US actor denies involvement in alleged ?1.9m Dublin bank fraud

Hollywood actor Don Johnson has angrily denied reports that he is being investigated in connection with a €1.9 million bank fraud in Dublin.

The actor's name was reported to be a signatory on an account linked to the disappearance of €1.9 million from a series of linked deposit accounts originating at the Dublin branch of BNP Paribas.

However, Mr Johnson's publicist, Mr Elliot Mintz, said his client was not being investigated by any law enforcement agency and had no knowledge of any alleged bank fraud.

"I was speaking to him last night about this and he is outraged," Mr Mintz said. "This is untrue. Don is not being investigated by the FBI or any investigating agency. He doesn't have a bank account in Dublin, and has no knowledge of any investigation.

"We deny all the accusations. We consider it trash. The more this story is picked up, the more it impacts on his ability to do business. I can't tell you what kind of personal humiliation this subjects him to.

"We're infuriated by this and are asking the newspapers which wrote about this to come forward with evidence they have. We know Irish have a great respect for spoken and written word, and we didn't expect this kind of material to come from there."

It had been reported that gardaí believed the bank scam was a fraud involving a breach of the bank's internal computer security system. A Garda spokeswoman yesterday declined to comment on whether there was an investigation and if the actor faced questioning as part of the alleged fraud investigation. Similarly, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Los Angeles was last night unable to shed any further light on the allegations.

Employees at BNP Paribas yesterday evening declined to comment on the fraud allegations and a bank spokesman was unavailable. The bank's Dublin branch is based at St George's Dock, in the Irish Financial Services Centre.

The €1.9 million was reportedly moved initially to accounts in financial institutions in Spain, Latvia, and other countries, before ending up in Los Angeles.

It was also reported that Mr Johnson was in financial difficulty and had been forced to sell his 17-acre ranch in Aspen, Colorado, and had declared himself bankrupt in the US.

There have also been recent US newspaper reports that he was being pursued for a range of unpaid debts, while Los Angeles-based City National Bank reportedly sued the actor last March claiming he owed over $500,000 from an unpaid loan.

Mr Johnson's spokesman dismissed reports that his client was bankrupt.