A prolific con artist is back in Scotland from Thailand, accused of stealing thousands of pounds from unwitting victims.
Brian Goldie, 56, who is using the name Gerald Brian Paterson, ran a plane company at Prestwick and bragged about being a wealthy businessman despite living in a caravan in Ayrshire.
He has been accused of stealing more than £50,000 from a pilot and is also in dispute over unpaid bills to an aircraft engineer at Prestwick Flight Centre.
Goldie has been a director of at least eight companies using his new identity and claims to work in the transport of precious metals from Southern Africa.
Pilot Neil Hawkyard says Goldie preyed on him between 2021 and 2022 and he ran off with £50,000 of his cash.
The dad of three contacted police in October 2022 after he stopped answering calls and emails.
He later discovered Paterson’s true identity was Brian Goldie and was horrified to learn of his convictions.
Goldie was alleged to have stolen money while working for the Royal Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh in 1992 and warrants were issued for his arrest. They were later cancelled.
By then Goldie was in Australia where he stole $200,000 (around £103,000) from Murrin Murrin, one of the world’s biggest nickel mining companies, in Western Australia.
After six years behind bars there, he moved to Thailand, setting up shop in Pattaya under the name Brian Goudie.
In 2012, the Sunday Mail exposed the fraudster who was claiming to be a top Scots lawyer.
He had conned an elderly woman out of $180,000 after promising to get her son released from prison when he was arrested for child abuse.
Reports from the time stated he failed to turn up for the trial after being released on bail.
Mr Hawkyard, 52, from Stratford-upon-Avon, said he was first introduced to Goldie in mid 2021.
He said: “I’d been going through a difficult time financially as it was the pandemic and there wasn’t a huge amount of work for pilots due to all the restrictions.
“My friend rang me and said ‘I’m flying for this guy, really wealthy businessman and he’s desperate to get someone on his books who can fly him around regularly.’
“When I started flying for Brian I went from basically earning nothing to at least £250 a day.”
Mr Hawkyard said Goldie would insist on being called “Mac” and signed his emails and texts with that name, as well as the name G.B Paterson. He never referred to himself as Brian Goldie.
Mr Hawkyard said: “I’d been flying him a lot and I even brought a plane up to Prestwick for him that he had.
“He was always boasting about his connections and said he was involved in mining precious metals in Zambia. He even talked about being a friend of the president of Guinea.
“He said, ‘I’ve been involved with these people in Africa and this investment has so much potential, you can make a massive return if you want to get involved.’
“I was quite desperate by that point because I have three daughters, I’d lost a lot of money through the pandemic.
“He said I could invest in shares and would receive a certificate as proof, and all the official documents.
“I feel so stupid now but I transferred him the money – £50,000. It’s basically all I had. That’s when it started going wrong.”
Mr Hawkyard says he was made a director in a company called Spin Aviation which, he was told by Goldie, was due to his employment as his pilot.
He later saw emails in the company system signed by him which, he claims, he knew nothing about.
Mr Hawkyard said he grew worried and wanted his money back from the investment scheme.
He claimed he hadn’t received any contracts or certificates and in one email Goldie said: “We are regrettably unable to ‘return your funds’ as there is no method available to do that which would not put you in breach of the Agreement.”
He signed it “G.B. (Mac) Paterson.” Mr Hawkyard says he managed to recover £25,000 via his bank.
He contacted the Financial Services Ombudsman and international financial bodies and reported his account of events to Kilmarnock police, but claims he was fobbed off.
Mr Hawkyard said: “The legal system has facilitated this. How does a criminal change their name and nobody looks into their past? How can they set up all these companies and get away with it?
“I feel let down by the whole system.”
Last week Goldie, going by the name Gerald Paterson, appeared at Ayr Sheriff Court accused of threatening and abusive behaviour towards Adnan Soojeri, an engineer based at the Prestwick Flight Centre.
The court heard there had been a dispute over unpaid invoices. He was found not guilty of the charge.
Sources told the Mail Goldie was renting an office at Prestwick Flight Centre but thousands of pounds are now owed for the rent and storage of a plane owned by GMK Aviation - a firm which has Goldie is listed as the sole company director under the name Gerald Paterson.
Soojeri is also thought to be owed hundreds for aircraft maintenance. The plane, adorned with green stripes in a salute to Celtic Football Club, is now locked up at the facility.
Police Scotland confirmed it is investigating a report of fraud received in October 2022.
Goldie told the Sunday Mail the allegations were “made up” to discredit him and he has now retired due to a brain tumour.
The phone number used by Goldie appears on Whatsapp as a business number registered to a company called “Spin Group” but he claims he has “nothing to do” with Spin Aviation.
On the LinkedIn website, a Mac Paterson is listed as the “Director of Operations” at Spin Aviation.
He denied taking £50,000 from Mr Hawkyard and accused him of “making up an incredible story.”
When asked if he owed any money to Prestwick Flight Centre or to Soojeri, he said: “The company you are looking for is called Spin Aviation which has nothing to do with me.”
Asked why he had changed his name he refused to admit he was Brian Goldie.
Brian Goldie/Goudie/Gerald Brian Paterson story is here.....
