Psychic scammer loses appeal against €1.6m money laundering conviction

A man from Aughavas, County Leitrim, has lost his appeal against conviction for money laundering and related offences at the Court of Appeal. Simon Gold, aged 56, was serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence following his conviction in June 2019 on 20 charges, including money laundering of €1.6 million, deception, and use of false instruments. The Court of Appeal dismissed all 12 grounds of his appeal. During his trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, evidence emerged that Gold had operated under multiple aliases and falsely represented himself as offering investment opportunities and loans to victims. A Danish businessman transferred €1.6 million to an account he controlled, whilst Irish victims, including a quarry owner and dairy farmer, were targeted with deposit schemes. The appeal court found no legal error by the trial judge in permitting the offences to be tried together, noting this presented a fuller picture of Gold's operations. Gold held 17 previous convictions spanning two decades.