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Vancouver Sun
a day ago
- Vancouver Sun
U.S. couple risk trial in France over stolen 18th-century shipwreck gold
Brest, France — An 80-year-old U.S. novelist and her husband are among several people facing a possible trial in France over the illegal sale of gold bars plundered from an 18th-century shipwreck, after French prosecutors requested the case go to court. Eleonor 'Gay' Courter and her 82-year-old husband, Philip, have been accused of helping to sell the bullion online for a French diver who stole it decades ago, but have denied knowledge of any wrongdoing. Le Prince de Conty, a French ship trading with Asia, sank off the coast of Brittany during a stormy night in the winter of 1746. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Its wreck was discovered more than two centuries later, in 1974, lying in 10 to 15 metres of water near the island of Belle-Ile-en-Mer. The wreck was looted in 1975 after a gold ingot was discovered during a site survey. Archaeologists in the 1980s discovered fine 18th-century Chinese porcelain, the remains of tea crates, and three Chinese gold bars in and around the shipwreck. But a violent storm in 1985 dispersed the ship's remains, ending official excavations. Years later in 2018, the head of France's underwater archaeology department, Michel L'Hour, spotted a suspicious sale of five gold ingots on a U.S. auction house website. He told U.S. authorities he believed they hailed from the Prince de Conty, and they seized the treasure, returning it to France in 2022. Investigators identified the seller as a certain Eleonor 'Gay' Courter, an author and film producer living in Florida. Courter said she had been given the precious metal by a couple of French friends, Annette May Pesty, today 78, and her now deceased partner Gerard. Pesty had told the Antiques Roadshow television series in 1999 that she discovered the gold while diving off the west African island of Cape Verde. But investigators found this to be unlikely and instead focused on her brother-in-law, now 77-year-old underwater photographer Yves Gladu. A 1983 trial had found five people guilty of embezzlement and receiving stolen goods over the plundering of the Prince de Conty. Gladu was not among them. Held in custody in 2022, he confessed to having retrieved 16 gold bars from the ship during around 40 dives on the site between 1976 and 1999. He said he had sold them all in 2006 to a retired member of the military living in Switzerland. But he denied ever having given any to his American friends the Courters. He had known the author and her husband since the 1980s, and they had joined him on holiday on his catamaran in Greece in 2011, in the Caribbean in 2014 and in French Polynesia in 2015, investigators found. The Courter couple were detained in the United Kingdom in 2022, then put under house arrest. French investigators concluded that they had been in possession of at least 23 gold bars in total. They found they had sold 18 ingots for more than US$192,000, including some via online sale platform eBay. But the Courters claimed the arrangement had always been for the money to go to Gladu. A prosecutor in the western French city of Brest has requested that the Courters, Gladu and Pesty be tried, according to a document obtained by AFP on Tuesday. An investigating magistrate still has to decide whether or not to order a trial, but prosecutors said a trial was likely in the autumn of 2026. The U.S. couple's lawyer, Gregory Levy, said they had had no idea what they were getting into. 'The Courters accepted because they are profoundly nice people. They didn't see the harm as in the United States, regulations for gold are completely different from those in France,' he said, adding the couple had not profited from the sales. Lawyers for the other suspects did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment. Courter has written several fiction and non-fiction books, some nautical-themed, according to her website. One is a thriller set on a cruise ship, while another is her real-life account of being trapped on an ocean liner off the Japanese coast during a 2020 Covid quarantine. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here .
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
Gold, lies and eBay: US novelist, 80, accused of selling stolen gold from 18th century shipwreck
What began as a glittering underwater mystery off the coast of France has turned into an international legal matter, the one now involving an 80-year-old American novelist and her husband. Eleonora 'Gay' Courter, a Florida based writer known for her marine themed fiction and her 82-year-old husband, Philip, are facing the possibility of standing trial in France according to The Guardian. Authorities accuse the couple of illegally selling gold bars stolen from an 18th century shipwreck Le Prince de Conty, a French trading vessel that sank in 1746 near Brittany. The vessel which had been on a voyage from Asia was discovered in 1974 and partially dug out by French archaeologists. The site revealed valuable Chinese porcelain, tea crates, and gold bars until a violent storm in 1985 scattered the wreck and halted official recovery efforts. However, the treasure apparently caught illegal attention long before that. In 2018, suspicions arose when head of France's underwater archaeology department Michel L'Hour, spotted five gold bars being auctioned on a US website. He contacted authorities who seized the items and returned them to France in 2022. The seller was identified as Eleonora Courter. Courter maintained she had received the gold from French contact, including 78-year-old Annette May Pesty, who once claimed on Antiques Roadshow that she found the treasure while diving off Cape Verde. However, investigators traced the origin of the gold ingots back to Pesty's brother-in-law, Yves Gladu, an underwater photographer with a long history of clandestine dives at the Prince de Conty site. In a 2022 confession, Gladu admitted retrieving 16 gold bars over a 23 year period between 1976 and 1999. He claimed to have sold them all to a Swiss retiree in 2006, denying any involvement with the Courters' stash. Yet investigators allege the Courters had access to at least 23 bars and sold 18 of them some on eBay netting nearly 200,000 dollars. The couple insisted the proceeds were meant for Gladu and said they had no idea the items were stolen. Their attorney, Gregory Levy, said they were nice people who were misled. 'They didn't see the harm, as US laws regarding gold ownership differ greatly from French regulations,' he said, adding that the couple did not profit personally from the sales. The Courters were arrested in the UK in 2022 and placed under house arrest. French prosecutors in Brest have since recommended a trial for the couple, Gladu, and Pesty. A judge is expected to rule on the matter soon, with proceedings likely to begin in late 2026. Courter has authored several novels and nonfiction works many set on the high seas including a memoir about being quarantined on a cruise ship during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
RTÉ News
a day ago
- RTÉ News
US couple risk France trial over stolen shipwreck gold
An 80-year-old US novelist and her husband are among several people facing a possible trial in France over the illegal sale of gold bars plundered from an 18th-century shipwreck, after French prosecutors requested the case go to court. Eleonor "Gay" Courter and her 82-year-old husband Philip have been accused of helping to sell the bullion online for a French diver who stole it decades ago, but have denied knowledge of any wrongdoing. Le Prince de Conty, a French ship trading with Asia, sank off the coast of Brittany during a stormy night in the winter of 1746. Its wreck was discovered more than two centuries later, in 1974, lying in 10-15m of water near the island of Belle-Ile-en-Mer. The wreck was looted in 1975 after a gold ingot was discovered during a site survey. Archaeologists in the 1980s discovered fine 18th-century Chinese porcelain, the remains of tea crates, and three Chinese gold bars in and around the shipwreck. But a violent storm in 1985 dispersed the ship's remains, ending official excavations. Years later in 2018, the head of France's underwater archaeology department Michel L'Hour spotted a suspicious sale of five gold ingots on a US auction house website. He told US authorities he believed they hailed from the Prince de Conty, and they seized the treasure, returning it to France in 2022. Investigators identified the seller as a certain Eleonor "Gay" Courter, an author and film producer living in Florida. 40-odd dives for gold Ms Courter said she had been given the precious metal by a couple of French friends, Annette May Pesty, today 78, and her now deceased partner Gerard. Ms Pesty had told the "Antiques Roadshow" television series in 1999 that she discovered the gold while diving off the west African island of Cape Verde. But investigators found this to be unlikely and instead focused on her brother-in-law, now 77-year-old underwater photographer Yves Gladu. A 1983 trial had found five people guilty of embezzlement and receiving stolen goods over the plundering of the Prince de Conty. Mr Gladu was not among them. Held in custody in 2022, he confessed to having retrieved 16 gold bars from the ship during around 40 dives on the site between 1976 and 1999. He said he had sold them all in 2006 to a retired member of the military living in Switzerland. But he denied ever having given any to his American friends the Courters. He had known the author and her husband since the 1980s, and they had joined him on holiday on his catamaran in Greece in 2011, in the Caribbean in 2014 and in French Polynesia in 2015, investigators found. The Courter couple were detained in the UK in 2022, then put under house arrest. French investigators concluded that they had been in possession of at least 23 gold bars in total. They found they had sold 18 ingots for more than $192,000, including some via online sale platform eBay. But the Courters claimed the arrangement had always been for the money to go to Mr Gladu. 'Profoundly nice people' A prosecutor in the western French city of Brest has requested that the Courters, Mr Gladu and Annette May Pesty be tried, according to legal documents. An investigating magistrate still has to decide whether or not to order a trial, but prosecutors said a trial was likely in the autumn of 2026. The US couple's lawyer, Gregory Levy, said they had had no idea what they were getting into. "The Courters accepted because they are profoundly nice people. They didn't see the harm as in the United States, regulations for gold are completely different from those in France," he said, adding the couple had not profited from the sales. Ms Courter has written several fiction and non-fiction books, some nautical-themed, according to her website. One is a thriller set on a cruise ship, while another is her real-life account of being trapped on an ocean liner off the Japanese coast during a 2020 Covid quarantine.
Local France
a day ago
- Local France
US couple risk France trial over stolen shipwreck gold
Eleonor 'Gay' Courter and her 82-year-old husband Philip have been accused of helping to sell the bullion online for a French diver who stole it decades ago, but have denied knowledge of any wrongdoing. Le Prince de Conty, a French ship trading with Asia, sank off the coast of Brittany during a storm in the winter of 1746. Its wreck was discovered more than two centuries later, in 1974, in 10 to 15 metres of water near the island of Belle-Ile-en-Mer. The wreck was looted in 1975 after a gold ingot was discovered during a site survey. Archaeologists in the 1980s discovered fine 18th-century Chinese porcelain, the remains of tea crates, and three Chinese gold bars in and around the shipwreck. But a violent storm in 1985 dispersed the ship's remains, ending official excavations. Years later in 2018, the head of France's underwater archaeology department Michel L'Hour spotted a suspicious sale of five gold ingots on a US auction house website. He told US authorities he believed they hailed from the Prince de Conty, and they seized the treasure, returning it to France in 2022. Investigators identified the seller as a certain Eleonor Courter, an author and film producer living in Florida. Courter said she had been given the precious metal by a couple of French friends, Annette May Pesty, today 78, and her now deceased partner Gerard. Pesty had told the Antiques Roadshow television series in 1999 that she discovered the gold while diving off the west African island of Cape Verde. But investigators found this to be unlikely and instead focused on her brother-in-law, now 77-year-old underwater photographer Yves Gladu. A 1983 trial had found five people guilty of embezzlement and receiving stolen goods over the plundering of the Prince de Conty. Gladu was not among them. Advertisement Held in custody in 2022, he confessed to having retrieved 16 gold bars from the ship during around 40 dives on the site between 1976 and 1999. He said he had sold them all in 2006 to a retired member of the military living in Switzerland. But he denied ever having given any to his American friends the Courters. He had known the author and her husband since the 1980s, and they had joined him on holiday on his catamaran in Greece in 2011, in the Caribbean in 2014 and in French Polynesia in 2015, investigators found. The Courter couple were detained in the United Kingdom in 2022, then put under house arrest. French investigators concluded that they had been in possession of at least 23 gold bars in total. They found they had sold 18 ingots for more than $192,000, including some via online sale platform eBay. But the Courters claimed the arrangement had always been for the money to go to Gladu. A prosecutor in the western French city of Brest has requested that the Courters, Gladu and Annette May Pesty be tried, according to a document obtained by AFP on Tuesday. An investigating magistrate still has to decide whether or not to order a trial, but prosecutors said a trial was likely in the autumn of 2026. Advertisement The US couple's lawyer, Gregory Levy, said they had had no idea what they were getting into. 'The Courters accepted because they are profoundly nice people. They didn't see the harm as in the United States, regulations for gold are completely different from those in France,' he said, adding the couple had not profited from the sales. Lawyers for the other suspects did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment. Courter has written several fiction and non-fiction books, some nautical-themed, according to her website. One is a thriller set on a cruise ship, while another is her real-life account of being trapped on an ocean liner off the Japanese coast during a 2020 Covid quarantine.
Toronto Sun
a day ago
- Toronto Sun
U.S. couple risk France trial over stolen shipwreck gold
Published Jul 03, 2025 • 3 minute read US authorities seized the gold bars after a French archeologist spotted a suspicious sale online. Photo by Sandra FERRER / AFP/File Brest (France) (AFP) — An 80-year-old US novelist and her husband are among several people facing a possible trial in France over the illegal sale of gold bars plundered from an 18th-century shipwreck, after French prosecutors requested the case go to court. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Eleonor 'Gay' Courter and her 82-year-old husband Philip have been accused of helping to sell the bullion online for a French diver who stole it decades ago, but have denied knowledge of any wrongdoing. Le Prince de Conty, a French ship trading with Asia, sank off the coast of Brittany during a stormy night in the winter of 1746. Its wreck was discovered more than two centuries later, in 1974, lying in 10 to 15 metres (32 to 49 feet) of water near the island of Belle-Ile-en-Mer. The wreck was looted in 1975 after a gold ingot was discovered during a site survey. Archaeologists in the 1980s discovered fine 18th-century Chinese porcelain, the remains of tea crates, and three Chinese gold bars in and around the shipwreck. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But a violent storm in 1985 dispersed the ship's remains, ending official excavations. Years later in 2018, the head of France's underwater archaeology department Michel L'Hour spotted a suspicious sale of five gold ingots on a US auction house website. He told US authorities he believed they hailed from the Prince de Conty, and they seized the treasure, returning it to France in 2022. Investigators identified the seller as a certain Eleonor 'Gay' Courter, an author and film producer living in Florida. 40-odd dives for gold Courter said she had been given the precious metal by a couple of French friends, Annette May Pesty, today 78, and her now deceased partner Gerard. Pesty had told the 'Antiques Roadshow' television series in 1999 that she discovered the gold while diving off the west African island of Cape Verde. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But investigators found this to be unlikely and instead focused on her brother-in-law, now 77-year-old underwater photographer Yves Gladu. The Prince de Conty shipwreck was discovered near the island of Belle-Ile-en-Mer in 1974. LOIC VENANCE/AFP Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP A 1983 trial had found five people guilty of embezzlement and receiving stolen goods over the plundering of the Prince de Conty. Gladu was not among them. Held in custody in 2022, he confessed to having retrieved 16 gold bars from the ship during around 40 dives on the site between 1976 and 1999. He said he had sold them all in 2006 to a retired member of the military living in Switzerland. But he denied ever having given any to his American friends the Courters. He had known the author and her husband since the 1980s, and they had joined him on holiday on his catamaran in Greece in 2011, in the Caribbean in 2014 and in French Polynesia in 2015, investigators found. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Courter couple were detained in the United Kingdom in 2022, then put under house arrest. French investigators concluded that they had been in possession of at least 23 gold bars in total. They found they had sold 18 ingots for more than $192,000, including some via online sale platform eBay. But the Courters claimed the arrangement had always been for the money to go to Gladu. 'Profoundly nice people' A prosecutor in the western French city of Brest has requested that the Courters, Gladu and Annette May Pesty be tried, according to a document obtained by AFP on Tuesday. An investigating magistrate still has to decide whether or not to order a trial, but prosecutors said a trial was likely in the autumn of 2026. The US couple's lawyer, Gregory Levy, said they had had no idea what they were getting into. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The United States returned the ingots to France in 2022Sandra FERRER/AFP/File Photo by Sandra FERRER / AFP/File 'The Courters accepted because they are profoundly nice people. They didn't see the harm as in the United States, regulations for gold are completely different from those in France,' he said, adding the couple had not profited from the sales. Lawyers for the other suspects did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment. Courter has written several fiction and non-fiction books, some nautical-themed, according to her website. One is a thriller set on a cruise ship, while another is her real-life account of being trapped on an ocean liner off the Japanese coast during a 2020 Covid quarantine. Sports Money News MLB Editorial Cartoons News
