“My only goal is to protect my children’s rights and ensure they inherit not just what was promised, but the truth.”
This is not a story of misunderstanding or poor communication. It is a story of systematic betrayal of how one individual, Lynn Bruce, is alleged to have abused her position as director, trustee, and family member to divert value away from the family, conceal information, and protect herself at the expense of those she was legally and morally bound to protect. At its core, this is a story about money taken from a family, shielded behind corporate structures, legal indemnities, and silence.
But what began as an act of love and foresight would, years later, become the center of a painful story involving betrayal, financial deceit, and the erosion of family bonds.
Lynn Bruce, a director of Anderco, and her husband Alan Bruce, Managing Director, were daughter and son-in-law of Thomas Kiernan Snr. Brother worked in the business from 1994 until 2016.
A family trust established by Thomas Kiernan Snr and unknown to Brother at the time was purportedly created for the sole benefit of Brother and his children. Lynn Bruce acted as trustee. According to the records, this trust later became a vehicle through which losses, penalties, and exclusions were imposed, rather than protection provided.
Trusteeship confers power. It also imposes strict duties. The documents describe how that power was allegedly used against the beneficiary.
In 2015, Brother informed Lynn and Alan Bruce, privately and responsibly, that he required cancer surgery. He followed medical advice on recovery. What followed, according to the records, was not support but opportunism.
Shortly after his return to work, Brother was ambushed with a surprise referral to a company doctor, initiated by HR. He was then suspended, isolated, and exited from the business. The stated reasons were later abandoned, and the matter settled only after external intervention.
The records allege that Brother’s illness was used as leverage a moment of vulnerability exploited to remove him while he was least able to defend himself.
Compounding this, his confidential medical file was released into the public domain by an occupational health provider, described as a clerical error. The damage, however, was real and irreversible
The financial impact was immediate and severe. While still recovering, Brother and his children were forced out of their rented home. At the same time, Lynn and Alan Bruce continued preparations to sell the company quietly, without transparency, and without meaningful shareholder engagement.
The timing, as laid out in the records, raises serious ethical questions.
Between 2013 and 2017, Revenue findings reportedly named Lynn Bruce, Alan Bruce, and the company’s Financial Controller in fraud amounting to approximately €800,000. These were not minor accounting errors; they are described as deliberate, repeated acts.
Despite a reported €24 million turnover, Anderco was sold for around €2 million. The records allege that this collapse in value was manufactured, not accidental.
These actions are described as self-enrichment followed by concealment.
When Brother sought documentation he was legally entitled to, Lynn Bruce allegedly refused. Years of delay followed. Only after legal pressure did partial records emerge.
Instead of accountability, the documents describe how Lynn Bruce sought indemnities, legal shields, and private advice while allegedly telling family members that Brother was to blame for the Revenue penalties, despite her own name appearing in Revenue findings.This pattern deny, deflect, and delay is repeated throughout the records.
As trustee, Lynn Bruce owed fiduciary duties to Brother, his children, her niece, and nephews. The records allege that she:
These actions are described as occurring while Thomas Kiernan Snr was experiencing dementia raising profound concerns about influence, consent, and exploitation.
In plain terms, the trust is portrayed not as protection for family, but as a mechanism through which money was taken from them.
Following the sale, Lynn and Alan Bruce formed a new entity and acquired parts of the business for a fraction of their value. According to the records, they then invoiced the sold company for work linked to the very Revenue issues they had caused.
Alan Bruce also secured a lucrative consultancy contract, later terminated after findings of undisclosed competing activity. Meanwhile, the acquiring company itself was later fined millions for Revenue offences.
The documents describe a pattern: extract value, move on, repeat.
This is not merely a corporate dispute. It is, according to the records, a story of a sister who took money from her own family, used legal structures to shield herself, and left lasting damage in her wake.
For Brother, the outcome was devastating: loss of livelihood during cancer recovery, exclusion from a trust created for his benefit, and years spent trying to uncover what had been done behind closed doors.
For any family business, the lesson is stark: when power is concentrated, oversight removed, and loyalty weaponised, the greatest harm is often done not to companies but to families.