Accountant alleged to have hired Martin ‘the Viper’ Foley to collect debt denies wrongdoing

An accountant who is alleged to have hired convicted criminal Martin ‘the Viper’ Foley to collect a disputed debt of approximately €19,000 from a motor parts company has denied all claims of wrongdoing against him.

Last week, Maynooth-based NCS Autoparts Limited, its director Paul Lanigan and his wife Brenda Lanigan launched proceedings, where they seek an injunction against chartered accountant Gerard Young, trading as Mara Young & Company.

The plaintiffs claimed before that Mr Young is “wrongfully and unprofessionally” trying to “intimidate and harass” them over an alleged debt.

When the matter was briefly mentioned before Mr Justice Rory Mulcahy on Tuesday, Tim Harnedy BL, for the defendant, said his client strongly denies all claims of wrongdoing made against him by the plaintiffs.

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Counsel said his client obtained a Circuit Court judgment against the defendants but now accepts that the plaintiffs’ lawyers are in the process of seeking to have that order set aside.

In the meantime, counsel asked for the matter to be adjourned, with an undertaking in place that Mr Foley will not communicate with the plaintiffs or attend at their property.

The undertaking will remain in place until the matter returns before the courts later this month.

Last week the couple and NCS, with an address at Kilmore, Enfield, Co Meath secured permission, on an ex parte basis, from the court to serve short notice of the injunction proceedings on the defendant.

The plaintiffs claim that in early January, Foley called to their home and left his business card in an attempt to collect monies from them for the defendant, who is based at Moneycooley, Maynooth, Co Kildare.

Foley, a convicted criminal, was a one-time member of the crime gang headed by Martin Cahill, known as ‘the General’, and Foley was dubbed ‘the Viper’ by the media.

Represented by Ronnie Hudson BL, instructed by solicitor Max Mooney, the plaintiffs said that they were intimidated by this, and are fearful that Foley will return to their property.

They have asked the court for orders including an injunction restraining the defendant from instructing Kimmage-based Foley and his debt recovery business from calling to their property or corresponding with them. They claim to have a good defence to the debt claimed by the defendant.

They claim the disputed debt arises out of NCS’s acquisition of a motor parts business called CPL Motor Factors from Mr Lanigan’s parents some years ago.

Counsel said that the defendant had been CPL’s accountant and had carried out some work for NCS for approximately one year in 2014 after the changeover in the business.

The defendant, they claim was never its accountant, and counsel said that NCS uses another firm to do its accounting.

They claim that after the judgment was obtained against them they claim that Foley, a convicted criminal, was hired by the defendant to collect monies on foot of the judgment.

The plaintiffs intend to appeal that judgment and have it set aside as quickly as possible.

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