A man allegedly converted their life savings of USD500,000 to gold and threw it in the trash to keep his soon-to-be ex-wife from getting it. Earl Ray Jones of Colorado Springs in the U.S. claimed that he’d rather have their money go to waste than give her wife of 25 years a single nickel of it.

The 52-year-old former defence contractor stunned his wife’s divorce attorney at a July deposition when he told them his outrageous move.

The Gazette has obtained a transcript of his sworn interview, in which he said that he threw the gold, which consists of a mix of coins and bars, to a Dumpster behind a motel.

The bank records he supplied proved that the money was converted to gold through a precious metals dealer in Phoenix, Arizona.

He initially wanted to withdraw the money in cash, but the bank wouldn’t comply with his request.

“If that would have been an option, I would have been walking around giving people $100 bills,” Mr Jones said in the transcript.

With that crossed out as an option, he raided his and Ms Jones’ retirement and investment accounts instead, subsequently converting them into gold.

His as-yet unproven claim is not backed by any witnesses as he apparently did not document the actual disposal of his fortune.

Although shocking, dumping half a million dollars in the trash is not Mr Jones’ true crime. He is facing sentencing on November 4 for beating up and holding his wife April Jones captive in their home during an argument over finances in March.

Ms Jones filed for divorce three weeks later, while her husband resigned his USD82,000 per annum job in fear of losing his government security clearance. She has been left “destitute” by their split since she is unable to work because of the effects of the injuries she obtained from the hands of her husband.