• Nigel Goldman, 56, went on the run after police in Spain launched probe
• He is being investigated in Spain and the UK over £2.5 million fraud claims
  
• But a newspaper tracked him down to his modest bolthole in Berkshire
• Now he fears gang bosses are coming to get him at his new home
  
• Goldman said: ‘There is a bullet out there with my name on it’

A British poker ace who disappeared from Spain after allegedly stealing more than £2.5 million from investors is living in fear that hitmen are coming to kill him at his bolthole in Berkshire.

Playboy Nigel Goldman, who is being investigated by authorities in Spain and the UK, fled his Costa del Sol mansion in November.

His whereabouts were then exposed when a newspaper tracked him down to a modest house in the picturesque village of Kintbury, where he lives under the alias Howard del Monte.

But the 56-year-old, who counts James Hewitt and Sir Mark Thatcher among his social circle, is now convinced gang bosses want him dead.

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Fearing for his life: Nigel Goldman, from Birmingham, who is wanted by Spanish police after vanishing from his luxury Costa del Sol mansion amid a major cash probe

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Goldman, who drove a red Ferrari, has been found living in a modest home in the picturesque village of Kintbury, Berkshire under the alias of Howard del Monte.

He told The Sunday People: ‘There is a bullet out there with my name on it. A guy came to the door a few days ago but I refused to open it.

‘He shouted that I was “a dead man” and from an upstairs window I saw him pull a gun out of his pocket.

‘It was terrifying. I know he was sent to murder me. I called the police but he drove off ad high speed before they arrived.’

Goldman said he now fears someone will come back to ‘finish me off’.

Goldman is being investigated by the Guardia Civil and Action Fraud, the UK’s fraud and internet crime reporting centre.

Earlier this year the only trace of Goldman since he vanished in Marbella was a text message to a former employer three weeks ago which read: ‘I did not set out to be a thief.’

Spanish police were probing claims that the broker from Edgbaston in Birmingham, left people empty handed and unable to access their bank funds.

Nigel Goldman, who is being hunted by police for allegedly stealing from investors, was found living in a semi-detached house in Berkshire

 

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From the Costa del Sol to Berkshire: Nigel Goldman is being hunted by police for allegedly stealing more than 3million euros from investors

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Goldman’s lavish lifestyle seems to have been scaled down with his Ferrari being replaced with a Vauxhall Zafira

Nigel Goldman speaking after the Marbella Classic Poker 770

Police were unable to trace him after they received complaints about his Tangier-based company, International Financial Investment.

Ex-pat newspaper The Olive Press, based in Spain, tracked Goldman down using details on his eBay account Bensons Emporium.

He uses the site to buy and sell coins, stamps and antiques.

It was reported his lavish lifestyle seems to have been scaled down with his red Ferrari being replaced with a Vauxhall Zafira.

But a neighbour said: ‘Everyone in the village knows he’s Goldman, whatever name he goes under.’

Geoff Whitton, originally from Cornwall, is trying to locate €20,000 he says he handed to Goldman.
The 49-year-old writer said: ‘If he’s a legitimate businessman, why hasn’t he contacted me?

‘I gave €10,000 in May, 2012, and €10,000 two months later. Goldman made me a profit for two months, then a loss for the same amount.

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Goldman is said to have moved in the same social circles as cad James Hewitt (left) and Sir Mark Thatcher.

‘For the next one-and-a-half years, I was in limbo. He’d say, “Just trust me and you will receive a profit in October 2013”.’

Goldman, who enjoys swigging champagne and smoking expensive cigars, has a history of dishonesty, in his own book, ‘High Stakes: How I Blew £14 million’ published in 2006, he confesses being sent to prison twice for fraud.

A review on his book reads: ‘Goldman seems to show little remorse – and more than a little contempt – for the victims whose money he lived off so handsomely.’

Despite his past, Goldman is claiming that he, and others, have been duped this time and believes his brokers were running a Ponzi scheme with everyone’s money.

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From the Costa del Sol to this sleepy Berkshire village Kintbury

A Ponzi scheme is an investment operation that pays returns to its investors from existing capital or new capital paid by new investors, rather than from profit earned by the individual or organisation running the operation.

Goldman has admitted in writing to owing as much as £658,000 (€800,000). However a lawyer acting for investors who claim to have lost cash is stating that he is chasing €3 million, a figure rising daily.

Flashy Goldman made his name at some of the world’s biggest poker tournaments around the world, winning thousands.

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.

‘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.’

Goldman offered investments in a host of commodities including bullion, stocks and shares although he is not a regulated financial advisor due to his criminal convictions.

Roger Parks, a neighbour and friend of Goldman said that he even tried to get him to invest, although he chose not to, he said: ‘I have known him for 35 years.

‘When he showed me the prospectus for International Financial Investments at his palatial rented home in Elviria a few months ago, I couldn’t stopped laughing.

‘By the way, has anyone else noted the initials of his company spell IFI, as if “iffy”?’

A spokesman for Action Fraud confirmed complains had been lodged with the organisation about Goldman.

If those complaints are upheld, information gathered will be passed to either the Metropolitan Police or Fraud Investigation Bureau.

Nigel Goldman

A MAN previously convicted of fraud who owes investment clients a small fortune is living quietly in Kintbury after his champagne lifestyle in Marbella turned sour.

It is claimed he owes millions to creditors in Spain after his high-rolling investment scheme crashed and is now being investigated by Spanish and British police.

But Howard del Monte – formerly known as Nigel Goldman – has claimed in an exclusive interview with the Newbury Weekly News that he never intended for anyone to lose out, and branded some of the more lurid international press reports about him “lies”.

Speaking from his rented cottage in Kintbury, he said he had been hounded by the international press, national reporters and private detectives in recent months and weeks and still fears extradition to Spain.

By his side was loyal partner Suzanne Couling, a former Inkpen resident who met Mr Del Monte during an 11-year sojourn in Spain.

He was a well-known and colourful figure in the Marbella area for many years – where he had rebuilt his life following two prison terms for fraud whilst living in the UK – and persuaded many expats to invest in his investment companies.

Mr del Monte, originally from Birmingham, said this week: “It’s totally untrue that I owe £13 million, or more. The writ in Spain is for 650,000 euros and I very much regret that anyone had to lose money.”

The self-styled poker wizard, who also dealt in gold and coins, said his latest adventures began in 2008 when he won a trading competition on Talk Radio Europe’s previous guise REM, in which he turned 100,000 euros into 2.7 million.

After that, he said, would-be investors beat a path to his door pleading: “Make me rich, too.” Mr del Monte said: “I was approached by many expats, but because of my convictions under the Companies Act of 1948 for offences in the 1980s, the only way client funds could be handled was by trading through an off-shore entity.

“Everyone got good dividends between 2008 and 2012. ”

Speaking from his Kintbury home, Mr del Monte insisted he warned clients that their investments represented a gamble and that there were no guarantees.

The big crash and back to the UK.

When the crash came, it came in spectacular fashion he claimed. He said: “It all went wrong over a 24-hour period – very badly wrong. My portfolio was completely wiped out. I had only taken my eye off the ball for an hour but sometimes that’s all it takes.”

In August last year, said Mr del Monte, the Spanish tax authorities hit him with a bill at the same time as they froze all his accounts, including those of his clients. Despite vowing “never to return” to the UK in his autobiography, High Stakes, in which he also talks of amassing a £14million fortune, Mr del Monte was left with little choice but to come back to his home country.

He said: “I was totally unable to operate. I decided to come back to the UK. I was out of money, selling personal assets to pay clients.”

He claimed he was sympathetic to those clients who had lost out but insisted: “I was always careful to ensure people weren’t investing life savings and that they could afford to trade. But the Spanish press have started a campaign against me.”

Asked if, with hindsight, he would have handled the fallout differently, Mr del Monte said: “The mistake I made was coming back without explaining fully what had happened and why I was leaving. I could have handled that much better.”

He left Spain at the end of last year and was located this month by expat newspaper The Olive Press through his and Ms Couling’s joint ebay account. According to the paper, multiple complaints have been lodged about Nigel Goldman to Action Fraud UK – the UK’s national fraud and internet crime reporting centre.

Marbella-based lawyer Antonio Flores, currently representing a British expat couple who claim that Mr Goldman owes them around 640,000 euros, said he first became aware of Mr Goldman last October. Mr Flores added that although he is only representing one client, he said he is aware of “10 or 12” official complaints that have been made against Mr Goldman to the Marbella National Police since December 2013. He also said he believes Mr Goldman to owe “£2m – £2.5m” in total.

Mr Flores said he believed official paperwork was being compiled by the Spanish police. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police told the Newbury Weekly News that they were not aware of any complaints against Mr Goldman and said it would be the responsibility of the Spanish authorities to issue a European Arrest Warrant should they feel it necessary.

Reaction in Kintbury

The story of Mr del Monte residing in Kintbury has been picked up by several national newspapers and has got tongues wagging in the village.

One resident, who did not want to be named, told the Newbury Weekly News he was aware of a new face in the village who was calling himself ‘Howie’. “You can find Howie in the Blue Ball every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday nights playing poker,” he said, but added that he knew nothing of Mr del Monte’s past.

For the full exclusive interview with Mr del Monte, see today’s Newbury Weekly News.

• Nigel Goldman, 56, investigated by Guardia Civil in Spain and Action Fraud in Britain
• Texted a friend saying ‘I did not set out to be a thief’
  
• Goldman offered investments in a host of commodities including bullion, stocks and shares although he is not a regulated financial advisor
• In his book, High Stakes: How I Blew £14million, he confesses that he has been jailed twice for fraud
• Moved in same social circles as James Hewitt and Sir Mark Thatcher

A British poker ace who disappeared from his Costa del Sol mansion and was being hunted by police for allegedly stealing more than €3million from investors, has been found living in Berkshire.

Playboy Nigel Goldman, 56, who counts James Hewitt and Sir Mark Thatcher among his social circle, is being investigated by the Guardia Civil and Action Fraud, the UK’s fraud and internet crime reporting centre.

Earlier this year the only trace of Goldman since he vanished in Marbella, was a text message to a former employer three weeks ago which read: ‘I did not set out to be a thief.’

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Goldman, who drove a red Ferrari, has been found living in a modest home in the picturesque village of Kintbury, Berkshire under the alias of Howard del Monte

Spanish police were probing claims that the broker from Edgbaston in Birmingham, left people empty handed and unable to access their bank funds.

However police were unable to trace him after they received complaints about his Tangier-based company, International Financial Investment.

But now Goldman, who drove a red Ferrari, has been found living in a modest house in the picturesque village of Kintbury, Berkshire under the alias of Howard del Monte.

Ex-pat newspaper The Olive Press, based in Spain, tracked him down using details on his eBay account Bensons Emporium.

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From the Costa del Sol to Berkshire: Nigel Goldman is being hunted by police for allegedly stealing more than 3million euros from investors

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Goldman’s lavish lifestyle seems to have been scaled down with his Ferrari being replaced with a Vauxhall Zafira

He uses the site to buy and sell 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.’

Geoff Whitton, originally from Cornwall, is trying to locate €20,000 he says he handed to Goldman.
The 49-year-old writer said: ‘If he’s a legitimate businessman, why hasn’t he contacted me?

‘I gave €10,000 in May, 2012, and €10,000 two months later. Goldman made me a profit for two months, then a loss for the same amount.

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Goldman is said to have moved in the same social circles as cad James Hewitt (left) and Sir Mark Thatcher

‘For the next one-and-a-half years, I was in limbo. He’d say, “Just trust me and you will receive a profit in October 2013”.’

Goldman, who enjoys swigging champagne and smoking expensive cigars, has a history of dishonesty, in his own book, ‘High Stakes: How I Blew £14 million’ published in 2006, he confesses being sent to prison twice for fraud.

A review on his book reads: ‘Goldman seems to show little remorse – and more than a little contempt – for the victims whose money he lived off so handsomely.’

Despite his past, Goldman is claiming that he, and others, have been duped this time and believes his brokers were running a Ponzi scheme with everyone’s money.

A Ponzi scheme is an investment operation that pays returns to its investors from existing capital or new capital paid by new investors, rather than from profit earned by the individual or organisation running the operation.

Goldman has admitted in writing to owing as much as £658,000 (€800,000). However a lawyer acting for investors who claim to have lost cash is stating that he is chasing €3 million, a figure rising daily.

Flashy Goldman made his name at some of the world’s biggest poker tournaments around the world, winning thousands.

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.

‘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.’

Goldman offered investments in a host of commodities including bullion, stocks and shares although he is not a regulated financial advisor due to his criminal convictions.

From the Costa del Sol to this sleepy Berkshire village Kintbury

Roger Parks, a neighbour and friend of Goldman said that he even tried to get him to invest, although he chose not to, he said: ‘I have known him for 35 years.

‘When he showed me the prospectus for International Financial Investments at his palatial rented home in Elviria a few months ago, I couldn’t stopped laughing.

‘By the way, has anyone else noted the initials of his company spell IFI, as if ‘iffy’?’

A spokesman for Auction fraud confirmed complains had been lodged with the organisation about Goldman.

If those complaints are upheld, information gathered will be passed to either the Metropolitan Police or Fraud Investigation Bureau.

• Nigel Goldman, 56, made fortune playing poker and twice jailed for fraud
• Left three cats in Marbella mansion when he left three weeks ago
• Lawyers across peninsula claim he has fled with more than €3million
  
• Former classmate of Topshop giant Philip Green said to be in Morocco

A British poker champion is being hunted by Spanish police after disappearing from his Costa del Sol mansion with more than £2.5million of investors’ money.

Nigel Goldman, 56, who counts James Hewitt and Sir Mark Thatcher among his close friends, was been twice-imprisoned for fraud before relocating to southern Spain.

Now lawyers across the peninsula have launched appeals to reclaim at least €3million (£2.5million) – a figure rising every day.

The only trace of Goldman since he vanished in Marbella – reportedly leaving three cats – has been a text message to a former employer three weeks ago which read: ‘I did not set out to be a thief.’

Friends claim he is now in Morocco.

Spanish police started receiving complaints about his Tangiers-based company, International Financial Investment, three weeks ago.

Goldman, a former classmate of retail giant Philip Green, has admitted in writing to owing £658,000 (€800,000), however claims made to the Guardia Civil and UK fraud crime watchdog Action Fraud calculate the debt as more than triple.

Goldman, who drives a red Ferrari and collects champagne, made his fortune at some of the world’s biggest poker tournaments.

He laid bare his history of dishonesty in a book of memoirs – High Stakes: How I Blew £14 million – published in 2012.

A review of his book reads: ‘Goldman seems to show little remorse – and more than a little contempt – for the victims whose money he lived off so handsomely.’

Despite his past, Goldman believes he has been duped by other brokers were running a Ponzi scheme – where old investors embezzle money put in by new investors.

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Inquiries: Lawyers in three Spanish cities – Jaen, Almeira and Malaga – are chasing the ex-convict for £3million

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Disappeared: He is said to have fled his Marbella mansion on January 3, leaving his three cats behind

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The broker, who counts Mark Thatcher and James Hewitt as friends, lives in luxury and collects Champagne

According to the Birmingham Mail, he texted a friend to say: ‘Things started to go wrong just over a year ago.

‘It seems some of my brokers turned out to be running a Ponzi scheme with everyone’s money. Since then I have been playing catch-up.’

Giles Brown, a journalist for ex-pat newspaper The Olive Press in Spain said: ‘Nigel is a rogue.

‘Shake your hand and you count your fingers afterwards – but he always kept good company, he knew his wine and cigars and was impeccably dressed.

‘Now he’s vanished, leaving behind the furniture and three cats.’

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Goldman was jailed twice for fraud and laid bare his dishonesty in a 2012 book, High Stakes: How I Blew £14m

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Denial: He has admitted to owing ¿800,000 but believes he has been duped by investors in a Ponzi scheme

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 €3million.

‘It is large scale, Police have not yet issued an arrest warrant, but they are not far from doing that.’

Goldman offered investments in a host of commodities, including bullion, stocks and shares, despite not qualifying as a regulated financial advisor due to his criminal convictions.

Although police are currently scouring Spain for Goldman, a fellow poker player, who did not want to be named, claims he spoke to Goldman on January 3 who told him he was in Morocco.

Goldman is believed to be in MOrocco although police are currently hunting the peninsula

Goldman offered investments in a host of commodities although he does not qualify as a regulated financial advisor due to his criminal convictions

He said: ‘He’s in Morocco. Well, he was on January 3.

‘I spoke to him. Unbeknown to me, he was on his toes.

‘I have known him for years. We have sat opposite each other at many a poker table.

‘He didn’t have much to say, which is unlike him.’

A spokesman for Auction Fraud confirmed complaints had been logged by the organisation about Goldman.

If those complaints are upheld, information gathered will be passed to either the Metropolitan Police of Fraud Investigation Bureau.