AN international event manager who used a forged Irish driving licence to get insurance has been convicted of fraud.
Robert Matthews (47), who organises concerts in Ireland and the US and has helped raise thousands for charity, was discovered to be using the forgery when gardai stopped him in south Dublin. He was fined &euro500 after Dublin District Court heard he had bought the licence through “some friends he worked with”. Matthews, of Guilford Road, Sandymount, admitted charges of making a false declaration for insurance purposes and using a false instrument. He undertook to produce them at Pearse Street Garda Station, but did not do so for some time. When gardai eventually got his insurance details from his broker, they discovered he had obtained cover on stating he had full valid Irish and US driving licences. The US licence was genuine, but the Irish one was false and the conversation with his insurance company had been recorded. He had three previous convictions for minor motoring offences. Silliness
Matthews had got the fake licence in 2004 and had only used it once since, his lawyer said. The delay in producing his documents only happened because he worked a lot in the US and was travelling back and forth at the time.