Alleged €2m fraud at Dr Quirkey's Good Time Emporium

mazdamiatamx5

https://www.independent.ie/news/alleged-2m-fraud-at-dr-quirkeys-good-time-emporium-company-41745181.html

Sounds like an employee fraud, most likely, would be my guess.

Given his entire business model is based on exploiting addiction, can't say I've too much sympathy for him.

rolling boh

The only people having a good time in these places are the owners counting their money lost by punters who know the house wins at least with other betting types a bit of knowledge can help and give you some chance however slim .

mazdamiatamx5

True that type of gambling is associated with high rates of addiction. The punter who plays the lottery the odd time or has the odd day at the races is probably not their target demographic.

Stanley 1

Couldn't have happened to nicer people, their mate, Michael Lowry, will be so upset as it will not progress the plans to put a mighty Casino up in the arsehole of Tipperary.

mazdamiatamx5

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119192956#Comment_119192956

Don’t think that plan is going anywhere. Lowry is the last person in the country I’d trust to run a casino.

rolling boh

Think that plan was so pie in the sky it must surely have bitten the dust by now .

Stanley 1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119193067#Comment_119193067

If they ever get the Coolmore/Ballydoyle operation onside, it will go, there are 2 wealthy bookies in the Coolmore syndicate.

Xander10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119193067#Comment_119193067

Well, maybe 2nd last to Seanie Quinn..who runs Quinnbet to recoup his losses.

Stanley 1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119197023#Comment_119197023

It's amazing how Quinnbet are allowed to operate, no matter what's done it's lipstick on the pig, do they do CFDs by any chance.

Surely none of the kids with large Judgments against can have shares in this operation, who is fronting the whole operation, would it be the brother, Peter, who is meant to be the smart one.

mazdamiatamx5

It seems the alleged perp committed suicide.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/no-garda-enquiry-as-suspect-in-25m-fraud-at-firm-that-runs-dr-quirkeys-good-time-emporium-is-dead-41790747.html

My heart bleeds for the Quirkes, the young fella might even have to sell his Lambo.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119254371#Comment_119254371

Rosanna might give him the elbow.

SEPT 23 1989

RIP to the person involved it’s only money at the end of the day

BattleCorp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119254592#Comment_119254592

Easily said when it's not your money.

Muahahaha

Aside from the fraud the thing that stood out to me is how cash rich the business is

This firm's pre-Covid performance show that its revenues increased by 33pc from €7.57m to €10.106m in 2019 as the business expanded. During 2019, the business’s cash funds increased from €2.37m to €3.99m.

I know there is big profits in taking money off gambling addicts but 10million a year in revenue is some going. Am I right to say that they just have the two premises OConnell St and Phibsboro and thats it or are they established in other places? If its just the two then 10 million in revenues is unreal, they are basically printing money. So much money that they didnt even notice an employee had siphoned off 2 million euro from them over 2 years.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119286653#Comment_119286653

pretty much just the two. they also have the carlton casino club but that is in the same address as the good time emporium.

B.A._Baracus

Not shocking. Dr Quirkies was always suspect.

rolling boh

10 m turnover that's some money if its just from the premises my main gripe with these two places are that they will be frequented by people who by and large will be in the lower income bracket and should not be throwing away their money in these places .If people want to go to casinos and play responsibly and have the wit and money that is not a problem .I know nobody is forcing punters into these places but they preying on vulnerable people giving them false hope .

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119287588#Comment_119287588

You think Dr Quirkie did it ?

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119257905#Comment_119257905

There was life after this a shame the person didn't see it

The 2M disappeared from Dr Quirkie is no biggie in the grand scheme of things

Donald Trump

I heard a rumour that Dr Quirkey wasn't even a real doctor

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119287418#Comment_119287418

jesus 10m a year turnover is something else off just the two premises. You've also got to think that most of their employees are just above minimum wage so its not exactly a wage heavy business. They must be absolutely rolling in profit off the back of gambling.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119287678#Comment_119287678

yeah thats exactly what I was thinking, I reckon it would be fair to say that of their 10m annual turnover a fair chunk of that is coming from social welfare payments especially for those playing the one arm bandits. Its an astonishing turnover off just two premises, it would make even the busiest of publicans jealous.

I worked in a pub in Australia years back with a 'pokie room' (basically 50+ one arm bandit machines) and it was sad watching vulnerable people go there day in day out staring at a machine that was set up to take their money off them. The machines could even be adjusted centrally so if someone had a big win they could crank up all the machines to then make them less likely to pay out. The idea was say 20 gambling addicts were in the room, one would win with coins crashing out of the one arm bandit and all the rest of the gamblers hearing and seeing it. Then the 19 remaining gamblers would go chasing a similar win often for hours that wouldnt come. They'd leave broke but be back a few days later. It was a complete scam, the system is literally set up to give them the odd win but ultimately they cant win overall.

blackwhite

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119286653#Comment_119286653

The implication in the article seems to be that the perpetrator disguises the payments as Tax payments, and didn't actually pay over the bills to Revenue.

Would go some way to explaining how it was hidden for a year or two before being caught, but really shows how poor their controls around payments must have been

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119289158#Comment_119289158

yeah it sounds like it was their in house accountant/bookeeper who did it. It was probably someone working for the Quirke family for years and they trusted them so there was no proper oversight.

Still though you'd think if you didnt pay Revenue their slice of the pie that they would be writing out demand and warning letters a lot sooner than two years in to the tax bill going unpaid. Like the person defrauded 1 million in 2019 and then another 1 million in 2020 before it was found out

blackwhite

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119290398#Comment_119290398

All revenue correspondence for a business normally goes through ROS and MyEnquires. If the person committing the fraud was responsible for tax payments, it’s also likely that they were responsible for the ROS account and could intercept any such communications

Few of these type of places around town. Not well marketed but very obvious from the streets. And it's always down and outs within.

Should he banned in my opinion. Anywhere with a poker room is different, keep them as there is a skill involved and it's a good social game.

But places with just solitary slot machines and other types of machines should definitely be banned.

Dr Turk Turkelton

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119288218#Comment_119288218

I heard he was quite the sensible chap and not even a bit quirky.

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119291134#Comment_119291134

Did you attend medical school together?

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119291117#Comment_119291117

These machines were all banned years ago are they allowed now or do you need a licence

Back in the day every little chipper used to get them in and make a fortune before they eventually got seized

dmn22

Always gave off money laundering vibes and that the physical shops were just a front.

SEPT 23 1989

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119290398#Comment_119290398

The Sheriff would be at your door

Jizique

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119291280#Comment_119291280

Are they still on the go in Bundoran? The local FF politicians were big fans, there is always a politician or two involved

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119290771#Comment_119290771

yeah Id say thats how hid it. On the flip side the article mentions only a small amount of the 2million he stole was via bank fraud which makes it sound like he was responsible for cash lodgements from the casino to the bank and he was pilfering a slice of it and then hiding it in the accounts as tax paid to Revenue.

It still surprises me that Revenue werent seeking out directors of the company when the first 1 million quid tax bill didnt get paid. ROS is very automated but I would have thought that when tax bills go unpaid Revenue would be going over the head of the bookkeeper or accountant inputting the payments and contacting the directors who are ultimately responsible for the tax bill being paid. Had that been done he wouldve been caught and wouldnt have gotten away with stealing the second million quid.

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119291280#Comment_119291280

One arm bandits are still legal but yes you do need a license for them and they are not issuing any, hence why pubs and chippers cant have the machines like some did years ago. Ive read before that there is only something like 30 or 35 of these licenses in the whole country so they are worth a small fortune.

I know of one family who has two of them, one in Bettytown the other in Drogheda and they've made an absolute mint out of the business over the years. In Dublin there is Quirkeys and another two of them along the river not far from O'Connell bridge and then others dotted around the country in places like Bundoran, think Courtown and Tramore have them as well. Because the licenses are so few and the nature of the gambling is so addictive the handful of people running these businesses are making fortunes off the back of the most vulnerable.

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119293270#Comment_119293270

The pubs and chippers used to just fit them with no licence at all

They were everywhere years ago , they made a fast buck before the machines got seized.Drunken clientele are the easiest to make money off