A man who was detected using a fake driving licence to open a bank account was recently given the benefit of the Probation Act.
Rogerio Moreira De Souza (32) of Apartment 8, The Malt House, Georges Quay, Waterford, appeared before Judge John Cheatle at a sitting of Waterford District Court in April. He pleaded guilty to a charge of using a false instrument, namely a driving licence allegedly from Spain, contrary to Section 26 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001.
Sergeant Michael Hickey told the court that on 1 January 2025, Gardaí received a report from the banking app Revolut about a driving licence they believed to be fake, which had been used to set up a new account. The accused was subsequently identified as the owner of the account.
Sgt Hickey said that the driving licence was made out to be from Spain, and it was verified as fake following a forensic investigation by Gardaí.
It was noted in court that the accused has no previous convictions and was fully co-operative throughout the investigation.
Acting for the defendant, solicitor Derrick Connors said that his client is originally from Brazil, but was living in Spain for a period of time. The solicitor added that the accused had to set up a Revolut account in order to receive his wages from work, and previously had an international driving licence but purchased the false licence while living in Spain without realising that it was fake.
The accused has since been able to successfully set up a bank account, Mr Connors said.
Judge Cheatle applied Section 1(1) of the Probation Act in the case.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
Robyn Power
