Fraudster cleared of civil liability

FORMER investment guru Tony Taylor has been cleared of any civil liability for the €2.2 million he cost his clients in lost investments.

Following a deal between liquidator Paddy McSwiney and Mr Taylor, the convicted fraudster plans to have his criminal convictions overturned in the courts.

Mr Taylor, who admitted to a number of fraud charges at his trial, was given five years’ jail.

That was reduced due to time spent incarcerated in Britain after he fled Ireland leaving a trail of debt in his wake.

Mr Taylor has paid over €250,000 to Mr McSwiney, which was his share of the residual value of his fashionable home in leafy Ailesbury Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin.

His wife Shirley got €250,000, her half of the house after the mortgage was paid off, while a further €30,000 went to settle a personal debt of Mr Taylor’s outstanding to AIB.

Mr McSwiney said: “I am not in a position to comment further, because Mr Taylor will be initiating other proceedings and I cannot prejudice that action.” Contacted yesterday, Mr Taylor expressed no regret for the monies lost by his clients by investing in his companies. “I have no liability,” he said.

Pressed about his creditors further he said: “the simple fact is I have no liability.”

He asked also why none of them had pressed claims against him.

Indicating his intention to have his name cleared, Mr Taylor said: “I have serious new evidence and I have a very serious case to go to the Court of Criminal Appeal with.”

Such a move would give him the opportunity to tell his side of the story, he said. The case may now take the bizarre twist of the self-confessed fraudster going back to the courts to have the charges he pleaded guilty to be reversed.

Mr Taylor and his wife Shirley fled Ireland when the fraud was uncovered in 1996.

He returned and admitted to three claims of fraud at his trial.

In 1996, Mr McSwiney tried to have the couple held personally liable for the €2.2m losses.

The application was made under section 204 of the Companies Act. It was suspended pending conclusion of criminal charges that dragged on for several years.

In October 2001, Mr Taylor got five years in jail, but time served in Britain prior to his return to Ireland meant he was freed last year.

He pleaded guilty of carrying on a business for a fraudulent purpose and to destroying documents and records.

At the time, there were up to 16 charges against him, including the loss of €235,000 by the Society of St Vincent de Paul. He subsequently denied any loss to the charity.