The former Irish sports star who faked cancer by sticking an iPhone wire up his nose to trick people into sending him money has been branded ‘unforgivable’ by his former fiancée.
Sarah Newman, who starred on the Irish version of Dragons’ Den, claimed her ex-partner DJ Carey could have been ‘stopped’ if the Gardai had taken heed of her complaint against him back in 2012 – the year they split up.
On July 2, Carey, 54, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to 10 charges relating to dishonestly inducing 13 people to pay him money between 2014 and 2022, after he claimed he had terminal cancer and needed help funding the treatment.
Speaking to The Irish Independent, Newman said that she feels deep sadness for the victims who endured ’emotional losses’ as well as financial losses after being scammed by the hurler.
The Irish businesswoman founded a hugely successful hotel bookings site, which she sold in 2006 for £23 million, was in a relationship with Carey for nine years and the pair shared a home at the K Club, one of Ireland’s most exclusive golf and leisure resorts.
Speaking for the first time since Carey pleaded guilty to charges of fraud, Sarah expressed a deep sadness for the victims who endured ’emotional losses’ as well as financial losses after being scammed by the hurler.
‘I’m sure, like me, they have deeply questioned their judgment of human behaviour,’ she said.
‘And knowing what I went through, the emotional trauma is more devastating than any financial loss,’ Sarah, who broke up with Carey in 2012, told the newspaper.
The former Irish sports star DJ Carey, 54, who faked cancer by sticking an iPhone wire up his nose to trick people into sending him money even fooled his fiancee, she has revealed
The ex-partner of DJ Carey, Sarah Newman has also claimed he could have been ‘stopped’ much earlier after the disgraced hurler pleaded guilty to faking cancer to extort money as part of an elaborate, years-long scam. The former couple are photographed tog
The former Dragons’ Den businesswoman, who appeared on two seasons of the Irish version of the show, admitted she felt like ‘one of the biggest victims of Carey’s fraud after he deceived her during their relationship.
She condemned Carey’s actions as ‘unforgivable’ after her own mother died of cancer two years ago.
Sarah was actually one of the first people to alert the police about Carey after she filed a formal complaint that he was stealing from her in 2012.
Despite alerting the gardai, Sarah’s concerns were ignored – likely due to Carey’s ‘status and fame’ as one of Ireland’s greatest hurling players – comparable, in stature, to football legend Diego Maradona.
In a senior inter-county career that lasted for 15 years, he won five All-Ireland medals and his tally of 34 goals and 195 points from 57 championship games marks him out as one of the top scorers in the history of the game.
In a recent episode of the Crime World podcast, he was described as the ‘Maradona of hurling’ – one of Ireland’s native Gaelic games played outside with a stick (hurley) and ball (sliotar).
Asked why her complaint wasn’t taken seriously, Sarah – now known as Lady Digby following her marriage to Lord Henry Digby, the Baron of Offaly – said it was probably because Carey was such a big name in the sporting world.
‘These victims should not have become his prey if the gardaí had taken proper notice of me when I made formal complaints back in 2012 about DJ’s conduct, lies and deception,’ she said, denouncing the ‘miscarriage of justice’.
On July 2, Carey, 54 pleaded guilty to 10 charges relating to dishonestly inducing people to pay him money after he claimed he had terminal cancer and needed help funding the treatment
Newman, who appeared on season one and two of the Irish version of Dragons’ Den, has moved on from her turbulent relationship with the disgraced sporsp
Sarah, who broke into Ireland’s Rich List in the Nineties, explained she first learned about Carey’s con when they were living together at the K Club and set to be married.
Her world was turned upside down when one of their mutual friends, a wealthy businessman, confronted the mother-of-two about missed payments for a Range Rover he had given Carey on the understanding it would be paid for in instalments.
Unknown to Sarah, Carey had told the businessman he was receiving treatment for an incurable brain tumour at Mayo Clinic in the US after his cheques for the car bounced.
It was only when the businessman accosted Sarah about the missed payments did she learn that her to-be husband had lied about having terminal brain cancer.
When she asked Carey about his lie, he ‘gaslighted her’ and claimed the businessman was crazy.
Determined not to be swayed, Sarah told Carey to leave her house and broke up with the former hurling star – but she would soon discover this wasn’t the only time Carey had lied about being having health issues in order to get money.
While Carey’s betrayal left her unable to trust romantic partners – or let anyone else into her life – for 10 years, Sarah has since found love with Lord Henry Digby, the Baron of Offaly.
The couple, who tied the knot last November, now live in Dorset as Sarah claimed her life with Carey is only a distant memory and that she ‘moved on a long time ago’.
Sarah, who broke into Ireland’s Rich List in the Nineties, explained she first learned about Carey’s con when they were living together at the K Club and set to be married
Her world was turned upside down when one of their mutual friends, a wealthy businessman, confronted the mother-of-two about missed payments for a Range Rover he had given Carey on the understanding it would be paid for in instalments
When asked why Carey would have done something like this, Sarah told the newspaper she couldn’t comment on his motives but declared ‘what he did was unforgivable’.,
‘My own mother died from cancer two years ago.’
Over 20 years after she left Carey, Sarah has found happiness with her husband, Henry.
However, the Irish businesswoman, who sold her hotel bookings needahotel.con site in 2006 for a staggering £23 million, was caught up in legal troubles around the same time she ended things with Carey.
In 2011, she and Carey consented to court orders to repay around £7.4 million to Allied Irish Banks.
In 2016, she was declared bankrupt in the UK one week before Sarah was due to be questioned in the Dublin High Court about her debts to AIB.
At the time, Sarah reportedly still owed the bank more than £4.6 million but the businesswoman emerged from bankruptcy the following year.
Carey settled his debt with AIB in 2018 in a settlement that reduced his debt of over €9.5 million to €60,000 – just 0.63 per cent of the amount originally owed.
Over 20 years after she left Carey, Sarah has found happiness with her husband, Lord Henry Digby, and the couple live on his vast estate in Dorset
In 2015, speaking on RTE’s Ray D’Arcy radio show, Carey said: ‘I am not one of those who would say ‘I don’t care’ about repaying debt.’
‘You borrow money, it should be paid back,’ he said, adding that ‘to whatever extent that can be, I would still be conscious it has to be done’.
Carey’s family members are also well-known in the world of Irish sport.
His sister, Catriona, was a member of the Ireland women’s field hockey team and the Kilkenny senior camogie team.
Meanwhile his brother Martin was also a member of the Kilkenny hurling panel as the substitute goalkeeper.
Carey had appeared in court in late 2023 charged with 21 counts under the Theft and Fraud Offences Act, at which point a four-week trial was expected to take place this year.
On Wednesday, he arrived at criminal courts of justice where he was due to stand trial on deception charges at the Dublin circuit criminal court.
Instead, prosecuting counsel Dominic McGinn told the court that a jury would not be required as Mr Carey would be entering guilty pleas.
A sentencing date has been set for Wednesday October 29 and Carey was remanded on bail until then.
