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Man defrauded Alzheimers sufferer of £15k court told

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FRAUDSTER swindled more than £15,000 from an elderly Alzheimers sufferer to pay for his wedding and gambling debts, a court has heard.

Sentencing was adjourned yesterday in the case involving Co Derry man Cormac McGuckin to give him time to pay the money back.

The 29 year-old, from Castledawson, was released on bail at Antrim Crown Court.

Judge Desmond Marrinan ordered him back in two weeks time to face sentencing.

McGuckin, from Broagh Village, faces a maximum sentence of 10 years jail after he pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false represention, 11 charges of theft and a further offence of impersonating a police officer, all of which occurred on various dates between October 27 2012 and April 29 2013.

The court heard that McGuckin's fraud came to light when his victim James Halliday (71) told his son the bank had contacted him about numerous transactions on his account which had left him with a £10,000 overdraft.

Mr Halliday's son contacted police when it emerged that cheques had been drawn on the account "either in favour of the defendant or his then fiancée Maura Marshall" who has since married the defendant.

The court was told there was "absolutely no question or suggestion" that Mrs McGuckin had done anything wrong.

At the time of the offences McGuckin had been working for Pieroth Ltd, a wine ordering and delivery company of which Mr Halliday was a customer, and the two men had become friends.

The lawyer said investigations revealed that McGuckin had used his victim's customer account to order around £2,000 worth of wine.

Although Ms McCormick told the judge it was the case of the prosecution that McGuckin had forged signatures on those cheques, defence lawyer Sean Doherty submitted they had been pre-signed by Mr Halliday whose health, the court heard, had deteriorated significantly to such a degree that he cannot remember any of the fraudulent transactions.

The prosecution and defence lawyers could also not agree on exactly how much had been stolen but the figure was between £15,000 and £17,500.

Arrested and interviewed, initially in May and again in December 2013, Mc-Guckin claimed that Mr Halliday had agreed to loan him money.

A probation report revealed that Mc-Guckin had admitted using the stolen money to pay for part of his wedding and to pay gambling debts, further revealing that McGuckin had admitted doing something similar in his previous job.

On December 18 2012 at Antrim Magistrates Court, McGuckin was handed a one-month jail term suspended for two years when he admitted one count of fraud and 13 of theft when he "systematically" used his previous employer's credit card facilities to steal around £1,000.

The prosecution lawyer said given the two sets of offences overlapped and the "breach of trust" in his crimes against Mr Halliday, both were aggravating factors in the case.

The last count of impersonating a police officer came when McGuckin telephoned the Wedded Bliss wedding shop in Portglenone.

The court was told McGuckin's wife-to-be had called to the shop to collect her tiara and wedding veil but couldn't because of police queries regarding credit card transactions.

Claiming to be a Constable Watters, McGuckin called the shop to say it was fine to release the items, behaviour labelled as "bizarre" by the judge.

The case was adjourned for two weeks.

* WEDDING: Cormac McGuckin and his wife Maura. The court was told there was 'absolutely no question or suggestion' that Mrs McGuckin had done anything wrong