County Derry burrito bar owner made £475,000 profit via illegal TV Sky and BT streaming service court told

Cormac McGuckin (38) from The Meadows in Bellaghy has pleaded guilty to ten offences, and was told by a judge at the Crown Court in Derry on Friday that he's to be sentenced at Omagh Crown Court on October 11.

McGuckin has admitted one charge of participating in a fraudulent business with intent to defraud creditors, pleaded guilty to five charges of transferring criminal property totalling just over £683,836 via his PayPal account, guilty to possessing criminal property, namely £366,554, guilty to one charge of possessing criminal property namely £30,000 in cash and guilty to possessing laptops and a mobile 'phone for use in a fraud.

McGuckin also pleaded guilty, along with his wife Maura McGuckin (34) from The Meadows in Bellaghy, to converting criminal property of £45,135 for car payments and converting criminal property of £26,669 for holidays. His wife pleaded guilty to an additional charge of possessing criminal property, namely £30,000 in cash.

The couple wept in the dock as a prosecution barrister outlined the case against. The prosecutor said the total amount involved in the scam was £737,000 which involved multiple payments into and out of the defendants' joint PayPal account.

He said the couple also had a lavish lifestyle in terms of owning high end cars and going on expensive holidays. The barrister said an investigation by a police forensic officer resulted in the police concentrating their investigations on the El Paso Burrito Bar in Dungannon, which was owned by Cormac McGuckin. He said when the couples' home was searched the police found £38,200 in cash.

The prosecutor said the defendant Cormac McGuckin had previous convictions for thefts and frauds. He said the defendant was jailed for eight months in 2015 for stealing £17,000 from a pensioner after he'd impersonated a police officer, and that McGuckin committed his latest offences when on licence for his 2015 convictions.

"This is a serious case involving considerable amounts of money. All of the money went into the PayPal account after he had signed up customers via the internet. Both lived a beneficial lifestyle from their criminality,” the prosecutor said.

Barrister Kieran Mallon K.C. for Cormac McGuckin told Judge Philip Babington that the custody threshold had been passed and he accepted that McGuckin's previous relevant convictions were an aggravating feature in the case.

Mr. Mallon said McGuckin, who was a compulsive gambler, was financially motivated by his criminality and had been assessed as presenting a high likelihood of re-offending.

Eoghan Devlin K.C. for Maura McGuckin, said her criminality stemmed from her personal circumstances. He said the mother of four "is the primary carer for her four children, some of whom require additional attention. She is holding the family unit together and she has very onerous caring responsibilities".

Both defendants were released on continuing bail until they're sentenced next month.