The name Catherine O’Brien is a familiar one to regular followers of the Irish Examiner – in this first episode of The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast, reporter Ann Murphy brings listeners up to date on the latest in this complex story of fraud and deception.

The subject of a 2022 podcast series by the Irish Examiner, Catherine the Fake, Catherine O’Brien has been sought by Gardai since 2019 when she failed to show up in court as a witness for the State in a case of demanding money with menaces.

Reporting of that case led to the gradual unravelling of the Buttevant woman’s story, as person after person came forward to the Irish Examiner with stories of being deceived or defrauded by O’Brien.

The 2022 podcast series Catherine the Fake investigated claims that O’Brien had convinced many people to invest in different business ventures over the years, causing losses in the millions of euro. She falsely claimed she had bought a pub in Clare; told acquaintances she worked as an agent for an Arab prince buying large properties in Tipperary; and pretended to be a solicitor who could ‘sort’ speeding fines for a man she met on a dating site.

She was finally arrested in June 2024 and in July, O’Brien was convicted of three charges of deception after meeting Dubliner John Blake on Plenty of Fish and convincing him to invest €22,000 in racehorses.

Listen to episode one of The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast featuring Ann Murphy now on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

LINKS

Catherine O’Brien found guilty of deception charges

Listen back to the 2022 Catherine the Fake podcast series Catherine the Fake podcast: The story of florist turned fraudster Catherine O’Brien

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