Convicted fraudster O'Brien to be sentenced
Businessman Breifne O'Brien is due to be sentenced today for multimillion-euro fraud offences.
The 52-year-old, with an address at Monkstown Grove, Co Dublin faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to 14 theft and deception charges dating from 2003 to 2008.
He had gone all the way to the Supreme Court to try to stop his trial, claiming that too much adverse publicity meant he would not receive a fair hearing. However he lost that battle in May.
Last month, on the day his trial was due to start, he pleaded guilty to 14 sample counts of theft and deception.
The businessman now admits defrauding five individuals out of millions of euro in a scam likened to a Ponzi scheme
Friends and associates including farmer Louis Dowley, and businessman Evan Newell were duped into investing in bogus property, shipping and insurance deals here and in locations including Paris and Hamburg.
The sentencing hearing before Judge Patricia Ryan is expected to go on all day.
