Former developer found near Cavan guilty of wasting Garda time

A former property developer, who faked his own kidnap until he was discovered in 2013 on a rural roadway near Cavan, has been given a two-year suspended prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to wasting Garda time.

Kevin McGeever (66) formally of Ballywinna, Craughwell, Co Galway, and with an address more recently in Clontarf in Dublin, pleaded guilty before Galway Circuit Criminal Court to making false reports about his alleged abduction by a criminal gang three years ago.

He was charged with making false reports and statements to gardaí on various dates between 29 January and 28 February 2013, claiming that he had been abducted and held in captivity for eight months.

McGeever was reported missing in May 2012 and not seen again until January the following year when he was discovered in a dishevelled state by a passerby on a rural roadway near Corlough on the Ballinamore road on the Cavan Leitrim border.

The word “thief” was inked on his forehead, he was emaciated, his beard had grown down to his chest and his finger nails hadn’t been cut for months. He claimed he had been abducted and held captive at gunpoint for eight months in darkness, in a freezing container.

He was subsequently was admitted to the Midlands Regional hospital in Mullingar, where he was treated for dehydration and malnutrition, before signing himself out two weeks later.

His story began to unravel when gardaí uncovered CCTV footage of him and mobile phone evidence showed he was making calls.
Gardaí began an investigation into the allegation of false imprisonment, however, McGeever was arrested by gardaí in Gort at a later date in relation to wasting garda time.