A BRAZILIAN man who used a fake Portuguese driving licence to set up a Revolut account has been prosecuted for the offence under the Theft and Fraud Offences Act 2001.
Fabio Cardoso Alves of 4 Market Street, Bandon pleaded guilty to the offence at Bandon District Court.
Sgt Eimear O’Connell told the court that at 9am on January 1st last the accused used his passport and a fake Portuguese driving licence to attempt to open a Revolut account.
ADVERTISEMENT
‘Revolut contacted gardaí about the fake driving licence as the company needs two forms of identification to open an account with them,’ said Sgt O’Connell.
The court heard the accused has no previous convictions, was co-operative with gardaí and made full admissions about the offence.
Defence solicitor Myra Dinneen said her client has been living in Ireland for seven years and works in a local factory in Bandon.
‘He was trying to open up an account and they accepted his passport but wouldn’t accept his Irish residence permit card. They wanted proof of address and he then used this Portuguese driving licence,’ said Ms Dinneen.
She said he has applied for a full Irish driving licence.
‘He didn’t intend to defraud anyone else and wasn’t attempting to conceal his identity either. The only person who will ultimately lose out is himself as he could receive a conviction for this and he wants to apply for Irish citizenship.’
Judge Joanne Carroll said it’s a very serious matter that people are going around with false documents and she requested a probation report be prepared on the accused and adjourned the case to July 3rd next.
She added that she didn’t understand why Revolut wouldn’t accept his Irish residence permit card.
