The unraveling saga of Brian Goudie, fake lawyer and fugitive in Pattaya, Thailand.
The phantom barrister of Pattaya, Brian Goudie's dark tale.
In the shadowy underbelly of Thailand's resort city of Pattaya, where secrets are often more valuable than the truth, a remarkable tale of deception, fraud, and flight has played out. This is the story of Brian Goldie, a man who posed as a lawyer specializing in defending pedophiles in Thailand's notorious Pattaya, a city often dubbed "perverts' paradise."
Brian Goldie, 47, originally from Falkirk, Scotland, went by the alias Brian Goudie as he wove a web of deceit that ensnared unsuspecting victims, including an American woman who would lose £180,000 in his elaborate ruse.
Goldie, who had previously served time in an Australian prison for stealing $400,000 from a mining firm, reinvented himself upon arriving in Thailand. He masqueraded as a former Royal Marines officer and a qualified barrister who could practice law in both England and Scotland. His bogus law firm, "Alba Law," was established in a country where foreigners cannot practice law independently, making his act all the more audacious.
One of Goldie's most notorious scams involved conning an elderly American woman, Barbara Miller, out of £180,000. He promised to secure the release of her son, Gregory Miller, who had been arrested on child sexual abuse charges. Tragically, Gregory Miller never made it out of prison and passed away while awaiting trial.
Goldie's audacity knew no bounds. He prowled jails during visiting hours, promising inmates their freedom at a steep price. One of his biggest successes in this endeavor was securing the release of Ulster drugs trafficker Jimmy 'Doc' Halliday, who was suffering from a terminal illness. Goldie gained control of Halliday's assets and even renamed his pub and guesthouse, "The Blarney Stone" to "The Jaggie Thistle."
Goudie's fortunes took a turn when he encountered Jimmy 'Doc' Halliday in Nong Plalai, who was in an advanced stage of necrotising fasciitis and in desperate need of medical treatment to survive.
In local bars, Goudie declared his determination to save Jimmy's life, but bureaucratic obstacles hindered his efforts to secure hospital treatment for prisoners in Thai jails. Eventually, Jimmy was admitted to Pattaya-Bangkok Hospital, but the mounting bills prompted Goudie to initiate his next scheme. He fronted 1 million baht for Jimmy's hospital expenses and demanded assurance of repayment.
On May 18, 2011, while under police supervision at Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital, a purported meeting of shareholders for Jimmy International Limited was convened. Allegedly attended by Jimmy Halliday, who held 9,000 of the 20,000 shares, and seven Thai shareholders with 11,000 shares, these records claim that all shares were transferred to Ramidin Holding Company (Brian Goudie). Additionally, Halliday and Goudie were each assigned 100 shares in their names.
It's implausible that such a meeting took place, as graphic evidence of Halliday's deteriorating condition at the time clearly suggests that no shareholders would have been allowed access. Halliday remained in custody.
Two days later, on May 20th, Brian Goudie's name replaced Halliday's as the managing director of Jimmy International, as documented by the Department of Business Development. Tragically, on June 4th, just two weeks later, Jimmy Halliday passed away with few friends by his side, and a 'lawyer' who seemed solely interested in his assets.
In the same month, Brian Goudie sought court confirmation as the beneficiary of Jimmy Halliday's will. On February 20, 2012, a Pattaya judge ruled in favor of Brian Goudie, awarding him all of Mr. Halliday's properties, including a bar called the 'Blarney Stone,' an apartment, and an Isuzu DMAX car. This was a done deal, despite no evidence presented to the court regarding a will in favor of Jimmy's son and daughter.
Goudie, along with John Macdonald, a former pub owner from Glasgow, and Andy Mathews, a local estate agent from the British Midlands, transformed the 'Blarney Stone' in Jomtien Plaza, south of Pattaya, into the 'Jaggy Thistle.'
However, despite his apparent assets, Goudie faced financial constraints and turned to Mathews for a short-term loan. Mathews, who had lent him 400,000 baht (around £8,000 to £9,000) from his savings, grew concerned when Goudie missed repayments. It was then that John McDonald revealed the truth: Brian Goudie was not a barrister, nor a former Royal Marines officer, nor a martial arts expert; he was, in fact, a former convict.
Mathews, an amateur boxer, confirmed this revelation by searching the internet under 'Goldie' (Goudie's previous alias). Enraged, he confronted Goudie at the 'Jaggy Thistle' and demanded repayment, using colorful language. However, Mathews never received his money back, and in response, Goudie sued him. In court, Mathews had a lawyer who neither spoke English nor seemed interested in anything beyond his fee. Mathews was subsequently given a suspended sentence.
Brian Goudie, despite these developments, continued to masquerade as a lawyer, successfully deceiving many in the Pattaya Courts. Soon, he would uncover another lucrative source of income.
As Goldie's fraudulent activities came to light, his victims sought justice through private prosecutions, as the Thai justice system proved reluctant to investigate foreigners defrauding other foreigners. Goldie's reputation took a severe hit, and he was forced to sell "The Jaggie Thistle."
In a last ditch effort to salvage his dwindling fortunes, Goldie aligned himself with other dubious individuals in Pattaya, including Drew Walter Noyes and David Hanks. They launched SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) cases against those who had exposed them, attempting to drain their financial resources.
Despite his legal troubles, Goldie clung to Pattaya, where he had found an ideal environment for his schemes. However, it appeared his days in Thailand were numbered as he faced arrest warrants and mounting pressure from those he had wronged.
As the Thai justice system slowly closed in, Goldie found himself in a precarious situation, torn between love and freedom. His girlfriend, Neung, wanted to go to North America, but Goldie's past deeds made that option unattainable. Reports suggested that Goldie was running out of time to surrender and face his fraud charges, with his passport hanging in the balance.
The intriguing case of Brian Goldie, the fake lawyer who lived a life of deceit in Thailand's shadows, serves as a stark reminder of the complex interplay between law, deception, and justice in a city where the line between reality and illusion is often blurred.