By Michael O’Farrell – Investigations Editor.
THE sacked finance chief of Our Lady’s Hospice Harold’s Cross, who has been accused in court documents of defrauding the charity, liquidated assets worth millions before the hospice sued him for their losses.
Auditor Denis Maguire (Pictured right with his wife Deirdre) – the former head of finance at the hospice – is being sued by his former employer for allegedly conspiring to sell a hospice property to a family friend for a fraction of its value, court documents this week reveal.
The property – a house in a gated Spanish development near Puerto Banus – was bequeathed to the hospice by a generous benefactor. But instead of realising a sixfigure profit, the hospice sold the house for so little the charity actually made a €32,203 loss when all expenses had been paid.
In the half-decade it took to sell the €250,000 home for just €37,500, Our Lady’s Hospice had paid out €69,703 in management fees and bills, often without adequate invoices to back up payments.
As Head of Finance at the Dublin based hospice, Mr Maguire was responsible for overseeing the sale.
While the hospice retained the Spanish home, Mr Maguire travelled to Spain on expenses six times, incurring bills of €3,620. His wife, Deirdre, accompanied him on five of these trips but the couple paid for her flights themselves.
The majority of these expense cheques were signed off by Mr Maguire himself and the then head of HR, Audrey Houlihan, who has now become CEO.
Mr Maguire was dismissed for ‘serious misconduct’ and ‘serious negligence’ in September 2016 following an independent investigation and an internal disciplinary procedure. He has since been arrested and questioned by gardaà investigating the sale.
But it wasn’t until January of this year that the hospice listed a High Court case against Mr Maguire and family friend, Michael Egan – full details of which emerged just this week. In its case, the hospice is accusing the men of fraud, deceit, breach of contract, negligence, misrepresentation and conspiracy.
As previously revealed by the MoS, Mr Egan is the person who set up a New York firm called Sun Orange Properties which was used to disguise the purchase of the hospice’s Spanish property.
The hospice is now seeking an annulment of the sale and an order barring Mr Maguire and Mr Egan from dissipating their assets below €400,000 – the amount the hospice claims to have lost.
But before the hospice launched its court bid to recover these funds, Mr Maguire – a substantial landlord with numerous Harold’s Cross properties – had already disposed of assets worth millions.
Land Registry records confirm that this process of divesting assets began in May 2017 when Mr Maguire transferred his half of the family home to his wife.
Then in October 2017, a €400,000 property in Goatstown – owned by Mr Maguire and his brother Seamus – was also sold. That was followed by the December 2017 sale of 135 and 137 Harold’s Cross Road – also co-owned by Seamus – for €1,060,000.
Finally, in February 2018, the brothers also sold another property – 66 Harold’s Cross Road – for €800,000. This totals €2.2million between the two brothers.
The MoS asked the hospice to explain the initial delay in launching legal action against Mr Maguire and Mr Egan, the subsequent delay in progressing this action by failing to serve Mr Maguire for more than six months, the apparent continued delay in serving Michael Egan and the decision not to seek a judgement against Mr Maguire who has failed to enter an appearance despite being served.
In response, a spokesperson said: ‘This matter is the subject of Garda investigation and we are unable to answer your queries in detail. As an organisation that relies heavily on fundraising, please be assured that the hospice is actively pursuing all options available to resolve this matter.’
The ‘payback’ for selling Spanish property for a pittance.
A HOUSE in Harold’s Cross is alleged to have been the payback in a conspiracy that saw a valuable hospice property in Spain sold for a fraction of its value.
The claim is made in a High Court summons lodged by Our Lady’s Hospice as it tries to recover losses incurred when its former head of finance, Denis Maguire, oversaw the sale of the property to a friend for a fraction of its true value.
According to the summons, the buyer – Michael Egan – conspired with Mr Maguire to defraud the hospice through the below-value sale in Spain. The hospice alleges in court papers that Mr Maguire’s payback for his role in this fraud is tied to a house in Harold’s Cross – a location where Mr Maguire has owned numerous properties.
The house – No 41 Harold’s Cross Road – was originally owned by an elderly lady, who died in probate in 2000. Who controlled the house since then remains unclear since a house granted in probate to another party does not have to be re- registered until sold on. However, on July 22, 2014 – days after Mr Maguire authorised the sale of the hospice’s Spanish home for a below- value price – No 41 was registered in the name of Michael Egan.
The summons states the property ‘was purchased by Michael Egan and/or Denis Maguire as payment or part payment for Denis Maguire’s role in the conspiracy… and/or as part of the arrangements entered into between the defendants to effect the fraudulent disposal of the hospice’s property.’
Neither defendant has replied to queries about No 41 Harold’s Cross.
