maintained that Mary Ellen was living in fear in the house and frequented another brother’s home but still retained the house at Ballindrait.
A victim impact statement on behalf of Mary Ellen Gibson, which was partly prepared by her brother Patrick, was read out in court and outlined the fear she was living in over the ongoing situation.
Mary Ellen was described as a vulnerable adult but a person who was very proud of the house saying nobody ever left the house hungry and how she cherished filling it with ornaments and having visitors.
However, all that has changed, and the statement accused Mr James Gibson of having no regard for the wellbeing of Mary and all he wanted to do was to seize control of his sister’s home which she had resided in all of her life.
Mr Gibson took to the witness stand, said he accepted what he had done was wrong and that he was sorry.
Judge Aylmer asked Mr Gibson who was the victim in the case and he replied that he would say that it was his sister Mary Ellen because he himself did not know what he was signing as he was being guided (to sign the affidavits) by people from The Helping Hand group.
Mr Gibson added that when he was coming to the end of the process he knew “something wasn’t right” and although he thought himself and his sister Helen could have the house he knew something was wrong.
Mr Gibson then told the court that he is not now making any claim to the house.
Mr McGee added that it was now his instruction that his client was waiving any claim to the folio.
Barrister for the state, Ms Fiona Crawford, BL, replied that civil proceedings on the folio are being held up waiting for Mr Gibson to waive his entitlement to the property.
Judge Aylmer interjected and asked Mr Gibson if he was telling the court that he is willing to sign any document that clarifies he is giving up any claim on the property.
Speaking on behalf of his client, Mr McGee said the overall stumbling block for his client was his genuine belief that this was the wish of his late grandmother that the house go to himself and his sister.
He added that his crime was a means to an end but that he accepts in no uncertain terms that he was wrong and that he was breaking the law.
A probation and welfare report on Mr Gibson showed he was of a low risk of reoffending, said Mr McGee adding that his client had little formal education and suffered from a heart condition and was no longer able for manual work.
“The court has heard his plea of guilty and it will come as a great comfort to his sister that he is willing to waive any entitlement (to the folio) and will undertake to sign any document in that regard,” added Mr McGee.
Judge Aylmer said he wanted Mr Gibson to sign a consent form waiving his right to any entitlement adding that he wanted matters “attended to at the earliest opportunity.”
The case was adjourned to allow for this to be done and for final sentencing to take place.
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