Ex-estate agent jailed for €1.6m investment con

A former estate agent who stole €1.6m after he used solicitor Gerald Keane’s name to encourage 25 investors to participate in a “Ponzi” scheme has been jailed for six years.

Eamonn Kelly (aged 48), who previously owned two RE/MAX Auctioneers franchises, told investors that they could make €15,000 profit on a €50,000 investment within six months, if they purchased sites he claimed he had identified in the UK.