Liam Kirkaldy (Reporter)
HE has been one of the coast’s most colourful characters for years.
Regularly hosting charity auctions and appearing on radio phone ins, he even had his own restaurant column in a local newspaper.
But now things appear to have come unstuck for ‘Sir’ Nigel Goldman with police and lawyers actively seeking his whereabouts.
The self-styled poker wizard, who dealt in gold and coins, has allegedly fallen foul of regulators by offering bad financial advice and leaving investors empty handed.
Spanish police are now probing two of his financial companies – Harvard Private Client and International Financial Investment – with Goldman allegedly fleeing the country back to the UK.
A separate police report has now been filed with Action Fraud UK.
Two victims alone, expats Roy and Jennifer Feather, claim to have lost €550,000, while another Geoffrey Whitton claims to have lost over €20,000.
“I’d like to find him and get my money back,” said Whitton, a writer, from Cornwall, currently based in Madrid.
According to Marbella lawyer Antonio Flores of Lawbird, there are ‘likely to be’ many more victims.
Public school educated Goldman – who lived in an upmarket Elviria development and drove a Mercedes – certainly had pedigree. Indeed, he penned a biography High Stakes, chronicling how he lost £14 million and served two prison terms for fraud.
But after arriving on the Costa del Sol over a decade ago he claimed to be a reformed character and reinvented himself as a stockbroker and gold trader and could often be seen at fairs and conferences buying and selling coins.
He maintained a high profile, via his charity work, including the hosting of this year’s Positively Pink Ball and had a restaurant column in the Euro Weekly News, with his sidekick – a well-known Costa DJ.
He travelled the world to attend his beloved poker tournaments and his friends included singer Stephen Lloyd Morgan and Nick Holland, as well as former cavalry officer James Hewitt and Sir Mark Thatcher.
He and the latter had at least one thing in common. They both had knighthoods, although, as he often bragged that his had been bought, meaning he could use the prefix ‘Sir’ before his name and use it on his email and even on his credit cards.
His dealings went mostly under the radar for years, despite a number of posts on the Internet.
It was only when he set up a new business International Financial Investment PLC, based in Tangier, earlier this year that he started to run into trouble.
Despite not being regulated he was encouraging people to invest in Morocco.
It seems the Spanish authorities finally got wind of what he was up to and shut down the operation. Goldman confirmed to friends this summer that both his bank account and paypal facilities had been ‘frozen’.
Almeria-based journalist David Jackson has been highlighting Goldman’s activities for the last year on his blog.
“I have been contacted by several people who claim they have invested money in his company and are now trying to get hold of him.” he told the Olive Press.
“These included several elderly people who have invested their life savings.”
He insists that he has refused to remove his blog despite Goldman phoning him up angrily threatening to sue him.
Goldman has also now seemingly fallen foul of the poker community.
Blackballed
One restaurant Frankies, in Marbella port, banned him from the weekly tournament in September after he was caught marking cards.
Its owner said: “Scottish Jim nearly swung for him, he had taken a couple of hundred off him before we realised. He is blackballed now and is no longer welcome at any of the poker places in Marbella.”
The Olive Press was unable to contact Goldman this week for a comment.
Another public school. !!!! !!!!
Not naughty as you reported. A thief with no morals
Got away with it because of papers like this!
You gave him credence to exhort money from the weak and trusting DO NOT trust anyone unless you KNOW. Them not what you read or hear
End of. Merry Xmas & new year
I went to a public school too. Never ripped anyone off though. You see, it takes all sorts.
Berty Basset went to public school, he was all sorts!
Anyone with half a brain would have sussed him out from his food articles.It always seemed that whenever he praised an establishment there was a full page ad inn the publication and as for styling himself as a food critic any paper that he wrote for should be ashamed of themselves.The publicity he gained from his high profile column would no doubt encourage people to trust him.
There’s lots more that I can say but there are so many similar con men down here that its a waste of time telling the public to be careful
john sutton
Caveat emptor – always.
The reality is that like so many on the CDS that have come and gone there is not a bad word spoken about them for years.
Everyone talks about how great their `friend` was and when they get exposed as a scammer they change sided quicker than the italian army.
Will never change in the wild west (or south as it may be)
I have met Nigel Goldman many times over the years mainly at charity events. I wouldn’t consider myself a friend yet I am acquainted with many who know him well. These people are obviously perfectly aware of his past. Including his previous incarceration! All anyone ever had to do was Google Goldman’s name. Not the substance of the allegations, but just Google his name and you can also easily find a great amount of information about him. From what I have been told Goldman had few good friends, yet many acquaintances. Those that knew him well and knew his past appeared to always keep him at arm’s length. I have a feeling there’s far more of this story to come out and his true colours will soon become apparent to friends, acquaintances and the public alike. I am sure everyone will then make up their own minds as whether they will support him or not! I would not say, as the previous post has indicates, that it will be as clear cut as so called “friends” “changing sides” just because accusations have been levied against Mr Goldman.
i knew nigel…very nice man.funny,loved himself,done a lot for charities,interesting conversations a lot of the time.would i had let him loose with my money?…no.the same with a lot of people….horses for courses..wise up people!!!!!!!!!!1
What are you saying Flowella? That you would rather tar all of Goldman’s friends and associates with the same brush rather than put the spotlight on what he has actually done? I agree with David! This story still has a way to run!
Unsure exactly what he’s accused of! It’s already in the public domain that he admits to losing over €800,000 of investors money in an alleged Moroccan Ponzi scheme. What illegalities is he accused of though? He is not a registered or regulated independent financial advisor in any country. Surely anyone investing with him have done so totally at their own risk. We´ll see where this story goes as it seems we don´t know all the facts yet.
Morris…. I’d say that “losing €800,000 of investors money in an alleged Moroccan Ponzi scheme” is fairly illegal, anyway you cut it!
I have known Nigel Goldman for some 35 years and, love him or hate him, he is a CHARACTER !!.He is charming, ruthless, charismatic, clever, generous but I wouldn’t shake hands with him without counting my fingers afterwards.When he showed me the prospectus for International Financial Investments at his palatial ( rented ) home in Elviria a few months ago I couldn’t stop laughing. It was such an obvious scam that I couldn’t beleve that anyone would fall for it and I told him so. By the way has anyone else noticed that the initials of his company spell “IFI”!!!.
He even did me for a few grand once but, ater a while, I forgave him and we became friends again, por que ?,he is wonderful company, can be a real friend, and is great value, as long as you keep him away from your money !!.I have no idea where he is now but, knowing him as I do, it is nowhere that he is thought to be.
Just another one to be found out on the coast….how many are left…? many am sure. Guilty ? a big question mark…if obvious intent to defraud then yes…but a tricky one to prove and people are not forced to invest…greed makes them…. Nigel is not the first or the last…. beware people and think…!
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels !!!
Did me out of a large sum. But not through IFI showed it to me and I laughed. Suppose to pay my money back last may but said I did not inform him intime, which i did anf=d have the emails and letters to prove it but said I could not have my money back until this april. I think he is in Morocco enjoying our money!!!
Nigel Goldman is in Morocco!
We saw him there 3 days ago and he has been there since November.
He spends his time between Fez and Tangiers and has an office there.
No sign of his Russian girlfriend though.
He looked tired, drawn, and has lost a load of weight (probably around 4 stone) since we last saw him and he has died his hair black and grown a moustache. He was horrified to be recognised and ran out of the bar we saw him in!
Will people never learn? Never, ever, take financial advice from or invest your money through unregulated ‘advisers’. It’s easy to check whether they’re authorised or not (in which case you’d normally be compensated if they steal your money or give you bad advice) and if you don’t do it I’m afraid that you don’t deserve any sympathy. Spanish courts have a history of ‘laughing’ at investors who’ve lost money this way.
Regulated investment products recommended by highly-qualified (Chartered or Certified) regulated investment advisers, where you pay the investment company directly (and not the adviser) is the only sensible option IMHO.