Hoaxes of a con-man laid bare

He duped friends, friends of friends and his own father. He faked an email from an Italian shipping merchant.

The lengths to which Corkman Breifne O’Brien went to con millions from his victims and fund a lavish lifestyle of his own were laid bare in his sentencing hearing in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.

The court heard O’Brien, 52, used money stolen from investors to pay for an extension to his house, an Audi Q7 for his wife and the stamp duty on new properties, in a multi-million-euro Ponzi scheme.

According to his lawyers, he now lives on social welfare, has lost his family and assets, is estranged from his elderly father and shunned socially.

The sentencing hearing was adjourned to October 8 so it can be established why O’Brien has not yet compensated any of his victims.