Man convicted of defrauding company out of equipment
A Clare man who defrauded a company out of goods valued at nearly €5,000 while wearing a shirt saying “Trust Me” has been told to come up with compensation or he will have to perform community service.
Ladislav Klier of Dun na hInse, Ennis pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to stealing a diesel generator, a breaking machine and an extension lead with a total value of €4,800 from Active Tool Hire & Sales in Tallaght on June 1, 2008.
Detective Garda David Jennings told Mr Derek Cooney BL, prosecuting, that Klier (aged 39), who was wearing a white t-shirt with ‘Trust Me’ embossed on it when he called to the plant hire premises and asked to hire a diesel generator.
He paid €100 deposit for the machine, gave the false name of Malik Abdual and gave a Dublin address, the court heard.
The following day Klier hired a Bosch 110 volt extension lead and a breaking machine from the same premises but never returned any of the equipment.
The plant hire shop owner showed gardaí CCTV stills of Klier renting the machinery and a copy of the hire agreement which Klier signed under the name of Malik Abdual.
Gardai recognised the man as Klier from the stills and searched his house where they found the “Trust Me” T-shirt in his bedroom.
Klier was later arrested and admitted he took the items with “the intention of selling them on.”
Mr Kieran Kelly BL, defending, said Klier, a Czech national who has 38 previous convictions, was “motivated by financial hardship” and had admitted he hired the equipment and sold it on to pay his rent.
Judge Tony Hunt remarked that Klier has a “dishonest streak” and adjourned the matter until January for the defendant to come up with “at least 75% of the value of the equipment or he will spend his time doing community service in lieu of a two-year sentence.”
Judge Hunt remanded Klier on bail with the condition that he signs on three times a week at Ennis Garda Station.
“And if he re-offends he will be jailed,” warned Judge Hunt
