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DJ Carey, a former Kilkenny hurler, has received a five-and-a-half year prison sentence.

The 54-year-old, who previously resided in County Kildare, admitted guilt on 10 counts of defrauding people of money by pretending to be cancer in July.

Carey is one of the most admired and renowned hurlers to have ever played the sport, having won five All-Ireland titles and three other All-Stars.

A judge argued before the court that there was no other fraud that could be more reproachable.

13 people, including one of Ireland’s wealthiest entrepreneurs Denis O’Brien, were among the 10 counts that Carey admitted guilt to.

O’Brien provided Carey with lodging and transportation and more than €125, 000 (£109, 500).

Carey allegedly defrauded 22 people, totaling almost €400,000 (£350,000), according to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

About €44, 000 (£38, 500) has been repaid.

Carey’s cousin, friends, coworkers, and those who knew him through his athletic career were just a few of the victims.

When garda (Irish police) conducted an investigation, there was no evidence that Carey ever had cancer or had received treatment abroad.

According to the court, Carey claimed to have requested funding for treatment and had told the majority of his victims in Seattle, US.

He claimed to have filed a negligence lawsuit against St. James’s Hospital in Dublin and that he was in some cases told that the Health Service Executive (HSE) would pay him.

A police sergeant claimed there was no evidence of Carey ever receiving treatment at the Seattle hospital, according to the prosecution.

His general practitioner had no evidence that he had ever had cancer.

He had not traveled to the US since 2015, and there was no record of any unresolved claims against the HSE or the hospital.

When DJ Carey’s charges were first brought against him, this image was widely shared on messaging platforms and social media.

The photo shows DJ Carey with an iPhone cable taped to his face.

The former hurler should have “fallen into a rut” due to financial difficulties caused by his business collapse, according to Carey’s defense lawyer.

The former hurler’s ability to repay his victims was not immediately known, according to the court.

However, his defense lawyer claimed that his lawyer had been instructed to “heartfelt, sincere” scuze each victim.

Carey was informed that she had a chronic heart condition.

He urged the court not to impose an excessive sentence and that prison is an enormous punishment.

The judge applauded the recipients of Carey’s money for responding to him in what he perceived as his time of need.

Liam Williams has revealed that Gary Lockett, a seasoned boxing pro, had stopped him from resuming his career.

After suffering “several concussions,” Williams retired in February 2024 after a humbling first-round defeat suffered by Hamzah Sheeraz. He cited concerns over chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) from his experiences.

The former world title challenger announced his comeback last week and has since stated to BBC Sport, “I feel like a new man.”

When it’s too late, Williams said, “I would not want to look back and wish I had a few more fights.”

After being down twice in the opening round of competition at London’s Copper Box Arena, Lockett decided to save his fighter from Sheeraz.

After that, he concurred that Williams was “done.”

Although the pair remained close, the former middleweight’s return to Lockett’s Cardiff gym earlier this year was met with a cold shoulder.

Gary disregarded my training. Williams recalled that he said, “I’m not really interested.”

He said, “I care about you dearly, and that’s not just a boxer-coach relationship,” and that I was a good friend.

Unsurprisingly, Lockett’s duty of care for his rival was lacking.

He was in Nick Blackwell’s shoes when he went into an induced coma for more than two weeks after suffering a bleed on the skull against Chris Eubank Jr.

Williams’ stablemate was also Blackwell.

Williams acknowledged that he had a hard time filling the void left by hanging up his gloves, like so many other retired fighters.

“It was]rubbish]. After a few weeks or months, life becomes “is this it?” ‘”, he said.

Since I was nine years old, I have boxed. It’s inside of me. That’s why I’m who I am.

By persuading Lockett, the Welshman persuaded him that his stable’s top talents, including former world champion Joe Cordina, former world champion Gavin Gwynne, and British champion Rhys Edwards, could still give him something in the sport. The pair is now getting ready to resume working together.

The Machine, whose record is 25-5-1 and has 20 wins via knockout or stoppage, said, “Things went very well, no one took my head off.”

“You can drop dead if you go and get another concussion.” I thought I could still fight against Eubank Jr., which was a bit of an idiot move, he said.

I was putting on too much weight. It’s difficult to recover from that last week, when you lost the most weight in the 12 to 18 hours before the weigh-in.

I was contemplating “I’m going to fall over” while standing on the scales.

After battling to reach the 11st 6 lbs. (160 lbs.) middleweight weight limit, Williams intended to return eight pounds heavier at the “safe option” of super-middleweight.

Thoughts of CTE permeate his mind despite his newfound apprehension.

He said, “I always have had children, which is something I have to think about.”

At this point, two years ago, it was much more of a worry. I’ve put my belongings together now, and I’m doing things right.

Williams insisted that after four months of training, he had won back the confidence of his coach and that he was also much more in a better state of mind than when he was battling Sheeraz.

He says, “I’m happy, you are looking good,” Williams said after our conversation.

“I’m at the point where I’m ready to make an announcement right now.”

What else can a man like the British, European, and Commonwealth boxing world expect from him?

“I’ve returned for the same reason I once boxed for.” The only thing that would happen would be to win the world title. Realistically, he said, “I don’t know if I’ll go back there.”

“The only goal is to fight as many fights as possible,” he said. I’m going to fight one more time, not as a five-year comeback.

“We will have longer if things are going well.” It won’t be that long if things don’t go as planned.