High Court Rules in Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund Case against James Hadley and associates.
In a recent High Court judgment, Judge Mr. Nicholas Thompsell found that the Cayman-Islands based Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund (TMAF) was involved in an illegal conspiracy to “extract commissions from the investments.” The defendants, who were also behind the 2013 Store First pension investment scam, were found guilty of acting together to establish TMAF and deceive investors.
The claimant, Doran & Minehane, the liquidator of TMAF, argued that the investments were uncommercial transactions, potentially fictitious, or involved undisclosed self-dealing benefiting the conspirators. The investments were designed to exploit and misappropriate pension funds for the defendants’ benefit.
The judge determined a deliberate intention to harm TMAF, stating that the arrangements aimed to generate commissions for the conspirators at the fund’s expense. The accused faced a range of serious accusations, including breach of financial services regulation, fiduciary duties, and involvement in unlawful means conspiracy.
The victims, who suffered significant losses due to these schemes, have our sympathy. The court’s judgment establishes solid principles of liability, which may lead to a faster receipt of claimed monies and reduced legal costs for the defendants.
For the full judgment, click here: High Court Rules in Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund Case against James Hadley and associates.
This is a helpful lesson for victims and potential victims of pension and investment scams. The FSCS compensation payments will be funded by levies on the decent, qualified and ethical IFAs who don’t operate scams. Justice and education combined in one bitter pill.
This Cayman Islands-based fund is being liquidated and it is uncertain whether there will be any recovery for the victims whose pensions were invested in it.
Nearly 250 STM Fidecs QROPS members stand to lose £25 million.
Given the uncertainty of recovery by the liquidator, we felt it was essential to issue proceedings so that the victims’ interests would be protected.
STM Fidecs – a QROPS provider in Gibraltar – has issued the following update to the Trafalgar Multi Asset victims:
“Following an investigation into the status of the Fund’s investments, the Company’s directors determined that it would be in the best interests of the Shareholders to wind down the Fund and to focus on the recovery of assets and the distribution of such assets to those entitled to have recourse.”
STM Fidecs appointed Stephen Doran of Doran + Minehane as liquidator.
The update issued by STM Fidecs has given victims very limited information relating to the current status of the liquidation of the fund or the prospects of recovery. However, it has made it clear that there was “misappropriation of funds” and that there were investigations ongoing.
STM Fidecs has stated that it has recently commenced litigation against “various parties” and a claim has been issued against thirteen defendants in respect of misappropriated monies.
Whether the guilty parties will be brought to justice, or whether there will be any money left over for the victims after the the liquidator has been paid in full, remains to be seen.
It is well known that the Trafalgar Multi Asset scam has been under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office. This was announced by the SFO on 22 May 2017. Other schemes promoted by the same team of scammers included the Capita Oak and Henley pension scams which were promoted by Sycamore Crown Ltd, Jackson Francis Ltd, Portia Financial and Nunn McCreesh.
It is also known that the same scammers who were promoting Capita Oak, Henley and Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund were also promoting the Blackmore Global Fund run by Phillip Nunn and Patrick McCreesh. Nunn and McCreesh’s Blackmore Bond is currently in the hands of administrators Duff and Phelps.
Victims of all of these scams are still invited to contact the Serious Fraud Office if they have any evidence they wish to provide in order to help bring the fraudsters to justice: hazel@sfo.gov.uk
Forsters – the firm which Pension Life is working with – have liaised with the Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund investor committee (which currently includes a doctor and a police officer). Forsters and Pension Life are working towards bringing about the best possible outcome for the victims.
There may be serious doubts over whether the liquidation by Doran + Minehane will result in any meaningful returns for the victims. However, this litigation will give them a decent chance to get a large proportion of their pensions back.
Forsters LLP is a leading law firm with an exceptional track record of successful dispute resolution. It is not a no-win-no-fee firm, and it has no connection with any claims management companies.
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.
“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.
It 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!
SAIL FINANCIAL AND TRAFALGAR MULTI ASSET FUND: What is the connection?
Who is behind Sail Financial? And what is the connection to Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund? We know Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund was originally run by XXXX XXXX as “Victory Asset Management” and that XXXX had also been behind the Capita Oak, Henley Retirement Benefits Scheme and Westminster pension scams: wound up by the Insolvency Service; now in the hands of Dalriada Trustees and under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.
We also know that the £120 million of store pods purchased for Capita Oak, Henley RBS and hundreds of SIPPS are now probably worthless and Store First is subject to a winding up petition due to be heard on 1st August in Manchester.
In addition to being the Investment Manager of the Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund, XXXX was also the “financial adviser” in the form of his firms Global Partners Limited and The Pension Reporter – a “trading style” of XXXX’s Nationwide Benefit Consultants. But none of these firms were licensed for pension or investment advice.
However, Joseph Oliver’s Marcus Groombridge has stated:
“I can confirm that XXXX XXXX and Nationwide Benefit Consultants Ltd were appointed on the 29th of May 2014 and terminated on the 8th of April 2016. The permission for insurance mediation covers pension advice.”
Phew! What a relief. I am now looking forward to Mr Groombridge’s full cooperation with putting XXXX XXXX’s victims back into the position they should have been in had they not been scammed into investing their pensions in the Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund in the first place. I will also probably remind Mr Groombridge that the Trafalgar matter is under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office – along with other pension scams “distributed” by XXXX XXXX in 2012/13.
If there hadn’t already been enough misery for the hundreds of victims of the Capita Oak and Henley Retirement Benefit schemes run back in 2012/13 – XXXX had also been operating pension liberation in the form of “loans” from his company Thurlstone, based in the Seychelles. The victims have now been sent tax demands. But XXXX and his solicitor, Mark Manley of Manleys Law, have ignored pleas to indemnify the victims from these crippling tax liabilities.
I have often wondered what people like XXXX do after their latest scheme collapses or implodes. History tells us that they simply get straight on with their next one – and in fact had probably started it already. XXXX has been a director of seven companies (according to Companies House):
Nationwide Benefit Consultants (active)
Nationwide Corporate Benefits (active)
Proactive Administration Solutions (active)
Nationwide Trustee Services (dissolved)
Ashton Abbott (dissolved)
Nationwide Tax Administration (dissolved)
Admin Protection (dissolved)
XXXX has resigned from Nationwide Benefit Consultants and Nationwide Corporate Benefits – and appointed someone called Raymond Hampton as a director. But XXXX remains a director of Proactive Administration Solutions. So perhaps that is one to watch.
XXXX’s background is in the “distribution of pension schemes” (his words). He has worked closely with the cold-calling and lead generation firms (such as Jackson Francis, Sanderson Clarke and Barncroft Associates run by XXXX´s mates Ben Fox and Stuart Chapman-Clarke) who were involved in the Capita Oak and Henley scams.
So what is XXXX doing now? Perhaps whatever project he is working on involves trying to make enough money to compensate the victims of Capita Oak, Henley, Westminster and the Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund – all of the schemes are now under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office. It is also probable that Gibraltar Trustees STM Fidecs no longer want terms of business with XXXX XXXX now that so many of his schemes are subject to criminal investigations. STM Fidecs also probably now realises it was a serious conflict of interest taking business from an adviser who was also the Investment Manager to the Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund – which is now in the process of being wound up.
While I was idly puzzling over what XXXX´s next scheme might be, I started hearing reports about a firm called Sail Financial doing the rounds of firms in Europe – touting offering to do “introducing” and cold calling. Looking at the Sail Financial website, it is impossible to see who is involved in the business – no names, no address, no regulation. According to the Companies House register, Sail Financial – incorporated on 8.5.2015 – has two directors: Robert Hathaway and Brian Westhead. Neither of those names rang any bells with me.
Hathaway has no other directorships listed. However, Westhead does: he is listed as a director of a dissolved company called BIGB22 (08559856). This company’s previous names were Portia Financial and The Pension Reporter: XXXX XXXX’s firms. These firms have a history of being involved in pension and investment scams, cold calling and unregulated financial advice. The victims of the Trafalgar Multi Asset/STM Fidecs pension and investment scam were introduced and “advised” by Portia Financial, GPL (Global Partners Ltd) and The Pension Reporter, with advice letters signed by XXXX XXXX and Tom Biggar.
So clearly there is a connection between Sail Financial and various firms and schemes run by XXXX XXXX – including Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund. Perhaps XXXX XXXX is sailing round the Mediterranean now? I just hope he doesn’t have one glass of champagne too many and fall overboard.
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.
£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.
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
“Gibraltar is a highly regulated and transparent jurisdiction, coupled with the benefits of a Gibraltar-based regulatory regime.” Well, we will see won’t we!!
STM is now writing to their distressed members who are invested in the suspended £20 million Trafalgar Multi-Asset fund. STM are stating:
“All members who invested into the Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund were introduced by Global Partners Limited, Nationwide Benefit Consultants Limited, and/or The Pension Reporter. NBCL provided advice based on their appointed representative status granted by the Portuguese regulated firm – Joseph Oliver LDA. In April 2016 Joseph Oliver LDA revoked the permissions granted to NBCL. This resulted in the directors and employees of NBCL, no longer having permission to give financial advice.”
But – come on guys – there is no evidence that Global Partners or NBC or The Pension Reporter were ever regulated for pension or investment advice. Only insurance advice. So the fact that Joseph Oliver LDA dumped them is irrelevant. So why did STM accept any of these people at all?
All of these people were undoubtedly low-risk, low-net-worth, unsophisticated investors – but they were all put into a high-risk, illiquid Unregulated Collective Investment Scheme (which is illegal to be promoted to UK retail clients). So, where was STM’s due diligence?
And what did STM know about the Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund? They obviously knew the investment manager was also the adviser (a clear conflict of interest). STM claims to be “a leading provider of international pensions with over 40 years’ experience providing bespoke planning for high-net-worth individuals in managing personal pension schemes.” So why accept members who are neither international nor high net worth?
STM goes on to claim they are “at the forefront of developing best practice in the administration and delivery of a QROPS. Our business model and processes are built around our clients to ensure we deliver only the highest standards of client care.” So STM has accepted hundreds of members who are UK resident and low risk into a QROPS 100% invested in one single UCIS and whose adviser is also the investment manager of the fund? I would hardly call this the “highest standards of client care” but rather the lowest standards of negligence.
So what are you ridiculously hopeless lot going to do about it? Call yourself pension trustees? I wouldn’t trust you with my used tea bags!
Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Solutions SL and Premier Pension Transfers Ltd
Mark Manley of Manleys Solicitors – acting for XXXX XXXX.
It 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 
In the 