The international fraud case Coan et al. v. Dunne et al. emerged when Sean Dunne transferred hundreds of millions of euros to his ex-wife, Gayle Killilea, characterizing these transfers as gifts motivated by love and affection, pleading they were for "cooking the odd meal and ironing the odd shirt." However, the couple's marital status was challenged by the trustee, Richard Coan, represented by Thomas H. Curran.
After fleeing from his creditors in Ireland, Sean Dunne started businesses in Connecticut and Manhattan, purchasing and developing assets in his then-wife's name. Dunne had meticulously arranged to funnel money through his wife, which then he used to support his U.S. businesses.
Confusion regarding the couple's marital status and motives arose during the United States District Court proceedings when Gayle Killilea was referred to as Mr. Dunne's "wife or ex-wife" in court filings. Despite Dunne's claims that the transfers were made from love and affection, the couple was involved in lengthy Irish family law proceedings. Ultimately, the couple divorced in 2019, and the Irish High Court issued a decision instructing both Nama and the trustee to keep the family law documents strictly confidential to ensure there would be no public dissemination.
Although Killilea expressed that there had been an invasion of her family's privacy leading up to the trial, the District Court of Connecticut (Meyer, J.) honored the Irish High Court's request for confidentiality during trial, ensuing that the family matter remained private in a manner that was narrowly tailored to serve those compelling interests.
Despite Dunne's insistence that the transfers were made in consideration of the couple's marriage, the jury found in favor of the Trustee and concluded that Dunne made actual and constructive fraudulent transfers to his wife to hinder and defraud his creditors and awarded in excess of seventeen million euro €17,000,000.00 plus more than $278,000.00, in damages.
You can read the full article at: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/divorce-not-on-cards-for-sean-dunne-and-gayle-killilea/30355109.html
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