A RETIRED GAA star is at the centre of an investigation in the Republic over allegations he defrauded people out of approximately €1 million.
An Garda Síochána said officers from its economic crime bureau had launched an investigation after a number of people came forward.
It’s understood the well-known sports figure is alleged to have asked wealthy individuals and politicians for large sums of cash to fund cancer treatment abroad.
Media reports over the weekend said business figures and even a former team-mate provided varying sums of between €15,000 and €200,000.
In total, the former GAA player, who cannot be named for legal reasons, allegedly received a figure in the region of €1m.
It’s understood a report of the alleged scam was first made to gardaí last year, with other people later coming forward.
The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau is involved in the full scale fraud investigation, which is expected to probe the sports star’s finances and bank accounts in a bid to establish if the money was used to fund cancer treatment.
An unnamed GAA figure, who spoke to the Irish Mirror, said: “A lot of people gave him substantial funds and now they believe they were conned. They are all very angry and believe they will never get a penny back.
“They feel absolutely devastated and betrayed.”
Another person, familiar with the allegations, told the Irish Independent that the alleged scam fundraising had “been going on for some time”.
“Some people who got stung are quite upset by it. The question people are asking is, what did he do with the money?”