Jailed Limerick company's project manager drops appeal at last minute

A former project manager at multinational company Flextronics, who was jailed for the fraudulent payment of overtime that was not carried out, has dropped an appeal against the severity of his prison sentence at the last minute.

Brendan Sheehan (55), of Skoolhill, Fedamore, Co Limerick, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of theft in relation to the fraudulent payment of more than €300,000 overtime between 2010 and 2014.

Limerick Circuit Criminal Court heard that the company launched an internal investigation in April 2014 when rumours began circulating within the company’s Raheen facility.

Detective Garda Fiona O’Connell told prosecuting lawyers that Sheehan and three other men were employed by Irish Express Cargo – a subsidiary of Flextronics – to support the activities of one its biggest clients – medical devices manufacturer Stryker. Sheehan, who was in charge of ‘Project Stryker’, was responsible for approving all overtime payments, the court heard.

Det Gda O’Donnell said Sheehan had orchestrated the payment of overtime to ten employees who then handed him a cut of the monies.

Payments averaged in the region of €400 to €600. While some overtime work was carried out, it was not possible to establish exactly how much, the court heard.

Following his garda interviews, Sheehan was said to have acted “like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders”.

He told gardaí that he suffered from a chronic gambling addiction and that things had “spiralled out of control” and that he was “living in a fantasy world”.

The court heard that the father-of-four was heavily involved in the GAA and had been a well-respected employee.

Judge Tom O’Donnell sentenced Sheehan to four years' imprisonment with the final two years suspended on March 29, 2019.

Sheehan was due to appeal against the severity of his sentence today. However, before the case came on for hearing, his lawyers indicated that their client had been released from custody on a community service scheme.

President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham commented that it might be better “to leave well enough alone”, at which point Sheehan’s lawyers applied to have the appeal withdrawn.

Mr Justice Brimingham, who sat with Mr Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, permitted the appeal to be withdrawn.

In Limerick Circuit Court, Judge O’Donnell had said the case was one of the most bizarre he had come across, given the period of time involved and the enormity of the payments.