In trouble again: How Tom Colton went from humble real estate investor to ‘psychic scammer’

Interviewed by The Irish Time At the event, they said they hoped the income would help them climb the property ladder in Ireland.

At some point in the years that followed, that dream turned sour. Last February, Mr and Mrs Colton threw themselves at the mercy of the High Court and got clearance for personal bankruptcy agreements that wrote off millions of dollars in debt, much of it related to real estate.

The couple’s failure to report one of those investments, their purchase of a villa in Lanzarote last September, could now threaten to nullify their agreements and the bankruptcy protections that came with them.

Her personal bankruptcy administrator has informed her of this Irish Independent he would have to seek an explanation and possibly bring the matter to the attention of the High Court and the Coltons’ creditors.

Colton also had a limousine business and dabbled in real estate development.

Since 2009 he has claimed to be a medium able to communicate with the dead. He founded the Spiritualist Union of Ireland and is a Registered Solemnisator.

Since 2016, he and his wife have been running a business called Grá Agus Solas ULC, which offers celebrations for wedding ceremonies.

Court records describe Colton as the company’s operations manager. His wife, who owns all the shares, is listed as the account manager.

The failure to declare the villa in Lanzarote is a far cry from Colton’s first exposure to controversy.

In the mid-2000s, he was a key figure in a $600 million real estate development on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.

A glittering start in Dublin in 2005 was attended by then-Prime Minister of St Lucia Kenny Anthony and soccer star Damien Duff, although the former international would later wash his hands of the project and not invest.

Thirty Irish investors provided €2.3 million in seed capital for the Sapphire Cove plan, which would include apartments, townhouses and hotels. But by the following year, the company behind the project had disbanded.

Colton later related this sunday world All investors got their money back.

Then, in 2015, he was sentenced to four years in prison, with the last 18 months suspended, after pleading guilty to stealing €322,070 from Co Monaghan couple Hugh and Mary McNally in 2005 when he worked as an accountant. The conviction led to reports calling him “the psychic imposter.”

Dublin Circuit Court heard the McNallys had attempted a tax settlement, but after Hugh McNally began showing symptoms of Alzheimer’s, Colton took action with his wife, who had never been part of the day-to-day running of the business.

The court heard that a check was written for an initial sum, but Colton later called Ms McNally to say he had good news and that a lower sum would settle the matter.

She agreed to his request for a signed blank check, which Colton then wrote for €400,000 and deposited into a bank account he controlled.

Only €78,000 of the money was paid to the Revenue Commissioners, with the rest being remitted to a company in the US.

Colton did not provide an explanation as to why he did so, but the theft occurred just a month after Sapphire Cove was launched.

It came to light when Ms McNally discovered in 2009 how little tax had been paid. After being challenged by one of her sons, Colton admitted to filling out the blank check and using the money for his own purposes.

Judge Michael O’Shea called the crime “extremely dishonest and fraudulent” and “coldly calculated”. Colton said he was “under tremendous pressure” at the time, with certain creditors “threateningly” demanding debt repayments and fears for his family’s safety.

Ms McNally brought a civil suit against the company where Colton worked and was awarded €240,000 which was paid out by an insurance company.

But she still had a loss of €83,000. Colton promised to pay her and the insurers back, and announced that earlier this year Irish Independent The problem has been solved.