"GAA star in alleged scam" Mod Note on page 1 and 2

Is it an ex-player? I really hope it's not who I think it is.

Devastating stuff for the victims and everyone involved.

What county?

Heard he took a high profile teammate for 25k. Christ.

It's outrageous in its audacity and absolute zero prospects of success.

A man whose wife was diagnosed with cancer believes he was targeted by a prominent GAA star who claimed he had the same form of the disease and needed money to travel to America for treatment.

The high-profile former player is being investigated by gardai for fraud and deception.

The couple, from Co Kilkenny, agreed to lend €5,000 to the retired player, but now believe they were targeted because of the wife’s life-threatening disease.

“He is both cunning and conniving. I was targeted and groomed after my wife was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. He approached me offering to support us, but soon asked for money,” said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“There was empathy and concern in his voice. He told me he had the same cancer as my wife and talked about how he had received revolutionary treatment in Seattle.” He added: “We don’t believe any of it was true.”

The couple, whose story is similar to other accounts provided to gardai, are among a list of people who are co-operating with a fraud inquiry into allegations of deception by the sports personality.

The alleged victims claim they were deceived into lending and donating cash to the retired GAA player to pay for stem cell treatment.

The suspect is believed to have collected approximately €250,000 from friends, acquaintances and business associates. One man is alleged to have provided a loan of €120,000.

Detectives carried out a search of a room at a hotel in Kilkenny where the suspect was staying last December. A mobile phone and documents were seized by gardai. Investigators are continuing to take statements from witnesses.

Detectives are trying to establish whether the suspect was ever given a cancer diagnosis but do not believe he has travelled to the United States for treatment. The Sunday Times was unable to contact the sporting figure despite exhaustive efforts last week.

The family of the GAA star are reeling from shock. It is understood they were unaware of the garda investigation and have not had recent contact with him. It is not clear where the former athlete is now living and it is believed that his phone number has recently been changed.

People in the man’s home town say they have not seen or heard from him in a number of months, and some have expressed concern for his welfare.

“I’d be very worried about him,” said one man who knew him. “If the rumours are true then something is wrong,” another local said.

The alleged victim who spoke to The Sunday Times said the suspect was “really convincing” but that he now believed he had never had cancer.

“He claimed he had an elite sporting status in the US and was due free medicare but it wasn’t possible for him to get cover so he needed the money fast. He said his insurance would cover the cost. We talked it through. We gave him the money,” the man said.

The couple agreed to lend €5,000 to the suspect in June 2021 after he called to say he needed money to cover the cost of travelling to the US to receive a booster injection of stem cells. They became suspicious after mutual friends warned them not to lend him cash.

The suspect repaid the money six months after the couple threatened they were going to report the matter to the gardai or contact journalists.

“He kept on telling me the money was being transferred but there was an issue with the bank,” said the woman, who has made a statement to gardai. “He subsequently did repay the money in full. He brought €5,000 in cash to the house.”

Gardai confirmed that an inquiry was under way into allegations of fraud in the eastern division.