A Co Tyrone girl who defrauded her employers out of £1.9m and faked having most cancers to proceed funding her lavish way of life, has misplaced a bid to enchantment the jail sentence imposed.
Julie McBrien (47), also referred to as Hogg, of Screeby Highway, Fivemiletown, carried out the huge fraud and cash laundering enterprise over an eight-year interval, bringing her employers, Cookstown-based Northern Mouldings Restricted to the brink of collapse.
The funds had been lavished on her luxurious way of life full with a sprawling rural mansion, top-of-the-range automobiles and costly holidays.
Forensic examination found way of life spend of simply over £141,000; common expenditure of £360,000; property growth and inside design totalling £667,000; style and wonder at £231,000 and £145,000 on jewelry.
Defence attorneys beforehand requested for sure particulars to be omitted from public disclosure, however this was refused.
McBrien made up false financial institution statements, forging a former worker’s signature having didn't take away his title from the mandate.
She then solid a doc making her solely answerable for funds, countersigning cheques to herself and creating false invoices.
She informed an organization director she had most cancers, asking him to maintain this confidential. The particular situation precisely matched that suffered by an in depth relative of the director who tried to assist McBrien as his worker.
Nonetheless, it was fabricated, and he or she used a very delicate problem to proceed funding her opulent way of life with out interference.
When arrested, she admitted the whole lot, initially claiming the cash was spent on holidays and there was nothing to indicate for it.
A prosecution report discovered her to have: “The power to control for her personal ends and all assessments are primarily based on her personal assertions.”
At sentencing, Decide Mind Sherrard KC informed her: “You got preferential therapy after claiming to have most cancers. You authored that lie and benefited from it… You had no consideration for anybody affected by you. Your offending was borne out of avarice.”
Dismissing the defence suggestion that McBrien needs to be hospitalised as a substitute of jailed, Decide Sherrard stated she, “sought solely personal therapy, shunning her GP and not one of the assessing consultants took motion to have her detained.”
It will be over two years after the costs had been admitted earlier than McBrien was sentenced, as her attorneys introduced in quite a few consultants insisting, she should not be jailed and required everlasting anonymity.
One physiatrist travelled from England to inform the court docket whereas the stolen funds had been, “completely huge” they'd a perform.
He attributed McBrien’s behaviour to — amongst different issues — feeling omitted whereas rising up amongst 4 siblings, likening this to “Martyr Syndrome”.
Faking most cancers, he contended, was to, “curry emotional assist, felt to be missing”.
The psychiatrist accepted solely viewing McBrien’s GP notes as much as 2016 and didn’t request further data as he didn’t suppose they'd materially change his opinion.
He additionally felt such materials wasn't of related worth having obtained ample proof from McBrien.
Finally, his opinion was rejected and in November 2021 — after plenty of failed court docket appearances — McBrien was jailed for five-and-a-half years.
Nearly a yr later she mounted an utility for depart to enchantment the jail sentence and for authorized support to fund this, however each had been refused.