AN actor in the RTE soap opera Fair City, Thomas Jordan has been ordered to do 220 hours community service in lieu of a three month prison sentence.
Dublin District Court heard that Jordan, who plays the character Charlie Kelly in the series, was so hard up in 1989 that he allowed his car to be used in setting up a fake accident as part of a £35,000 insurance fraud.
Jordan (58), of Elm Mount Avenue, Beaumount, admitted conspiring to defraud Cornhill Insurances at Hollywood Crescent, Donaghmede, by taking part in a staged accident on February 14th, 1989.
Det Garda William O'Connor said Jordan was paid £500 to run his Ford Cortina into the back of a taxi in Donaghmede.
There was one passenger in Jordan's car and two passengers plus the driver in the taxi. In all, four claims totalling £35,651 had been paid out by Cornhill Insurances, which has still not been paid back.
Det O'Connor said Jordan was a very minor player who had been put under pressure by the organiser of the scam to get involved.
His solicitor said Jordan had been unemployed for seven months and was behind with his mortgage repayments at the time of the accident. He now earned £16,000 a year in Fair City.
Judge Riordan said Jordan was involved in a "very serious" matter but he added that justice would probably not be best served by sending Jordan, who had no previous convictions, to jail.
In addition to the community service work, he ordered him to pay £500 to Cornhill Insurances.