Well-known businessman and horse owner Conor Clarkson has appeared in court charged with fraud offences. Mr Clarkson (59), a property developer who owned 2005 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Kicking King, appeared at Bray District Court charged with the use of several false instruments, including a deed, an indenture and a death certificate.
A co-accused, Mr Clarkson’s business associate Paul Wrynn (45), also appeared in court charged with a related offence.
Evidence of arrest, charge and caution was handed into Judge David Kennedy by a prosecuting garda.
The judge was told the Director of Public Prosecutions had directed both accused be sent forward for a trial on indictment to the Circuit Court.
The charges carry a maximum prison term of 10 years.
Judge Kennedy was told the State had an application to make slight amendments to the charges. There was no objection to the amendments from Mr Clarkson or Mr Wrynn, who were both in court.
The case was adjourned to September for the service of a book of evidence.
Neither Mr Clarkson nor Mr Wrynn addressed the court during the brief hearing.
The circumstances surrounding the charges was not outlined in court.
Mr Clarkson, of Cairnfort, Enniskerry Road, Stepaside, Co Dublin, is charged with using several false instruments in October 2014. These include a deed and an indenture between a woman called Jean Duggan and James and Nora Ginty.
It is alleged Mr Clarkson knew these documents to be false and used them to induce another person to accept them as genuine, to the prejudice of Ms Duggan.
He is also accused of using another false instrument, a statutory declaration of Ms Duggan, dated October 20, 2014, with the intention that it be used to induce another person to accept it as genuine, to the prejudice of Ms Duggan,
A further charge relates to the use of another a false instrument, a death certificate of Peter Duggan.
His co-accused Mr Wrynn, of Roberstwood, Glensynge, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, appeared in court charged with using a false instrument, an indenture between Ms Duggan and James and Nora Ginty.
The alleged offence also relates to a date in October 2014.
All of the charges were contrary to the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001.
Mr Clarkson is a well-known figure in business and horseracing circles.
During the Celtic Tiger era, he was involved in the selling and letting of property in Ireland and abroad and had a stake in a charter airline.
Supported by Irish Nationwide Building Society, his company Ardenhill Property invested in property in the north of England.
However, in common with many other developers, his property-related debts ended up in Nama following the financial crisis in 2007 and 2008, and these were later sold to Promontoria, an Irish affiliate of vulture fund Cerberus.
In 2019, the High Court heard he had debts of €70m.
He faced a bankruptcy petition from a creditor but this was struck out in 2021 after a settlement was reached.
a false instrument is, in essence, a forgery. A document, usually financial (such as a cheque...remember them!) which is fake/forged/false in some respect. Using them generally involves persuading someone that they are genuine. So....."here is my cheque for the car you ares elling me...(even though the person signing it knows it is stolen/forged)"
a false instrument is, in essence, a forgery. A document, usually financial (such as a cheque...remember them!) which is fake/forged/false in some respect. Using them generally involves persuading someone that they are genuine. So....."here is my che
if this was in england his defence team would state stress and mental illness causing memory loss , brought on by the trauma of a unknown person dressed as santa claus running in front of his horse on boxing day !
if this was in england his defence team would state stress and mental illness causing memory loss , brought on by the trauma of a unknown person dressed as santa claus running in front of his horse on boxing day !
I wonder who got most of the 1000 AP when the trainer declared the horse out of the gold cup, only to experience a miraculous recovery.
One unlucky punter now has a £15,000 headache after Irish challenger Kicking King's victory in Friday's Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Earlier this month, the retired businessman clearly believed it was a massive odds-on certainty that Irish challenger Kicking King would not line up for the showpiece race.
And there were others who felt the same after trainer Tom Taaffe stated the horse would not be running because of illness.
So the punter, a former IT director, decided he could make an easy £15 by matching that amount to other gamblers' requests for odds of 1,000-1 on the computer betting exchange Betfair.
This meant he had a £15,000 liability should - by some miracle - Kicking King recover and go on to run in the race, and win.
Then a week later, Taaffe revealed his King George VI Chase winner had made a remarkable recovery and would line up after all.
And the local priest Father Sean Breen went to the trainer's Kildare stable on Saturday and blessed the horse, reporting him to be in good order.
I wonder who got most of the 1000 AP when the trainer declared the horse out of the gold cup, only to experience a miraculous recovery. One unlucky punter now has a £15,000 headache after Irish challenger Kicking King's victory in Friday's Cheltenha
Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001
Using false instrument.
26.—(1) A person who uses an instrument which is, and which he or she knows or believes to be, a false instrument, with the intention of inducing another person to accept it as genuine and, by reason of so accepting it, to do some act, or to make some omission, or to provide some service, to the prejudice of that person or any other person is guilty of an offence.
(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on conviction on indictment to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or both. https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2001/act/50/section/26/enacted/en/html#sec26
Dude gone from being a high flyer in the property development arena to conman. Fell into a financial hole around 2007/08 and now facing the hole when the case goes to a higher court. No details of the crime in the article but i bet half of Ireland knows the deets by now.
Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001Using false instrument.26.—(1) A person who uses an instrument which is, and which he or she knows or believes to be, a false instrument, with the intention of inducing another person to accept i