Breifne O'Brien is a convicted swindler and former Irish socialite businessman.[1] A major figure in Ireland's Celtic Tiger economy, he has been called "Ireland's Bernie Madoff". His residences included a lavish family home in Glenageary, an apartment on Dalkey’s Vico Road and a golfing villa in Barbados. He drove an Aston Martin DB7 and had close to 100 bank accounts.[2] After admitting in 2008 to his investors—many of whom were close friends—that he had stolen millions of Euros of their money to fund a lavish lifestyle and could not pay it back, he was investigated by the Garda Síochána Fraud Squad.[3][4][5] It was reported that he referred to his investors as "suckers".[6][7] His mother put up his bail to get him out of jail and he was put on trial for fraud.[8][9] He pleaded guilty to a sample of charges brought against him involving sums totalling more than ten million euros. On 8 October 2014, O'Brien was sentenced to seven years in prison.[10] O'Brien appealed the sentence; the Court of Appeal denied the appeal in December 2015.[10] In July 2016, the High Court adjudicated O'Brien as bankrupt.[10] O'Brien was released on parole from prison in May 2018, having served approximately half of his prison sentence; he will be returned to prison if he comes to the attention of authorities.[11]
His family home is Carrigrohane Castle in Cork, Ireland. His father Leo was a businessman and his younger brother is RTÉ rugby commentator Daire O'Brien.[8] He was married to Fiona Nagle who divorced him after his fraud came to light, and he was renowned for hosting lavish parties at his home.[4][12]
References
edit- ^ Burke, Roisin (22 July 2012). "Rogue adviser Breifne O'Brien to cash in on Berlin sale". Sunday Independent. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ^ Kelly, Antoinette (21 September 2012). "Ireland's Bernie Madoff appears in court over investment scam". Irish Central. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ Sheehan, Maeve (18 December 2011). "The fall of King Con". Sunday Independent. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ a b "RTÉ star's €3k bet 'con': TV pundit Daire refused to pay wager says bookie girl". Sunday World. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013.
- ^ "O'Brien loses his sparkle". Evening Herald. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
- ^ Brennan, Joe Leogue and Declan (9 October 2014). "Fraudster Breifne O'Brien lived the high life on stolen cash". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Breifne O'Brien estranged wife Fiona Nagle defends herself against allegations – Random Irish News". Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
- ^ a b Hogan, Louise (21 September 2012). "Celtic Tiger party boy Breifne O'Brien bailed out by pensioner mum". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ Hogan, Louise (20 September 2012). "Socialite businessman Breifne O'Brien charged with theft of €11m". Irish Independent. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
- ^ a b c O'Faolain, Aodhan (25 July 2016). "Convicted fraudster Breifne O'Brien declared bankrupt". Independent.ie. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ^ "Fraudster Who Scammed High Society Pals Out Of Millions Out Of Prison". 13 May 2018.
- ^ "Fiona Nagle: How I moved on after 'very, very difficult period for all of us". evoke.ie. 15 February 2015.
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