Tag: Imperial Trustee Services

  • DWF Solicitors and their client Stephen Ward

    DWF Solicitors and their client Stephen Ward

    DWF’s clever PR chaps have come up with some impressive words to sell this law firm’s services: “We connect expert services with innovative thinkers across diverse sectors wherever our clients do business.”

    They even reach as far as the Spanish village of Moraira where Stephen Ward plies his evil trade.

    DWF is clearly a big firm (albeit, size isn’t everything).  However, one of their most senior litigation teams (twenty senior lawyers) upped and left a couple of years ago to join rival law firm Trowers and Hamlins.  These guys obviously didn’t make the leap because things were going swimmingly at DWF – and clearly, they felt no loyalty to their previous employers.  Either they were leaving a ship with a hole in the hull the size of Manchester, or they didn’t want to be associated with a firm that happily represented fraudsters.

    So how do I know DWF?  One of their nice lawyers, David Summerhayes, threatened to sue me for defamation when I exposed some of the frauds perpetrated by his client, Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Solutions.  Dear Dave got straight to the point in a letter to me on 8.5.2014:

    “We act on behalf of Mr. Ward, who trades as Premier Pension Solutions (“PPS”). Our client has become aware of many statements in which he is identified, both personally and through PPS, which contain false and defamatory allegations about him and his conduct. Of particular concern are the statements which convey an imputation of criminal conduct and fraud. The statements our client complains about convey the imputation that our client is guilty of criminal conduct and fraud. This is wholly false and highly defamatory of our client. The publication of these words has caused and is likely to cause serious harm to the reputation of our client.

    In light of the above, we now require urgently from you:

    1. Identification of where else you have published defamatory statements or similar allegations
    2. Your agreement to withdraw the defamatory allegations and undertake not to repeat them
    3. Your agreement to provide our client with an apology which shall be published on Facebook
    4. Your proposals to pay an appropriate sum of damages to compensate our client for injury to his reputation 

    In light of the seriousness of the matter, the on-going damage which is being caused to our client’s reputation and the simplicity in which these issues can be redressed, we require that you remove the defamatory allegations and respond with your suggested wording of apology by 4 pm on 22 May 2014.

    To be fair to Dave, he probably wasn’t aware at that point just how many thousands of lives his client Stephen Ward had ruined or how many £ millions worth of life savings he had destroyed.  But in the intervening four and a half years, you’d have thought that Dave might have done a bit of research on his client.  And told some of his mates at DWF what Ward has been up to.

    Moving forward to 2018, we now have the announcement that DWF is acting for the Insolvency Service in the matter of the winding up petition against Store First scheduled to be heard on 15 April 2019 at the Manchester District Registry of the High Court.

    Three hundred victims of the Capita Oak pension scheme were defrauded into transferring their pensions and having them 100% invested in Store First store pods.  A bunch of crooks – many of which are now under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office – set up this scam and mercilessly relieved the victims of their life savings.

    Store First is a company based Up North where they talk funny.  They make buildings that store stuff (kind of does what it says what it says on the tin).  Funny thing is, when you put your stuff in a Store First store pod, you can take it out again whenever you like.  However, when you put your pension in one of Stephen Ward’s pension schemes, that’s the last you ever see of it.

    So just to show Dave Summerhayes there are no hard feelings about his unfriendly threats to me back in 2014, I’m going to give DWF a few friendly hints as to how they might approach their case in the High Court in April 2019.  I’m going to be generous because I wouldn’t want them to look silly – so here are some points they might want to mention to the judge:

    Q: Who registered the Capita Oak occupational pension scheme with HMRC?

    A: DWF’s client Stephen Ward

    Q: Who produced the Capita Oak trust deed and rules?

    A: DWF’s client Stephen Ward

    Q: Who handled the transfer of 300 victims into Capita Oak – at £300 a pop?

    A: DWF’s client Stephen Ward

    Q: Who knew for certain that all 300 Capita Oak victims were doomed to lose their pensions?

    A: DWF’s client Stephen Ward

    Q: Who advised XXXX XXXX on how to operate the Capita Oak pension liberation fraud (Thurlstone loans)?

    A: DWF’s client Stephen Ward

    Q: Who advised XXXX XXXX  how to deal with ceding provider reluctance after the Pensions Regulator’s Scorpion warning?

    A: DWF’s client Stephen Ward

    Q: Who registered the “sister” scheme to Capita Oak – Westminster (now under investigation by the SFO)?

    A: DWF’s client Stephen Ward

  • Unqualified pension scammers banned

    Unqualified pension scammers banned

    Unqualified Pension Scammers Banned

    Articles like New Model Adviser’s report on some of the scammers behind the Capita Oak/Henley/Store First scam getting banned always makes me smile. Knowing that a few pension scammers (four in this case), are being named and shamed – as well as banned from being directors – motivates me to share information about these evil scams with the public.Pension Life Blog - Unqualified pension scammers banned - 4 scammers banned - imperial trustee services - Transeuro Worldwide Holdings

    Directors handed 34-year ban for £57m cold call pension transfers

    Citywire stated:

    “An investigation led by the Insolvency Service revealed the directors were connected with Transeuro Worldwide Holdings, which helped fund two introducer firms Sycamore Crown and Jackson Francis. The firms were involved in the transfer of £57 million of pension savings.

    Sycamore Crown director Stuart Greehan agreed to a nine-year voluntary ban as a result of false and misleading statements to encourage investors to transfer their pensions.

    Karl Dunlop, director of Imperial Trustee Services, and Ian Dunsford, director of Omni Trustees, agreed to bans of nine and seven years, respectively, for failing to act in the best interests of members and ‘failing to ensure investments were adequately diverse’.

    While not a formally appointed director of Transeuro Worldwide Holdings, Mike Talbot (AKA Stephen Talbot) accepted a nine-year disqualification undertaking for failing to disclose what happened to the millions of pounds of pension assets.”

    BUT, IN ADDITION TO THESE EVIL SCAMMERS, THERE WERE OTHER PLAYERS IN THIS APPALLING TRAGEDY AND THEY WERE NOT MENTIONED.  SO HERE ARE THE OTHER PEOPLE WHO PLAYED LEADING PARTS IN THIS FOUL PLAY:

    Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Solutions SL and Premier Pension Transfers Ltd – he handled the transfer administration from the original (ceding) pension providers.  He was, apparently, paid £300 per Capita Oak transfer – and would have known that he was condemning each member to certain loss of his or her pension.

    XXXX XXXX of Nationwide Benefit Consultants, The Pension Reporter, Victory Asset Management and Tourbillon, was clearly the “controlling mind” behind Capita Oak.  He also ran the Thurlstone loan scheme which paid 5% in cash to the Capita Oak victims as a “bonus” or “thank you”.  HMRC is now taxing these payments at 55% as they qualify as unauthorised payments.  XXXX XXXX then went on to launch the successful Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund scam which saw over 400 victims lose their pensions to high-risk toxic loans to Dolphin Trust in an STM Fidecs Gibraltar QROPS.  XXXX – as with most pension scammers – subsequently ignores the plight of the victims when the schemes eventually and inevitably collapse.  XXXX is under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office and was also responsible for the Westminster pension scam.

    Mark Manley of Manleys Solicitors – acting for XXXX XXXX.

    Stuart Chapman-Clarke, Christopher Payne, Ben Fox, Bill Perkins, Alan Fowler, Karen Burton, Tom Biggar, Sarah Duffell, Jason Holmes, Metis Law Solicitors, Roger Chant, Brian Downs, Phillip Nunn and Patrick McCreesh all played further prominent roles in this series of scams and profited to a greater or lesser degree.

    Pension Life Blog - Unqualified pension scammers banned - 4 scammers banned - imperial trustee services - Transeuro Worldwide HoldingsIt is believed that cold calling techniques were used to lure unsuspecting victims into this series of unregulated investment scams. Victims’ pension savings were transferred into bogus occupational pension schemes whose trustees/administrators were Omni Trustees and Imperial Trustee Services.  The schemes were Henley Retirement Benefit Scheme (HRBS) and Capita Oak Pension Scheme (COPS).  But the scammers also used a variety of SIPPS which included Berkeley Burke, Careys Pensions, Rowanmoor, London and Colonial and Stadia Trustees.

    As is often the case in scams like these, the victims were lured in with promises of so-called guaranteed high returns by spivs masquerading as advisers, who were also unqualified and unregulated to give financial advice.

    The unqualified advisers were able to transfer millions of pounds’ worth of pension savings into these schemes which included investments in unregulated storage units and over £10 million into COPS (Capita Oak) and over £8 million into HRBS (Henley). The promised high returns were never paid to the investors – but handed over to the scammers instead. The pension funds are now suspended with the funds trapped in these illiquid investments.

    The company directors have received a total ban of 34 years collectively. Here at Pension Life we would have liked to have seen lifetime bans all round.

    The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is now moving forward with their investigations against Omni and Imperial. They urge people who are members of HRBS (Henley) and COPS (Capita Oak) to contribute to criminal evidence against the scammers via a questionnaire.

    As always, the team at Pension Life urges pension holders to be wary of pension scammers. Never accept a cold call offer, be aware that scammers lurk everywhere and if it seems to good to be true it probably is!

    If in doubt just walk away!

  • BLACKMORE GLOBAL; NUNN McCREESH; SLATER & GORDON; PENSION SCAMS

    BLACKMORE GLOBAL; NUNN McCREESH; SLATER & GORDON; PENSION SCAMS

    Underlying assets of Blackmore Global are neither prudent nor low low risk.
    Pension Investments should be prudent and low risk. Not gambling on crap.

    BLACKMORE GLOBAL; NUNN McCREESH; SLATER & GORDON; PENSION SCAMS

    Blackmore Global is a UCIS (unregulated collective investment scheme) which is illegal to be promoted to retail, UK investors.  The fund is run by Philip Nunn and Patrick McCreesh (formerly of Nunn McCreesh – the lead generation and cold calling firm which introduced around 8,000 victims to the scammers who were running the Capita Oak and Henley pension scams in 2012/13).

    It is perhaps more than a little ironic that a pair of cold-callers who were facilitating hundreds of victims being transferred into schemes 100% invested in Store First store pods are now running their own investment fund – Blackmore Global.

    Slater and Gordon is a very large firm of no-win-no-fee solicitors with an office in Manchester.  I met their National Practice Group Leader and specialist in financial litigation and pension mis-selling in April 2015. His name is Craig McAdam.  After going through the various scams I was handling at the time, and the appalling damage done by the scammers to thousands of victims, Craig was thoroughly up to speed on how the scams worked.  He was also deeply committed to helping the Ark Class Action and other group actions.

    Nunn McCreesh provided the leads and did cold calling for Capita Oak and Henley
    Nunn McCreesh was the introducer of contacts for the pension scammers

    Craig McAdam confirmed by email on 16.4.15 that he was looking forward to working with me.  A week later he sent a draft engagement letter and confirmed that Slater & Gordon’s success fee would be 15% – although he did revise this up to 18% a couple of days later.

    The following month Craig McAdam confirmed he would be attending a meeting with Dalriada Trustees and Pinsent Masons with members of the Ark Class Action.  He also confirmed he would be talking to one of Stephen Ward’s many victims: a member of the London Quantum scheme whose trustee was Ward’s firm Dorrixo Alliance.

    A month later, Craig McAdam was examining the Capita Oak pension scam run by XXXX XXXX and administered by Stephen Ward, and asked me to put forward one of the victims as a creditor.  The Insolvency Service had wound up the trustee of Capita Oak: Imperial Trustees Ltd.  Craig then asked me if I was happy for Grant Thornton to be appointed as the insolvency practitioner and I confirmed that indeed I was.  I felt that Grant Thornton was a competent and ethical firm and could finally unscramble the mess created by the scammers behind Capita Oak and bring some form of resolution to the victims who were all introduced and/or cold called by Nunn McCreesh.

    I was delighted that the same day, one of the Capita Oak victims put herself forward willingly and eagerly as a creditor and Craig McAdam confirmed this to Grant Thornton the following day.  At the same time, Craig confirmed that one of the London Quantum victims was a client of Slater and Gordon and made a complaint to FCA-regulated Gerard Associates who had acted as the adviser in that case.

    Later in June 2015, Craig McAdam confirmed that Slater and Gordon was instructed by the Capita Oak victim who had volunteered to be the creditor in the liquidation of the trustee of the Capita Oak scam.  Craig also sent out letters of engagement to other victims.

    In July 2015 I sent a copy of the Insolvency Service’s Capita Oak/Imperial Trustee Services witness statement to Craig McAdam.  This statement confirmed that Philip Nunn and Patrick McCreesh’s firm Nunn McCreesh had supplied up to 300 leads a month (for 28 months) to the scammers who promoted and operated the Capita Oak scam: Jackson Francis, Sycamore Crown, Sanderson Clarke, Barncroft Associates, Nationwide Benefits Consultants, Speke Admin, Timoran Capital.

    The Insolvency Service witness statement mentioned Nunn McCreesh several times:

    “Members of Capita Oak indicated they were initially contacted by Patrick McCreesh of Nunn McCreesh and referred to Jackson Francis or Sycamore for the transfer of their pension to Capita Oak.  I wrote to Mr. McCreesh to request a copy of any sales and marketing agreement with Jackson Francis or Sycamore and details of commission received.”  Nunn McCreesh and their solicitors admitted they had been involved with the scammers and also Transeuro Worldwide Holdings – one of the main operators of the Capita Oak and Henley scams.  

    However, Nunn McCreesh was unable to produce copies of invoices or sales ledgers for the money received for their part in these scams.  Their solicitors also confirmed that Nunn McCreesh received a commission of 8% of sales and the Insolvency Service stated that there was a “lack of transparency” by Nunn McCreesh.

    The Insolvency Service also confirmed that some of the victims had been cold called directly by Nunn McCreesh.

    Being in possession of the Insolvency Service’s witness statement clearly galvanised Craig McAdam into an enthusiastic confidence to take on the Capita Oak case and asked me to send him through contact details of all the members.  He obviously realised that now the scam was clearly documented and the promoters – including Nunn McCreesh – were now identified without any question of doubt.  It was also documented in the witness statement that Nunn McCreesh had earned £900k out of providing at least 8,000 leads for the scam – 300+ of which ended up in Capita Oak and 200+ of which ended up in Henley.  It is not clear whether the 8% sales commission was on top of this.  8% of £10.8 million would have been a handsome sum indeed.

    I provided Craig McAdam with contact details for the Capita Oak Class Action members and on 21.7.15 he confirmed that cases were “being opened up smoothly”.  At the end of 2015, Craig attended a meeting of Class Action members and got to meet a group of victims in person.  There can be no doubt that Craig, by now, thoroughly understood the wickedness of the scammers and the profound distress and impending financial ruin of the victims.

    So for most of 2015, it looked like Slater and Gordon was going to represent the Capita Oak members – all of whom were initially introduced by Nunn McCreesh.  And it looked like Grant Thornton was going to be appointed as insolvency practitioner to Capita Oak’s trustee – Imperial Trustee Services Ltd.

    In the event, neither happened. But Capita Oak is now in the hands of Dalriada Trustees – appointed by the Pensions Regulator.  And the organisers, promoters and administrators of Capita Oak are all under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.

    Slater and Gordon now represents cold callers Nunn McCreesh
    Slater and Gordon now represents Nunn McCreesh

    In a very curious twist, Philip Nunn and Patrick McCreesh are now running the Blackmore Global UCIS.  They are doing the cold calling and the pension administration, as well as running the fund.  And you will never guess who their solicitor is: Steve Kunziewicz of Slater and Gordon (Manchester office).  And you will never guess who their auditor is: Grant Thornton.  You really couldn’t make it up.

    Victims of Blackmore Global are indeed extremely distressed.  They have either managed to redeem out of the fund at a loss after a protracted struggle, or they are stuck in the fund with no prospect of getting out of it any time soon (if ever).

    A year ago, the underlying assets of the fund were confirmed to one victim by Optimus Fiduciaries Ltd, an IoM domiciled company managing the Optimus Retirement Benefits #1 QROPS. Further research discovered these underlying assets were a load of toxic, illiquid, high-risk crap.

    Neither Slater and Gordon nor Grant Thornton will confirm what the assets are or how much they are worth – despite Nunn and McCreesh claiming the fund has “£17m under management”.  However, £17m is nothing more than a meaningless figure on a piece of paper until such time as the assets are independently verified and audited. Nunn & McCreesh have promised to publish audited accounts for over 12 months now, but failed to do so. One can only assume that to do so would instantly crystallise a true value far below the imaginary £17m and result in a sudden collapse of the fund.

    Meriden Capital Partners claim Nunn and McCreesh are lying
    Nunn and McCreesh claim Meriden Capital Partners are the investment manager to the fund

    I have asked Steve Kunziewicz of Slater and Gordon on numerous occasions this past couple of months to tell me what the assets are, but presumably Nunn and McCreesh won’t tell their own solicitor – any more than they will tell their own auditors.  Perhaps they told the Blackmore Global investment manager, Meriden Capital Partners in Barcelona?  The trouble is that Meriden Capital Partners deny that they were ever investment manager to the fund and that Nunn and McCreesh are lying.

    I hope the irony of this situation is not lost on the gentle reader: Slater and Gordon solicitors and Grant Thornton being “gamekeepers turned poachers”.  My suggestion to both firms is that they should choose their clients carefully and protect their public image diligently. Both firms should decide whether they want to be like Bark and Co who openly represent fraudsters, murderers, insider dealers, hackers, race fixers and other criminals.  Or whether they want to be on the side of justice for victims of pension and investment scammers.  Because they can’t do both.

  • CAPITA OAK – THE GINGER SCAMMER

    CAPITA OAK – THE GINGER SCAMMER

    In the Capita Oak pension scam, the “Ginger Scammer” – XXXX XXXX – is reported to have earned over £200k in transfer/administration fees alone. It is not known how much he earned in investment introduction commissions.

    The Ginger Scammer can afford to stump up some cash for the benefit of the victims of the Capita Oak and Henley Retirement Benefit Scams. Over a thousand victims are facing the partial or total loss of their pensions and are also now being pursued by HMRC for tax liabilities on the Thurlstone liberation “loans” operated by XXXX XXXX

    Here is the email sent to the lawyers acting for XXXX:

    Dear Dick

    I am setting out below the redacted tax appeal in respect of “Mr. X”.  He had the largest transfer in Capita Oak – and by definition the largest Thurlstone loan (operated by XXXX XXXX and Tom Biggar) and resulting tax demand.
    Mr. X’s case was the subject of a Pensions Ombudsman’s determination where Capita Oak was clearly stated to be a scam.   Undoubtedly the Ginger Scammer is familiar with the Ombudsman’s determination: https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/PO-3590.pdf
    Further, I am sure you have seen the FCA sanction against IFA Popplewell:
    £128 million worth of pensions investments is an awfully big number and I am sure that after all the money your client earned out of these scams, he can come up with sufficient funds to place in a secure account for the benefit of the victims who are now being pursued by HMRC for tax on the Thurlstone “loans”.  Although it is a matter of public record that XXXX earned well in excess of £200k in transfer fees in Capita Oak alone, it is inevitable that he will also have received some introduction commissions.
    The Thurlstone loans were operated by XXXX XXXX and therefore he must take responsibility for the tax liabilities on behalf of the victims.  Can you please both get back to me by return.  Ignoring this situation and turning your back on the Capita Oak victims is not an option.
    Regards, Angie
    ——————————————————————————————————————————————————-
                                                                                                                                                  

    HMRC Specialist Personal Pension Schemes Services – Attn Lynn Faulkner                                            11 April 2017

    Fitz Roy House

    Castle Meadow Road

    Nottingham NG2 1BD,

    United Kingdom

    Dear Ms Faulkner

    Ref: Mr. X: UTR: 9227156060 – Amount of Assessment: £31,473.89


    Please accept this as the appeal and request for     postponement of the tax sought by HMRC on behalf of the above-named taxpayer in respect of the protected assessment issued.  The grounds are as follows:
     

    1.       Capita Oak was registered by HMRC on 23.7.2012 (PSTR 00785484RM) by Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Transfers of 31 Memorial Road, Worsley and Premier Pension Solutions of Moraira, Spain.  

    2.       Capita Oak was also registered by the Pensions Regulator (PSR12006487) who had placed Ward’s Ark schemes in the hands of Dalriada Trustees – yet allowed him to register a further scheme with no regard to the risk that it might be a scam (as indeed it was).

    4.       This taxpayer – along with 300 other victims – was given the Thurlstone loan on the basis it was definitely not taxable by an individual who purported to be a financial adviser.  Had the victim known this would be treated as an unauthorised payment, he would not have gone ahead with the transfer. 

    5.       The Thurlstone loans were processed by two CII members practising as financial and tax advisors. They would have known there was a risk the loans would constitute unauthorised payments and result in tax assessments by HMRC.  

    6.       Once the transfer request had been signed by the victim, there was nothing further he could have done to influence any further transactions since these would have been outside of his control.  The trustees, Imperial, and the Thurlstone loan company were by now in total control of the transfer, investment and loan.  The victim had zero input or influence over what happened subsequent to the transfer being executed by the negligent ceding providers. 

    7.       There appears to be no evidence whatsoever that Capita Oak was set up for the purpose of providing an income in retirement for the members.  It must be questioned, therefore, whether it even constituted a pension scheme at all – save for the valid HMRC and tPR registration numbers.  As supported by the Insolvency Service’s witness statement, the following are compelling reasons why this was a bogus pension scheme from start to finish:

     ·         The trust deed was forged

    ·         The sponsoring employer – R. P. Medplant Ltd was stated to be in Cyprus

    ·         The sponsoring employer – R. P. Medplant Ltd did not exist – although there was a company registered in Cyprus called R. P. Med Plant Ltd (which was also used for the subsequent Westminster scam).

    ·         The scheme was set up purely as the “super fund” of a bunch of known, serial scammers, to earn investment introduction commissions of 46% out of Store First’s store pods

    ·         The scheme’s own bank – Barclays – didn’t know it was a pension scheme – and when Barclays eventually realised this, they blocked the account

    ·         No arrangements were ever made to communicate with the members.  Once the various scammers in their respective roles had earned their fees and commissions, they all simply walked away and abandoned the scheme and the members

    ·         The transfer administration was carried out by Stephen Ward, Level 6 qualified CII and author of the Tolleys Pensions Taxation Manual.  After the disasters of both Ark and Evergreen, Ward would have known he was condemning all the victims – whether transferring from personal or occupational pensions – to certain financial ruin and potential unauthorised payment charges

    ·         The unauthorised payment charges arose from the Thurlstone loans and the tax should, therefore, be sought direct from the extremely wealthy scammers – not from the victims of the large-scale Capita Oak scam.

    Angela Brooks – Chairman, Pension Life Group Action