Netflix true crime doc explores 'notorious' Dublin solicitor's 'web of deceit'
A "extraordinary" true crime series has arrived on Netflix, with each episode peeling back a "complex web of deceit".The streaming giant has built quite a reputation for true crime documentaries, and Swindlers has already broken into Netflix's top 10 most-watched programmes within days of dropping.Originally broadcast on Irish broadcaster RTE, Swindlers is now available to stream on Netflix - a three-part series chronicling the "extraordinary and shocking stories of some of Ireland's most renowned con-artists and white collar criminals".According to the official synopsis, the three tales will be recounted through the perspectives of victims, friends and colleagues who were duped, alongside the journalists and officers who pursued the cases.Each instalment will explore the characters of the fraudsters at the heart of each scam, examine their "calculated tactics", and reveal the techniques employed to ultimately bring them to justice.Swindlers devotes an episode to a separate "notorious crook", with the opening episode focusing on Julia Holmes from County Tyrone, Ireland.Characterised as an "international con artist, bigamist and sweet-talking criminal", Julia defrauded millions of pounds from numerous victims across three continents, utilising 40 aliases over four decades.She became the focus of multiple criminal investigations involving the FBI and PSNI, and served time in a Texas prison for fraud.The second episode, titled The Thomas Byrne Affair, examines Dublin solicitor Thomas Byrne, who embezzled €52 million from Irish banking institutions.Byrne also seized control of 12 of his victims' properties in what has been labelled "one of the biggest cases of white-collar crime in the history of the Irish State".Operating as a solicitor, Byrne managed to deceive both neighbours and clients by transferring properties into his own name without their knowledge or consent.He subsequently secured multiple mortgages from banks using their houses as security.The third episode, A House of Cards, examines "one of Ireland's most notorious investment fraud cases", referred to as the Custom House Capital (CHC) scandal.Its description states: "The scheme involved the systematic misappropriation of approximately €61 million in client funds, leaving more than 2,000 investors, many of them retirees, facing devastating financial losses."In this episode, several of the victims recount their harrowing experiences."Swindlers is available to watch on Netflix.
