In a plot worthy of one of his blockbuster comedies, French singer Dany Boon is said to have been duped out of $6.8 million by a guy posing as an Irish lord and is now fighting for his money in the Dublin courts.
Boon’s Irish lawyer, Rossa Fanning SC, told the High Court in Dublin earlier this month that Birles had defrauded him through a complex network of fictitious firms.
Birles was originally introduced to the star through a mutual sailing contact, he added.
The Welcome to the Sticks and Nothing to Declare star claims to have been duped by Thierry Fialek Birles, also known as Terry Birles and Thierry Waterford-Mandeville.
Following the removal of an embargo imposed as Boon’s legal team scrambled to obtain a temporary injunction freezing the accused’s assets, reports about the case have begun to emerge in the Irish and French media in recent days.
Boon alleges Birles informed him that he was a partner in the South Sea Merchant’s Mariners Ltd Partnership (SSMM), which had been in his family for a century. He also persuaded the actor that he was from an ancient noble Irish family.
According to The Irish Examiner’s in-depth analysis on the issue, Boon claims to have paid €2.2 million to SSMM for the repair of his boat and then advanced another €4.5 million for investment in a Bank of Ireland-backed vehicle providing tax-free returns.
