Ex-manager accused of €800,000 fraud at Dublin property services firm

High Court reporter

Assets equalling almost €800,000, belonging to a Romanian woman, her father and mother and her partner, were frozen worldwide on Thursday by order of Ms Justice Carmel Stewart in the High Court.

Barrister Ross Gorman, counsel for Domestic and General Property Support Services Limited, told the court that its former general manager, Ms Anca Pop, was believed to have defrauded the company of €505,959.

Mr Gorman, who appeared with Gibney Hogan Solicitors, said Ms Pop's partner Dorian Aurelian Mirza, benefited by almost €42,000 in what was described as a significant fraud; her father, Valeriu Preda, by over €190,000, and her mother, Dochita Preda, by just under €59,500.

Counsel told Judge Stewart that the company, based in Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole, Dublin, and which employed more than 250 workers, had carried out a forensic examination of its accounts and had uncovered inappropriate wage payments to fictitious workers and workers who had remained on the payroll after leaving the company.

On behalf of the company, Mr Gorman had applied for and obtained worldwide interim injunctions prohibiting the four defendants from dissipating their assets below the figures they were alleged to have received.  Ms Preda, the mother of Ms Pop, had in fact never worked for the company, he said.

David Jago, managing director of the company, told the court in written evidence that Forensic Accountant Diarmaid Guthrie had recently uncovered an extensive fraud by the four defendants against Domestic and General.

He said the company, incorporated in 2002, provided management services, including contract cleaning, building and property maintenance and industrial cleaning services to numerous blue-chip clients and had grown into a successful business employing more than 250 people.

“As can be seen from the report of Mr Guthrie, the company has been the victim of a fraud dating back over several years at a total cost of approximately €800,000,” Mr Jago stated.

He said that, given what they now knew, he believed the first-named defendant, Ms Pop, admitted to wrongdoing, and her partner had met him in the hope that he would bring any ongoing investigation to an end. Last month, the company had reported certain matters to the gardaí.

Mr Gorman told Judge Stewart that, according to the investigation, the €800,000 fraud had largely been made up of overpayment of wages, payments having been made to individuals who had worked for the company for a period but remained “on the books” after they had left the company.

“And there were payments made to individuals who, quite simply, never worked for the company at all,” Mr Gorman said.

He said that so far, the company and Mr Guthrie had uncovered 12 individuals who were a cause for concern.

In the case of one person, Diana Cornea, she had been on the payroll since August 2023, but had never worked for the company yet had been paid a gross €73,692.74.

Cornea’s husband, Mircea Cornea, had been on the payroll since October 2023 but had never worked for the company.

Mr Jago stated that another individual, Vasile Moldovan, had done some work for the company before resigning in 2019 and returning to Romania.

According to company records, he appeared to have been re-hired in April 2022 and had been paid a gross €111,070 until last month.

“The first named defendant (Ms Pop) was responsible for clocking him in and out of the TMS system,” he said. When “wages” had been stopped to some individuals, they had never inquired why.

Mirza, the current partner of Ms Pop, had been overpaid by the company. His hourly rate had jumped from €17.50 to €19 to €22 to €25, and in April last year it had increased to €28. While he would have been entitled to certain pay rises, his increases had been larger than those authorised for other staff.

A Ms Iulia Suteu had been on the payroll since 2019 but was not a genuine employee.  The company had paid her €174,378. A Pavlina Shaulii had never worked for Domestic and General but had been paid €50,951. Valeriu Preda, Ms Pop’s father, had worked from March 2025 to August 2025 and had been paid for his work.

“The wages of a number of fictitious employees have been paid into his bank account…the company regards him as a central figure in the fraud that has been perpetrated against it,” Mr Jago stated.

Judge Stewart granted an order directing that inquiries could be made with various banks about certain accounts and made an order requiring the four defendants to immediately provide full details and documentation to the company. They were directed to disclose the existence and nature of all assets, whether inside or outside the jurisdiction.

The matter was returned to Tuesday, September 2nd.