A US court has upheld the convictions of two Kerry siblings who were found guilty of being involved in a payroll scheme that defrauded labour unions.
Dónal and Helen O’Sullivan who are from Ballinskelligs had engaged in the fraud at their family business, Navillus Construction, which is a major building firm in New York.
The two O’Sullivan siblings and their colleague Pádraig Naughton were found guilty in 2021 of involvement in a payroll scheme that defrauded labour unions of $1 million dollars in benefits funds.
Dónal O’Sullivan founded Navillus, a major construction company in New York, in the 1980s. He was CEO until he stepped down following indictment in 2020.
Helen O’Sullivan had run the company’s payroll while Pádraig Naughton was financial controller.
The two men were sentenced to six months’ imprisonment while Ms O’Sullivan was sentenced to two years of probation.
Dónal O’Sullivan was ordered to pay almost $1.3 million in restitution to the unions’ benefits funds.
Last week a US Court of Appeal in New York issued a summary order confirming the convictions of the three, finding the appellants’ arguments to be without merit.
