Directors of foreign real estate company are jailed

Two directors of a real estate company have been imprisoned at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court following guilty pleas to defrauding clients. Sean Boylan, aged 72, of Cootehill, County Cavan, and Colin Horan, aged 38, of Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin, were convicted of carrying on the business of a company with intent to defraud creditors between June 2012 and July 2015. The company operated by selling properties in Bulgaria and Turkey to Irish clients, but failed to remit sale proceeds. Of fourteen victims, all but one had their properties sold without receiving payment. Boylan received a three-year sentence with the final six months suspended, while Horan received two years and eight months with the final six months suspended. The court heard that approximately €670,000 remained owed to victims, with Horan having reimbursed over €100,000. Judge Elma Sheahan described the accounting practices as chaotic and haphazard, noting the offending had caused lasting harm to complainants beyond monetary loss.