British businessman hunted by police Costa del Sol found to be living in rural Berkshire
A British businessman who has been on the run from Spanish police for allegedly stealing EUROS 3 million from investors has been found living in a semi-detached house in Berkshire.
Nigel Goldman, 56, who claims to be a close friend of Sir Mark Thatcher and James Hewitt, is being investigated by the Guardia Civil and Action Fraud, the UK’s fraud and internet crime reporting centre.
He vanished earlier this year from Marbella after police received complaints about his Tangier-based company, International Financial Investment.
They were investigating claims the broker, originally from Edgbaston, Birmingham, had left people empty handed and unable to access their bank funds.
Goldman himself claims he, and other investors, were duped by his brokers who were running a Ponzi scheme – a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from existing capital or new capital paid by new investors, rather than from profit.
But now Goldman, who used to drive a red Ferrari, has been found living in a modest semi-detached house in the village of Kintbury, Berkshire, under the alias Howard del Monte.
Ex-pat newspaper The Olive Press, based in Spain, tracked him down using details on his eBay account “Bensons Emporium”. He uses the site to flog and buy coins, stamps and antiques.
When approached at his Berkshire home Goldman refused to comment and his lavish lifestyle seems to have been scaled down with his Ferrari being replaced with a Vauxhall Zafira.
But a neighbour said: “Everyone in the village knows he’s Goldman, whatever name he goes under.”
Goldman, a broker originally from Edgbaston, Birmingham, has been accused of leaving investors empty handed and unable to access their bank accounts.
The last known contact anyone had with him was three weeks ago when he sent a text message to a former employer which read “I did not set out to be thief.”
Goldman, who enjoys swigging on champagne and smoking expensive cigars, has a history of dishonesty, in his own book, ‘High Stakes: How I Blew £14 million’ published in 2012, he confesses being sent to prison twice for fraud.
Goldman offered investments in a host of commodities, including bullion, stocks and shares, although is not a regulated financial advisor due to his criminal convictions.
Lawyer Antonio Flores, said: “So far we have spoken to victims in Almeria, Malaga and Jaen.
“In our most recent estimate it looks like reaching 3 million euros.
“The first thing he did right was openly admit to all his wrongdoings and say he paid for it and was a new man.
“That was a success. People could not talk about his past, people actually felt sorry for him.
“It is large scale, police have not yet issued an arrest warrant, but they are not far from doing that.”
A spokesman for Auction fraud confirmed complaints had been lodged with the organisation about Goldman.
If those complaints are upheld, information gathered will be passed to either the Metropolitan Police of Fraud Investigation Bureau.