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League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories DJ Carey arriving at the Criminal Courts of Justice this morning.Alamy Stock Photo DJ Carey remanded in custody pending sentencing on Monday for fraud charges Judge Martin Nolan said a custodial sentence was inevitable. 6.01am, 31 Oct 2025 Share options FORMER KILKENNY HURLING star DJ Carey has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on Monday for fraudulently inducing people to give him money by falsely claiming he had cancer. The 54-year-old, with an address of at Newtown, Maynooth, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty in July to ten counts of dishonestly inducing people to pay him money after he fraudulently claimed to have cancer and needed finances for treatment. His sentencing was due to take place on Wednesday, but was adjourned after the court was told that he was in hospital. He had been expected to be sentenced today. However, Judge Martin Nolan told the court this afternoon that he would sentence him at 1pm on Monday. The judge said a custodial sentence was inevitable. Carey can be jailed for a maximum of five years. Today’s hearing began at the Central Criminal Court shortly after 12pm. The court heard that Carey had defrauded people out of nearly €400,000, of which over €44,000 was repaid. Counsel for the DPP Dominic McGinn outlined the evidence in the case this afternoon. Carey sat stony-faced for much of this. McGinn went through the various counts against Carey relating to 13 named individuals who believed they were contributing to his cancer treatment between 2017 and 2022, including billionaire Denis O’Brien. The court heard that Carey met O’Brien in 1997 when both men were on a golf trip to South Africa. Carey was living in Mount Juliet golfing estate in Co Kilkenny at the time, and as a result of that, their friendship continued. In 2014, Carey approached O’Brien looking for financial assistance relating to having to travel to Seattle. The court heard that Carey said he had a rare form of cancer and needed treatment in the United States. He said he had previously won a national handball championship in the US, which meant that he was classified as an elite athlete there and would receive free treatment as a result, but he said he still needed money to pay for travel. €125k never repaid to Denis O’Brien The court heard that O’Brien authorised his accountant, Anne Foley, to transfer large amounts of money to Carey, both in cash and lodgements. He also agreed to supply him with a house and a car. Carey also indicated to O’Brien that he owed a lot of money to AIB, and O’Brien agreed to help with that. Foley asked Carey to obtain a doctor’s letter related to his condition. He provided them with a letter alleged to be from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. Gardaí subsequently established that the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center had no record of Carey, and immigration services established he had not travelled to the US since 2015. In 2017, it was agreed that Carey had to pay AIB €60,000. O’Brien paid this amount in full while his accountant organised a repayment plan for Carey. The former hurler maintained that he was due a payout from the HSE over a cancer misdiagnosis. The court heard that O’Brien paid Carey a total of €125,182 and $13,000. None of this has ever been repaid. A victim impact statement from O’Brien was read to the court. The billionaire said Carey told him he had cancer “and I believed him”. “DJ Carey came back to me time and time again. He completely took advantage of my friendship,” the statement read. O’Brien said he has had “hundreds of requests” over the years from organisations and people “and I’ve never been defrauded”. Advertisement “I was completely duped by DJ Carey.” The Journal / YouTube Another charge relates to Owen and Ann Conway. The court heard that Carey asked to meet them for advice in 2021, but when he arrived for the meeting, he asked for €25,000 in the form of a short-term loan. Carey indicated that he was due a €1.8 million payout from the HSE for a misdiagnosis of cancer, but he needed money from the Conways to pay the bank. On 25 March 2022, the Conways wrote a cheque for Conway. The court heard that Carey told them he underwent treatment in Seattle and showed them scars on his head which he said were from that treatment. The Conways sought repayment from Carey through text messages, but no money has ever been repaid. Consultant paid Carey €120k Other people who handed over money to Carey on the understanding that he needed funds for cancer treatment include a distant cousin of his, a man whose wife actually had cancer, and a medical consultant who paid him €120,000. Tom Brennan, a consultant involved in the development of oncology drugs, paid Carey a total of €120,000, of which he paid €40,000 from his personal account and €60,000 from his company account. Brennan went to the same school as Carey, but didn’t know him personally. The court heard that Carey messaged him out of the blue one day and asked for a conversation. In that conversation, he told Brennan that he needed €120,000 urgently to pay a debt to AIB, and that he was being given a deal to repay the debt that would only be on the table for a few days. He also claimed that St James’s Hospital gave him an incorrect dose of radiation for chemotherapy and would be paying him for medical negligence. The court heard there is no record of any claim for medical negligence ever having been made by Carey against St James’s Hospital. On 4 December, Brennan transferred Carey €40,000 from his personal account and he later transferred €60,000 from his company account. Both parties signed a contract for a repayment plan. When repayments were not being made, Brennan took a civil case against Carey, and also carried out personal queries as to the authenticity of his illness. He confronted Carey personally, and Carey was ordered to repay Brennan through the court, but the money was never repaid. Made up story to buy time The court heard that the Garda investigation began in December 2022. Gardaí searched a hotel room in Kilkenny and a Hyundai Tucson belonging to Carey that month. Carey opened the door and, having been informed of the warrant, he handed the car keys and his phone to gardaí. He was informed that his phone would be forensically examined and he provided his pin number. The vehicle was searched and a number of exhibits were received. Gardaí advised Carey to contact a solicitor during the search. Data was seized from the phone, including texts to those he received money from. The court heard the texts contained references to myeloma and numerous explanations to people as to why they had not been paid back. Gardaí subsequently contacted the hospital in Seattle that Carey had made reference to and established that he had never been a patient there. On 12 December 2022, Carey contacted gardaí and asked to speak to them. He met with gardaí in Waterford on 20 December. Speaking under caution, Carey said he had been sick in 2012 with pericarditis and had made up a story about having cancer. He told gardaí that he was buying himself time as he had a substantial debt with AIB, the court heard. Defence counsel Colman Cody told the court that Carey told gardaí during this interview that he had gotten into financial difficulties and the home that he shared with his former partner had been repossessed. Cody said he told gardaí that he was “gotten into a rut” and was in “a very desperate situation”. He consented for his medical records to be obtained and identified that he had a private bank account from AIB and credit union loans. He told gardaí that he “did get some money under false pretenses” and that he didn’t know “where this is going to lead”. ‘Deep and heartfelt apology’ The court heard that Carey obtained €394,127, of which €44,200 has been repaid. Cody said Carey was a person of no fixed abode and had no previous convictions. He said the former hurler was held in high esteem, but now is “shamed” and “ridiculed”. He said the court may take the view that he traded on the esteem he was held in. “There were legitimate ways he could have reached out for help, and he didn’t do that, and no one quite knows why but him,” Cody told the court. “He extends a deep and heartfelt apology to each and every victim.” Cody says Carey was not making any excuses for his behaviour in any way, stating that he recognises and knows he is facing imprisonment. “It’s safe to say he has already suffered significantly,” he added. Judge Martin Nolan said a custodial sentence is inevitable, but that he would not give his decision today. He remanded Carey in custody to be sentenced at 1pm on Monday. Addressing the victims, Nolan said: “I compliment them, they trusted a man who said he needed help. “They might feel foolish. I don’t think they should,” he said. Rescheduled sentencing Carey’s sentencing had originally been scheduled for earlier this week but was postponed after the court was told he was in hospital with a heart condition. Carey was due to appear before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court at around 11am on Wednesday, but the hearing was adjourned when his lawyers informed the court that he had been readmitted to hospital that morning. His legal team previously told the court that while he did not have cancer, he has significant ongoing health issues. A psychological assessment was also requested ahead of sentencing. Carey, one of Kilkenny’s most celebrated hurlers, won five All-Ireland senior medals during his career. With reporting from Jane Moore and Andrew Walsh Written by Eimer McAuley and posted on TheJournal.ie The Journal Team Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “DJ Carey remanded in custody pending sentencing on Monday for fraud charges”. 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