Former Kilkenny hurler DJ Carey jailed for cancer scam

Former Kilkenny hurler DJ Carey was sentenced to five and a half years in prison on Monday at the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin after admitting he induced people to pay him money by falsely claiming he had cancer and needed funds for treatment. Carey, 54, pleaded guilty in July to ten counts of dishonestly inducing others to pay him money, with a further eight charges and two counts of using false instruments taken into consideration at sentencing.

Prosecutors told the court Carey repeatedly claimed he was receiving cancer treatment in Seattle and needed help with travel, additional treatment and living costs. Gardai found no record of his treatment at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Centre in Seattle, his general practitioner had no record of cancer treatment, and there was no record of any outstanding claim against the HSE. When interviewed by police in December 2022, Carey admitted he had fabricated the illness to buy time while he faced substantial debts to AIB.

An investigation established Carey took a total of 394,127 euro and 13,000 US dollars from more than 20 people between 2014 and 2022. Only 44,203 euro has been repaid, leaving roughly 349,924 euro and the $13,000...