With Charger in Nose, Faked "Cancer Battle"... The Downfall of a Sports Legend Who Swindled 600 Million Won from Fans

An Irish sports star has stood trial on charges of deceiving fans and extorting a large sum of money by pretending to be a cancer patient, including inserting a phone charger into his nose. On November 3, the UK’s Daily Mail reported that Denis Joseph Carey, a star athlete once called the “Maradona of hurling” (a sport similar to hockey), was sentenced to five years and six months in prison for embezzling approximately 650 million won under the pretense of collecting donations for cancer treatment.

Kerry inserting an iPhone charger into her nostril. The Sun

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Carey was a legendary player who competed for Kilkenny’s hurling team from the 1990s to the early 2000s, winning numerous medals. He was nicknamed “idol of young players” and “legend of hurling.” Before his retirement in 2006, he had won the All-Ireland Championship five times and received the All-Star Award nine times. However, after retiring in 2006, he ventured into various businesses, including hygiene product distribution and hotel supply, but repeatedly failed. In 2011, he was ordered to repay 7.3 million pounds (about 13.6 billion won) to Allied Irish Banks, suffering severe financial difficulties.

Ultimately, he pretended to have cancer by inserting an iPhone charger into his nose to mimic the appearance of a medical oxygen device. He sent photos of himself in this state to acquaintances and his fans, and some victims, moved by sympathy, transferred money to him. Presiding Judge Martin Nolan said, “Carey has been subjected to public hatred and ridicule,” and added, “His reputation will not be restored.”

The media outlet reported, “Twenty years after his retirement, before his downfall, he was one of the most romantic and respected figures in our sporting world.” Carey’s crime was uncovered when a financial institution became suspicious of an elderly customer attempting to transfer money to him. Investigations revealed that he had deceived victims by claiming, “I suffered harm from excessive radiation exposure during hospital treatment, have filed a lawsuit against the Health Service Executive (HSE), and will soon receive more than 1 million euros in compensation.”

Judge Nolan stated, “He did not file any lawsuit against the health authorities. He had neither the intention nor the means to return the money he defrauded.” He continued, “It is difficult to understand why he did this. While fraudsters usually exploit human greed, Carey exploited people’s goodwill. There is no more reprehensible fraud imaginable than falsely claiming to have cancer.” However, the judge added, “Consideration was given to the fact that he had no prior convictions and had contributed to society in the past.”

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