A 32-YEAR-OLD man was remanded in custody for a week when he appeared in court yesterday charged with attempting to defraud the Marie Keating Foundation and the Gary Kelly Cancer Support Centre of a total of £274,650 (€314,400).
Michael Tuzuka, Park Square, Grange Rath, Drogheda appeared before Judge Flann Brennan at Drogheda District Court.
Garda Seán Fitzpatrick gave evidence of having arrested the accused yesterday. When he put some of the charges to him, the accused replied “no comment”.
Det Garda Michael Kilfeather of the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation gave evidence of putting other alleged fraud charges to Mr Tuzuka. The garda said he made no comment when charged.
Mr Tuzuka, originally from Zimbabwe, was charged that on September 10th last at AIB bank, Main Street, Swords he attempted to induce a bank official to transfer £179,650 from a Marie Keating Foundation account at the bank to an unnamed account in the UK.
He was charged that on August 20th last at AIB bank, Dyer Street, Drogheda, he attempted to induce a bank official to transfer £95,000 from a Gary Kelly Cancer Support Centre account there to another unnamed account in the UK.
He was charged that on August 23rd last at Bank of Ireland, Laurence Street, Drogheda he attempted to induce an official to transfer £9,500 from a Des Smyth Drogheda Youth Foundation account to another account at Ulster Bank. He was charged that on August 23rd, also at Bank of Ireland, Laurence Street, he attempted to induce the bank to transfer £38,650 from the same account to National Westminster Bank in the UK.
He was charged that on October 13th last he had control of a card reader writer, plastic card embosser and card printer specially designed to manufacture false bank cards, which he used to induce another person to accept them as genuine.
Other charges included that on August 9th last at Bank of Ireland, Galway he attempted to induce an official to transfer £410,300 from an Atalia Student Residence account to a UK account; that on October 13th last at 10 Park Square, Grange Rath, Drogheda, he had unlawful possession of an Ulster Bank cheque drawn on the account of Northern Ireland Communications, knowing it to have been stolen or was reckless as to whether it was stolen; that on October 13th at Grange Rath he had unlawful possession of an Ulster Bank cheque drawn on the account of Wired Up Security Solutions; and that on October 13th he also had unlawful possession of a Permanent TSB cheque drawn on the account of PJK Partnership, trading as Remax Services and made payable to Tung Ta Quang.
Judge Flann Brennan agreed to a Garda application to remand the accused in custody to appear at Drogheda court next Friday, October 22nd. The judge agreed to an application by solicitor Patrick Goodwin for free legal aid.