By 
A FORMER Strabane journalist has spoken of his experience with con-woman Julia Holmes ahead of a new documentary about her crimes.
Conor Sharkey is one of a number of people interviewed for the documentary, ‘Swindlers’, which will be broadcast on RTE tomorrow evening.
Holmes’s crimes spread across three different continents and spanned 40 years – during which time she scammed millions from unsuspecting businesses.
After being convicted in the North of gutting local businesses of over £1m and sentenced to 21 months in jail, Holmes, who was originally from Castlederg, fled across the border and continued her criminal activity until she died in an apparent suicide pact with husband Thomas Ruttle at their Limerick home in 2015.
Conor recalled, “I can still remember when she entered the former Chronicle offices in Upper Main Street all those years ago.
“Julia was American, very well dressed with big hair and perfect make up, very glamorous looking. She came across as flamboyant, engaging.
“She told us that she had plans to take over some local businesses and was looking to advertise with the paper as well as do an interview about her plans to help the local economy. She was quite vague on her own background, not giving her full name insisting we call her ‘JJ’ but gave no cause for concern.
“Julia had somehow gotten herself well-embedded within the local business community to the point where she managed to convince them to extend her credit which allowed her to furnish her house and clothe herself, all with the promise that money was coming but, as we now know, never materialised.”
As time went on and local businesses were being left in debt, Conor says alarm bells began ringing.
Eventually the police were contacted and Ms Holmes was arrested on 22 counts of fraud and the full scale of her transatlantic crimes came to light. She was convicted in 2009, serving 21 months in prison.
Conor continued, “The next time I saw Julia was when the case came to court. She was no longer dressed in her fancy outfits, instead wearing the prison garb of grey trousers and matching jumper.
“As the trial went on, it emerged that she was wanted by the FBI, having already served time for property fraud in Texas. For me, the most jaw dropping moment came when it was revealed in court that Interpol was searching for this woman.
“I distinctly remember that, at no time during her trial, did she look at the people she had defrauded, keeping her eyes solely on the judge. When her sentence was handed down, she didn’t seem bothered about it at all, showing no remorse or emotion at all.”
After serving her sentence, Julia Holmes fled across the border where she continued her life of crime down the west coast before her death in 2015.
Reflecting on her legacy, Conor said, “This woman really hurt a lot of people who trusted her and saw her as a friend, and many of them have never recovered from the callous nature of her actions. When I heard she died, I felt it was a sad end to a sad life and that’s how I will remember this amazing chapter in local history.
“Her victims may feel it was a fitting end and there are many here who will never forget or forgive her for what she’s done.”
