Husband and wife to be sentenced after making almost £475,000 through illegal Sky Sports and BT Sports streaming

Cormac McGuckin (38) from The Meadows in Bellaghy, and his wife Maura (34) appeared at Londonderry Crown Court on Friday.

It was outlined in court that the fraud centred on an illegal streaming service which offered people access to Sky Sports and BT Sports between January 2016 and June 2020.

Cormac McGuckin pleaded guilty to 10 offences linked to his criminality.

He admitted one charge of participating in a fraudulent business with intent to defraud creditors, five charges of transferring criminal property totalling just over £683,836 via his PayPal account, possessing criminal property, namely £366,554, one charge of possessing criminal property namely £30,000 in cash, and possessing laptops and a mobile phone for use in fraud.

Father of four McGuckin, also pleaded guilty, along with his wife, to converting criminal property of £45,135 for car payments and converting criminal property of £26,669 for holidays.

Maura McGuckin pleaded guilty to an additional charge of possessing criminal property namely £30,000 in cash.

The couple wept as a prosecution barrister outlined their criminality.

The total amount involved in the scam was £737,000 which involved multiple payments into and out of the defendants' joint PayPal account, the court heard. The profit from the streaming service was £475,000.

He said the couple also had a lavish lifestyle in terms of owning high-end cars and going on expensive holidays.

The barrister said an investigation by a police forensic officer resulted in the PSNI concentrating their investigations on the El Paso Burrito Bar in Dungannon, which was owned by Cormac McGuckin.

He said when the couple's home was searched, police found £38,200 in cash.

The prosecutor outlined that Cormac McGuckin had previous convictions for thefts and frauds.

He was jailed for eight months in 2015 for stealing £17,000 from a pensioner after impersonating a police officer and Cormac McGuckin committed his latest offences when on licence for that offence.

"This is a serious case involving considerable amounts of money," said the prosecutor.

"All of the money went into the PayPal account after he had signed up customers via the internet. Both lived a beneficial lifestyle from their criminality."

Barrister Kieran Mallon KC for Cormac McGuckin told Judge Philip Babington the custody threshold had been passed and he accepted that his client's previous relevant convictions were an aggravating feature in the case.

Mr Mallon said Cormac McGuckin, who was a compulsive gambler, was financially motivated by his criminality and had been assessed as presenting a high likelihood of re-offending.

Eoghan Devlin KC for Maura McGuckin, said her criminality stemmed from her personal circumstances.

He said she "is the primary carer for her four children, some of whom require additional attention".

"She is holding the family unit together and she has very onerous caring responsibilities," he added.

Both defendants were released on continuing bail until sentencing at Omagh Crown Court on October 11.