Man on trial accused of €1.7m deception

A 54-year-old man from Aughavas, County Leitrim, has gone on trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court charged with defrauding five men of approximately €1.7 million. Simon Gold has pleaded not guilty to 22 charges including money laundering, theft, deception, and control of false instruments, alleged to have occurred between January 2010 and October 2012. The prosecution alleges that Mr Gold represented himself under multiple identities as a qualified financier and merchant banker to deceive victims into transferring funds. A wealthy Danish businessman and four Irish men, including a quarry owner and dairy farmer, are said to have been deceived into transferring money into bank accounts controlled by the accused. The prosecution claims Mr Gold used false documentation, including a fabricated ESB bill and purported bank drafts from a non-existent Irish Nationwide Bank, to facilitate the scheme. The trial before Judge Martin Nolan and a jury continues.