Catherine O’Brien, a woman previously involved in business dealings in France and Dubai, now finds herself in custody in Ireland’s most overcrowded female prison, awaiting sentencing after being found guilty of fraud. The case centered on her deceiving John Blake, a man she met on a dating website, into paying €20,000 for a horse named Lingreville, along with additional payments for insurance and transport, none of which were legitimate. The court heard that while O’Brien and her associate John Walsh had purchased a stallion called Shakeel from the Aga Khan, the mare Lingreville was never brought to Ireland, and the funds were misused. Despite O’Brien’s claims of acting under Walsh’s instructions and various personal hardships, including threats to her safety, the jury reached a guilty verdict within 40 minutes.

Throughout the trial, extensive text messages and testimonies revealed a complex web of deception involving fake names, false promises of horse breeding profits, and attempts to cover up the fraud. O’Brien’s defense included naming a “friend and barrister” as the stallion’s owner to navigate the male-dominated horse industry, but the court found inconsistencies in her story. The trial also highlighted the personal toll on both parties, with Blake suffering serious health issues and O’Brien facing intimidation and legal scrutiny. Now convicted, O’Brien awaits sentencing in Limerick prison, marking a dramatic fall from her previous international business dealings to incarceration.