Estate agent stole €1.6m

A FORMER estate agent who stole €1.6 million after he used solicitor Gerald Kean’s name to encourage 25 investors to take part in a “Ponzi” scheme has been jailed for six years.

Eamonn Kelly, aged 48, told investors they could make €15,000 profit on a €50,000 investment within six months, if they bought sites he claimed he had identified in Britain.

He subsequently used funds from later investors to repay profits to the early investors to encourage them to re-invest in the scheme.