User:Autarch/Paul Singer (stamp trader)

Paul Singer was a businessman who was arrested and tried for fraud involving trading in stamps in Ireland. He was born in 1911 in either Bratislava or a place now in the Czech Republic, growing up in Austria and London. His father ran a brokerage which eventually collapsed in 1953. Shortly afterwards, Paul Singer moved to Ireland. He lived in Foxrock for a while.

Shanahans Stamp Auctions
He was introduced to Shanahans auctioneers in 1954 and with their help set up Shanahans stamp auctions. The company was to buy stamps and sell them at weekly auctions - a form of philatelic investment. It advertised itself to the general public. Paul Singer had some bidders at the auction working for him.

He published a magazine Green I.S.L.E. Philately to promote philately and his business. (I.S.L.E. stood for Irelands' Stamp Lovers Edition. )

Robbery
In May 1959 the office of Shanahans stamp auctions in Dún Laoghaire was broken into and an uninsured collection of stamps worth about half a million Irish pounds (1959 value) was stolen. Investors in the company began to demand their money.

Trial
Paul Singer was tried for fraud and sentenced to 14 years, though he was later acquitted on the instructions of a judge after a retrial.The foreman of the jury in the first trial was found to have a claim against Singer for 375 Irish pounds (1959 value). Paul Singer and his wife left after the acquittal, possibly for Canada.