Four shocking facts that sum up DJ Carey fraud case

The DJ Carey saga is nearing its end, after he was jailed for five-and-a-half years.

The Kilkenny hurling legend defrauded 22 people out of a total of €349,927 and $13,000, after claiming he had cancer.

We have taken a look at four shocking stories from the case.

The notoriety of this case is, of course, in part due to Carey’s fame as a hurling icon, but it was the use of cancer as a means of defrauding innocent people which has made it one of the biggest stories in the country over the past year.

However, the details are even worse than what has been commonly reported.

According to RTÉ, Carey gave a positive update on his ‘cancer’ battle to legendary singer Daniel O’Donnell.

He wrote: “Hi Daniel. Thank you for text. I’m doing well. I hope all is good with Majella and yourself.”

However, in a message to another friend just a week later, he gave a terminal diagnosis, saying: “I’ve excepted [sic] what I have and I am going to take quality of life over more chemo and treatment. I will get 2 years and possibly 3… I’m very contented now tbh I’ve given it a good shot…”

Carey was on the look out for chances to further his fraud, and at his own father’s funeral he sensed an opportunity.

There he met a distant cousin, Edwin Carey, and a few days later, DJ phoned him asking for €5,000 to travel for his ‘cancer’ treatment, which his relative paid.

Thankfully, Edwin was suspicious due to his cousin’s vagueness on the type of treatment he needed, and did not give over any more money.

It is well known that amateur inter-county GAA do receive perks and opportunities, depending on their level of skill and fame.

And in the history of the GAA, few were more skilful or famous than DJ Carey, who could have earned a decent living off his name and his exploits for the Cats.

Prime Time’s investigation revealed large payments from ad agency Cawley Nea, as well as monthly payments from the Irish Heart Foundation charity.

He also received €2,460 a month from Newstalk for over a year, despite only making ‘a handful’ of appearances on Off the Ball.

Of course, a prison sentence for a fraud of this nature is expected and deserved, but when the facts are spelled out in grim detail, the reality of the situation hits hardest.

The juxtaposition of Carey celebrating winning All-Ireland’s to sitting in a prison cell is a shocking to say the least.

As reported by the Irish Times, Carey was locked up for 23 hours per day, away from the main population. And due to his high profile, he is in protective custody.