Tag: PREMIER PENSION SOLUTIONS

David Trinkwon – EEA Investors’ Group – RIP

Pension Life was saddened to hear the news that David Trinkwon has passed away. David Trinkwon, coordinator of the EEA Investors’ Group had for a number of years campaigned passionately against EEA Fund Management (Guernsey) Ltd – “EEAFMG”) to help 1000´s of victims of the toxic, collapsed fund.

David Trinkwon established EEA Litigation Management early in 2016 to pursue legal action against EEA Fund Management in a class action for investors who have been trapped in the fund since 2011. Between 2005 and 2011, it is estimated that EEA Fund Management took in around £600 million from investors.

Redemptions of the EEA fund were suspended in November 2011 after then FSA managing director Margaret Cole branded traded life settlements ‘toxic’ products. However, an earlier warning was made to the industry in early 2010. But this was deliberately ignored by both advisers and pension trustees as the investment introduction commissions were a very juicy 15%. Advisers such as Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Solutions in Moraira in Spain were flogging as much EEA as they could get out of the door to earn these commissions, and QROPS providers such as Concept Trustees in Guernsey were offering EEA as one of their (limited number of) investment choices. Further, Concept was in some cases accepting investment instructions from Stephen Ward for 100% of victims’ pension funds to be invested in this one toxic, high-risk fund.

Here at Pension Life, we applaud the work David Trinkwon has carried out so steadfastly and passionately for years. His hard work will be sorely missed in the world of prevention and cure of investment and pension scams. I personally met David on several occasions – in London and here in Spain. He had a great knowledge of the world of offshore finance and devoted a great deal of his time and effort to trying to help the thousands of EEA victims.

May 31, 2018
TICKING TAX TIME BOMB ON LIFE SAVINGS

Welcome to my world – and the four letter word that sends a chill down most people’s spine: HMRC. A world where justice and taxation are not just in different countries, but on different continents. And, sadly, where thousands of British expats are living under the shadow of a ticking time bomb because of arrangements made with their pensions and life savings.

A few people are aware of the tax disaster that awaits them. But the majority have absolutely no idea and it is going to hit them as a devastating shock – whether from HMRC or their local tax authorities (or, in some cases, both).

Up to 2012, expats were routinely sending their pensions off to New Zealand – to the Superlife and Southern Star QROPS – and then busting 100% out. After the rules changed in April 2012, Stephen Ward set up the Evergreen QROPS/Marazion loan scam and up to 300 people bust 50% of their pensions out. It remains to be seen how the Spanish tax authorities will treat all these payments. It is unlikely to be pleasant for those affected.

For expats in Spain, the outlook can be grim. If there is a debt with HMRC for tax – say an unauthorised pension payment @ 55% – HMRC can send the debt to the Spanish Tributaria and they can then enforce the payment. If we think that HMRC is heartless, the Tributaria makes them look like the Sally Army. If a tax debt is unpaid, they will just have your bank account frozen and can also put your house up for auction.

In the Continental Wealth Management scam, large numbers of victims were paid compensation for the destruction of their pension funds by investing them in high-risk, toxic structured notes from firms such as Leonteq. But CWM had not bargained for the fact that in Spain the Tributaria would deem this to be taxable income – and the victims had a terrible surprise when the money they had used up to live on attracted a hefty tax bill for which they hadn’t budgeted.

Which brings me to Portfolio Bonds in general – and the SEB Life International “Spanish” one in particular. Many victims are fooled into thinking that because this product is heralded as “Spanish Compliant” that there is some degree of safety or security. There isn’t. SEB’s Spanish Portfolio bond is compliant from the Tributaria’s point of view because it reports annually on growth of the portfolio for tax purposes. However, that is all there is to it. And it is a waste of time anyway, because there often isn’t any growth – only loss. The huge quarterly charges by SEB erode any growth – and if toxic Leonteq structured notes have been used, there will be destruction of most or even all of the fund.

The Continental Wealth Management scandal – along with similar scams run by firms such as Holborn Assets – should have taught the industry conclusively that insurance bonds should not be used for pensions. They are too expensive and inflexible. The quarterly charges do increase when the fund value increases, but they don’t decrease when the fund is impaired – or even destroyed entirely. I have one member whose fund has gone from £250k to minus £57k as SEB simply kept taking their fees long after the fund was worthless.

An insurance bond (Personalised Portfolio Bond) can be used by an individual as an investment wrapper outside of the UK. This can be useful and tax efficient offshore. But when the investor goes back to the UK, there is a tax nightmare. Personalised Portfolio Bonds come under anti-avoidance legislation in the UK!

The horrible surprise that the investor will get upon returning to British soil is that HMRC can assume a deemed gain even if there is no gain at all, and charge tax on it. It is known often as the 15/15/15 rule and it leads to taxation even where the fund within the bond is losing money.

This situation only applies to investments within the Personalised Portfolio Bonds, selected by the policyholder, where the policyholder is a UK tax resident. The tax payable is at the policyholder’s highest rate. Even worse, the supposed tax efficiency of investment bonds does not work as top slicing relief (which normally lessens the blow and is often the cited reason for these bonds when sold to non-UK investors) does not apply to Personalised Portfolio Bonds.

Most people assume that tax is applied to actual gains made by the overall fund. And few offshore advisers have heard of the tax rules which apply in this situation (The Income Tax, Trading and other Income Act (ITTOIA) 2005 Sections 515 to 526). The devasting effect of this on an expat returning home is that the rules assume an annual gain of 15% of both the initial premium and the cumulative actual gains from the date the bond was established.

My friends at International Adviser published an article about this, by Chris Lean of TailorMade Pensions last month.

What is a Pension Scam?

May 27, 2018
Mastermind – Stephen Ward

Since 2010, £millions have been lost to pension scams, thousands of victims have lost their retirement savings, large-scale misery and poverty are the terrible results. One common factor connects many of these scams: one man – Stephen Ward.

Here at Pension Life we have made a video – based on the Mastermind quiz. Lessons must be learned from the dozens of scams, headed by Stephen Ward, which ruined thousands of lives and destroyed hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of pensions.

Premier Pension Solutions, Stephen Ward’s company in Moraira on the Costa Blanca, was responsible for the Ark pension liberation scam. Ward had advised 160 victims to transfer £10m worth of secure pensions into this scheme on the promise of having 50% of their pensions paid to them in cash. 2011 saw the Pensions Regulator place the scheme in the hands of Dalriada Trustees. The High Court called the Ark scheme a “fraud on the power of investment”.

Ward then went on to his next scam: Evergreen New Zealand QROPS and the Marazion “loans”. The “sister company”, Continental Wealth Management, was running the cold-calling operation to lure victims in – and some of the CWM salesmen were hanging around outside supermarkets to try to trap people into this scam. When Evergreen was removed from the QROPS list, Ward continued to work with CWM. It is not known how many other Stephen Ward/Premier Pension Solutions scams CWM was involved in.

Mastermind – Stephen Ward

1. Who is the owner and director of the Spanish firm Premier Pension Solutions based in Moraira on the Costa Blanca in Spain?

Stephen Ward

2. In 2010, who was running road shows in the United Kingdom to promote the Ark pension liberation schemes and recruit introducers?

Stephen Ward

3. In the Ark pension scam, which operated in 2010/11, who was the biggest introducer with more than £10m worth of transfers?

Stephen Ward

4. Who is the author of the Tolley’s Pensions Taxation Manual described as an essential reference source for all tax practitioners?

Stephen Ward

5. Who administered the pension transfer administration in the Capita Oak scam which saw 300 victims lose £10m worth of pensions and is now under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office?

Stephen Ward

6. Who handled the pension transfer administration of the Westminster pension scam which saw 79 victims lose over £3.3 million pounds to worthless investments: now also under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office?

Stephen Ward

7. Who was the trustee for the London Quantum pension scheme now in the hands of Dalriada Trustees and invested in high-risk, illiquid investments such as Dolphin Trust which paid investment introduction commissions of up to 30%?

Stephen Ward

8. Which Level 6 qualified former pensions examiner and IFA in 2014 was famously quoted as saying: “The schemes with which we are involved are completely above board. The Ark thing is history now.”

Stephen Ward

9. Who was promoting the Elysian Fuels SIPPS liberation scheme which he described as allowing members to “trouser” most of their pension fund in cash?

Stephen Ward

10. Who was the owner of the loan company Marazion which operated pension liberation loans in the Evergreen QROPS scam which saw around 300 people lose £10 million worth of pension funds?

Stephen Ward

What is a Pension Scam?

May 20, 2018
British Steelworker – SIPPS Pension Scam Victim

I am saddened to write about the first (but probably not the last) British Steelworker who has fallen victim to an investment scam as well as a pension scam. The British Steelworker was persuaded to transfer his DB pension AND invest £35,000 of his personal saving into an unregulated fund – Dolphin Trust (in Germany).

More and more, we are seeing innocent, hardworking individuals falling victim to pension scams due to their pension funds being invested in unregulated, high-risk, illiquid investments. It is just a matter of time before these unsuitable investments leave victims’ pension funds in tatters.

Mike Pickett, a British Steelworkers, had his savings loaned to an unregulated German property development company called Dolphin Trust. This was courtesy of (now collapsed) IFA firm Active Wealth. Mike not only transferred his pension fund, but also his life savings. His pension funds went into a SIPPS which then found their way to Gallium Fund Solutions.

Mike’s non-pension savings then went through Active Wealth into Dolphin Trust GmbH, which specialises in the development of German-listed buildings and promises 10% returns on investment. He says he was unaware that he was signed up to a fixed term payment (minimum 2 years) and of the associated 5% exit penalty to withdraw money from Gallium early.

Dolphin Trust IS NOT regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The way victims were lured into this scheme is more than a little questionable. It is also somewhat confusing as to who was actually responsible for investing Mike’s funds. Much little like an traditional fable, the storyline seems to shift to ensure the blame can be passed where necessary.

It all started with a presentation made to British Steel Workers via Celtic Wealth. How on earth are these people were able to make a presentation to innocent victims-to-be for an UNREGULATED investment is beyond me. Especially when Celtic Wealth was not authorised to provide investment advice.

And here’s where Active Wealth came in. Celtic Wealth claimed “All regulated advice in relation to pensions and investments is given by Active Wealth (UK) Ltd.”

After the presentation by Celtic Wealth, Mike Pickett claims to have spoken to Active Wealth adviser Andrew Deeney, and says he was visited at his home shortly thereafter by Deeney and a representative of Celtic Wealth. He had three meetings with Active Wealth in total – two of which he said were with Deeney.

Active Wealth has now surrendered its pension transfer permissions following FCA action in relation to advice given to steelworkers. Andrew Deeney, now sole director and shareholder of regulated IFA firm Fidelis Wealth Management, claims he has no relation to these investments.

No one wants to take the blame for these mis-sold investments. Yet all involved would have contributed to the demise of the pension funds – and earned fees and commissions along the way.

Transfers into self-invested personal pensions (SIPPS) dominated the pension transfer market in 2017, accounting for 51 percent of all transfers. It is worrying to consider what percentage of that figure is being transferred into unregulated, toxic investments.

The problem with pension scammers is that they are very good at disguising themselves. They wear smart clothes, they are friendly, knowledgeable and very very persuasive. They have a series of different scams disguised as a great investment – when one collapses they move onto another, just as Andrew Deeney has and the infamous Stephen Ward.

The first way of avoiding a possible scam is to reject all cold calling.

Never take a ‘free’ review on your pension.

Always check that the advisers and companies are regulated

Make sure you know ALL the facts

Low-risk high return investment – THEY DO NOT EXIST

Too good to be true – it probably is

******************************************

As always, Pension Life would like to remind you that if you are planning to transfer any pension funds, make sure that you are transferring into a legitimate scheme. To find out how to avoid being scammed, please see our blog:

What is a pension scam?

Follow Pension Life on twitter to keep up with all things pension related, good and bad.

April 12, 2018
EVERGREEN RETIREMENT TRUST QROPS SCAM

EVERGREEN RETIREMENT TRUST QROPS SCAM – HOW DID IT ALL WORK?

Victims were cold called by Continental Wealth Management (CWM) and duped into transferring their UK pensions into the Evergreen New Zealand QROPS on the promise that they could access 50% of their pension. CWM acted as the “sister” company to Stephen Ward’s Premier Pension Solutions (PPS).

Once the 300+ victims had been sold this idea – on the promise by pensions “expert” Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Solutions that the 50% in cash would not be taxable – the transfers went ahead. More than £10 million pounds’ worth.

CWM assured the victims that the 50% cash would not be taxable because the scheme was set up and run by international pensions expert and author of the Tolleys Pensions Taxation manual Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Solutions.

Once the transfer had gone ahead, and the victims were eagerly awaiting their 50% in cash (albeit having to pay 10% in fees for the privilege), they then started to chase up their cash. There were delays after delays.

After many weeks of frustration, the victims were then told they had to apply for a loan. They were told that this was merely a formality – paperwork to ensure that the cash would not be taxable by HMRC. And they were sent loan application forms from a company called Marazion – Stephen Ward’s company in Cyprus.

Victims were then forced to sign a five-year Marazion loan agreement. And forced to sign a five-year Evergreen “lock in”. Clearly, this was designed to stop victims from transferring out of Evergreen before their Marazion “loans” were paid off.

Evergreen recently sent out a notice to victims advising them the Evergreen Scheme is being wound up. (Surprise surprise!!). Here is the Evergreen notice with my comments in bold:

Evergreen Retirement Trust – closure and winding up

We are writing to inform you that the Evergreen Retirement Trust (“ERT”) is being closed and wound up with effect from Friday, 6 April 2018. So why, just days earlier, were you writing to victims to tell them could take their 30% tax-free lump sum and transfer out? You knew this day and the winding up would eventually take place – and why as well as when. And yet you have misled and distressed a large number of your victims knowingly and intentionally.

Why is ERT being wound up? We all know exactly why ERT is being wound up. HMRC realised that the scheme was operating pension liberation fraud in partnership with Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Solutions early on – in 2012 – so removed it from the QROPS list in November 2012. Your Manager’s Report for the year ended 31.3.16 refers to “concerns raised by HMRC” but you do not disclose the fact that you had been caught and the scheme removed from the QROPS list as a result. The other reason the fund is being wound up is that you have run out of excuses now the five-year lock-in period is up. In your Manager’s Report, you claim that service contracts were entered into by Evergreen Retirement Trust for admin, trustee and other services which have minimum fixed fees. But you have never provided evidence of these alleged “contracts” – nor have you explained why you have carried on paying these unaffordable costs. You have been trying to obscure the fact that 41% of the underlying assets of the fund were in Penrich and Spectrum and that this is where the loan funds came from. You have for years tried to pretend that you knew nothing about the Marazion loans. But the original trustee – Perpetual Trust – even had a virtually identical logo to Marazion!

We have been considering the future of ERT for some time. Despite our best efforts, ERT has not been as successful as we had originally hoped. This is the understatement of the century surely? Best efforts? I would really hate to see your worst efforts. You’ve spent the last five years telling members they can’t transfer out because of the five-year term Marazion loans – and knowing all along that you were always going to wind the scheme up because there was nothing to be done about at least 41% of the scheme being in illegal loans using Penrich and Spectrum funds – the underlying assets of the scheme.

The main reasons for this have been the inability to attract new membership into ERT and the increased compliance costs arising from transition to the new, more rigorous, Financial Markets Conduct Act regulatory framework that now applies to it. And what exactly did the “more rigorous regulatory framework” say about the scheme operating pension liberation fraud as part of the scheme?

Although we explored a number of avenues to resolve these issues, we ultimately determined that it would be in members’ best interests for ERT to be wound up and the scheme brought to a close. What would have been in the members’ best interests would have been to allow the members to transfer out several years ago when we first asked Evergreen for transfers. It is clear from your own accounts that you have indeed allowed 10 people to transfer out £500k worth of funds last year – presumably these were people without Marazion loans?

What happens next? Until 6 April 2018, ERT will continue as normal and you will have the same rights and benefits as before. On and from 6 April 2018, the assets in your member account will be realised and the proceeds paid into your nominated bank account after the deduction of applicable fees, expenses and any taxes in respect of the winding up process. So for people under the age of 55, you are proposing triggering an unauthorised payment which would be taxed at 55% by HMRC? Unbelievable.

A final set of scheme financial statements will be prepared, audited and sent to all members, and the relevant regulatory notifications will be filed. So how are you going to account for the Marazion loans? You must surely realise that this is a huge problem and you can’t just keep ignoring it and pretending you weren’t involved in this aspect of the scam.

To allow this process to occur in an orderly fashion, members will not be able to request transfers (except as set out below) or make further contributions, and benefit payments will be put on hold pending the final distribution of wind up proceeds. So how are you going to account for the Marazion loans? How will these be factored into the wind-up proceeds?

Some of the scheme’s assets are illiquid and as a consequence the winding up process could take some time. Why on earth are any of the assets illiquid? No pension scheme assets should be illiquid. You have been dealing with this matter for more than five years and you always knew that there was a purported five-year lock-in, timed to coincide with the five-year term of the Marazion loans. So why on earth invest in illiquid assets?

Based on current market conditions, we expect the winding-up process to be fully completed and a final distribution to be made around December 2019. So what you are saying is that you never intended to honour the five-year lock-in in the first place. You wanted a seven-year lock-in so that you could continue to hide the Marazion loans.

Prior to the final distribution of wind up proceeds, partial distributions may be made as assets are realised, provision for anticipated costs are made and as such funds become available to make those partial distributions. In 2016 you purchased £5.87 million worth of assets. Why – in the full knowledge that you were going to wind the fund up a couple of years later – did you buy illiquid assets?

What are my options? Unless you advise us otherwise by 6 June 2018, you will receive your winding up proceeds in cash to the bank account nominated in accordance with the requirements noted below once the winding up process above has been completed. For members under the age of 55, you cannot do this as it will trigger an unauthorised payment and the victims will get taxed at 55%.

For members who have not been tax resident outside the UK for five clear and consecutive UK tax years, receiving winding up proceeds in cash could have adverse UK tax consequences. We are therefore offering members the option of having their winding up proceeds transferred to another QROPS or registered UK pension scheme instead of being paid directly in cash. But you are asking other trustees to accept in specie transfers of unknown provenance (by your own admission at least half of the fund is illiquid) and with at least 40% of the fund subject to a fund which provided the Marazion loans.

These members are strongly encouraged to obtain professional tax advice from an independent and qualified UK tax adviser before making any decision. Of course they do – including tax advice on the 50% Marazion “loans” which you facilitated and of which you have always been not only aware but in which you have been complicit.

If you wish to have wind-up proceeds transferred to another scheme you will need to provide us with notification by 6 June 2018. And which “other scheme” is going to accept illiquid – possibly toxic – assets bought by a clearly inept and irresponsible trustee which has also facilitated pension liberation? Any members with a Marazion loan will be deemed to be “high risk” by any new pension trustee and a mechanism for repayment of the loan will need to be put in place.

Please note that transfer of the assets will occur over time, in line with the distribution of the funds to other members. What do I need to do? If you have been tax resident outside the UK for five or more clear and consecutive tax years then all you need to do is provide us with updated proof of identity and address documentation together with official bank documentation evidencing a nominated bank account held in your name (see the Appendix to this letter for more details about this requirement). But that only applies to those over the age of 55 and without a Marazion loan presumably?

Once that documentation has been provided, you will receive your winding up proceeds into your nominated bank account as funds become available through the winding up process. You will also receive copies of the final audited financial statements in due course. Do you mean once you have figured out how to account for the Marazion loans funded by Penrich and Spectrum?

If you have not been tax resident outside the UK for five complete and consecutive UK years, we strongly encourage you to seek professional tax advice from an independent qualified UK tax adviser. You should then advise us whether you wish to receive your winding up proceeds in cash, or transfer your member account to another QROPS or registered UK pension scheme. So what are you going to do if no trustee will accept an in specie transfer and the members are under the age of 55?

If you still wish to receive your proceeds in cash, you will need to provide us with the documentation (including official bank documentation evidencing a nominated bank account held in your name) referred to in the previous paragraph. In either case, if you wish to transfer your member account to another QROPS or registered UK pension scheme, please advise us before 6 June 2018 and we will send you the relevant transfer forms. It is now clear, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that you must immediately account for the Marazion loans and show how these are accounted for in the scheme accounts. You have avoided this question for several years and now is the time finally to come clean.

If the trustee of the other scheme agrees, a proportion of your transfer to that scheme might comprise a transfer of underlying investments of ERT, as well as cash. I doubt any receiving scheme will be thrilled at the thought of accepting any of ERT’s underlying investments in the full knowledge that approaching 50% of the original transfers were given out in fraudulent “loans”.

Please be aware that all payments made out of the scheme, including in the winding up process, are required to be reported to HM Revenue & Customs.

Who should I contact with questions? If you have any questions about the winding up process, you can contact our customer services team by email at transfers@evergreentrust.co.nz, by telephone on +64 3 974 1505 or by post to PO Box 36270, Merivale, Christchurch 8146. Please note that we do not provide financial advice or tax advice. Yours sincerely, The Directors Evergreen Capital Partners Limited So, will Evergreen finally answer the questions about the Marazion loans? Fully and transparently? I doubt it. And I would like to remind Evergreen that scammers are criminals.

April 11, 2018
EVERGREEN – HARD-TO-SWALLOW, EVER-GRIM QROPS SCAM

EVERGREEN – HARD-TO-SWALLOW, EVER-GRIM QROPS

Why hard to swallow? Around 300 victims of this pension liberation scam are anxiously waiting to see whether they can ever get any of their fund out – and whether there is anything left of the original £10 million. A few victims have got out successfully over the past few years – but only those who did not have Stephen Ward’s 50% Marazion loans.

The 300 victims – most of whom were cold-called by Premier Pension Solutions’ “sister” company, Continental Wealth Management – have waited for an agonising five or six years to see whether they will ever see a penny out of their original retirement savings. For some (those who have reached the age of 55) the wait may soon be over.

A while back, the trust deed was changed – without the members’ agreement – so that nobody could access their rightful PCLS – tax-free 30% lump sum at age 55 (to which they are legally entitled) until the expiry of their “lock-in” period. These lock-ins were designed to prevent members from transferring out until their pension liberation loans had been settled – with the loan terms being five years.

The trust deed amendment included the five-year term being five complete tax years (as opposed to natural years) and the fact that after the initial 30% withdrawal, the remainder would be left in the Evergreen scheme to provide an “income for life”. This, of course, assumes there is anything left of the fund.

But, confusingly, Evergreen’s Simon Swallow is now saying that a member with a loan can indeed transfer out of the scheme altogether once the lock-in expiry date of 6th April 2018 has passed.

From: Simon Swallow <simon.swallow@chartersquare.co.nz>

Sent: Monday, November 13, 2017 8:31:08 PM

To: Evergreen/Marazion Victim

Cc: Evergreen Trust – Transfers

Subject: Re: Evergreen Retirement Trust Annual Report

Dear Victim,

My apologies for the delay in responding to your email over the weekend. I have reviewed your email and my email sent previously. I apologise as I incorrectly stated that your lock-in would expire after 5 years in the scheme, however, the scheme documentation has the lock-in expiring at the end of 5 complete UK tax years (rather than 5 years membership in the scheme). Therefore, your lock-in will expire on 6 April 2018. The rules of the scheme will allow for you at that point to:

Withdraw 30% of the funds

Transfer the funds to another scheme

Or a combination of the above

I think that the prudent approach would therefore be for Evergreen to send you the necessary forms in February to effect a combination of the above options for you. This would include a withdrawal form (for the 30%) and a transfer out form for the remaining balance after the withdrawal. You will need to decide on another scheme to transfer the remaining balance to.

Kind regards

Simon

I have resisted the temptation to correct Swallow’s appalling English. Hopefully, my considerable restraint is appreciated. Best put our efforts into getting these victims out of this pile of Kiwi crap.

March 29, 2018
DEALING WITH STRESS WHEN SCAMMED OUT OF YOUR PENSION

DEALING WITH STRESS WHEN SCAMMED

OUT OF YOUR PENSION

Being scammed out of a big chunk of your pension once is bad enough. But TWICE is awful. Double pension scam victim Jessica M.J. talks about her experience and gives other victims advice about how to cope with the stress that results from being a pension scam victim.

Jessica was scammed by Continental Wealth Management – one of Pension Life’s top-ten worst scammers – into the Evergreen QROPS scheme. Continental Wealth Management was acting as the cold callers and lead generators to Stephen Ward’s firm Premier Pension Solutions. Evergreen was a New Zealand pension scheme which was being used for pension liberation fraud using Ward’s pension loan company, Marazion. Jessica did not get (and was not offered) a loan.

Jessica was brave and generous enough to share her own story – which, sadly, was so typical of hundreds of other cases. However, she was one of the few who were actually scammed twice by Continental Wealth Management. She spoke of her own feelings: “I was very angry. I felt betrayed, cheated.”

After losing a third of her pension, Jessica was then moved by Continental Wealth Management to a Malta QROPS and put into an Old Mutual International insurance bond (which she didn’t need and couldn’t afford – and only served to earn the scammers a hefty commission). By investing what was left of the fund in high-risk, professional-investor-only structured notes, half of what was left of Jessica’s pension was then destroyed. So she ended up losing two thirds of her hard-earned retirement savings.

Continental Wealth Management collapsed at the end of September 2017, leaving hundreds of victims with their pension funds in ruins and facing poverty in retirement. Old Mutual International, Generali and SEB – the life offices who allowed this devastation to happen and stood idly by while the structured notes destroyed the victims’ funds – have done nothing to compensate the victims for their losses.

Jessica has advised the public:

“There’s a lot of scammers out there – check ’em out!”

Sadly, if Jessica had known the questions to ask, the warning signs were there from the start. Continental Wealth Management was not licensed for investment advice. Few of the so-called advisers had any qualifications relevant to financial advice. The investments were professional-investor-only structured notes provided by RBC, Commerzbank, Nomura and Leonteq – among others. Continental Wealth Management used life bonds provided by Old Mutual International, Generali and SEB. These bonds served absolutely no purpose except to pay the scammers huge commissions. Dealing instructions had forged client signatures and the advisers lied about the losses when they were first reported claiming they were “only paper losses, and would recover”.

March 18, 2018
CONTINENTAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT BY JODY KIRBY (OR SMART OR BELL)

CONTINENTAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT BY JODY KIRBY (OR SMART OR BELL) – Now that Continental Wealth Management/Trust boss, Darren Kirby, is coming back to Spain to help sort out the mess, it is time to engage with his former partner, Jody, to find out what she has been doing to resolve the losses suffered by hundreds of victims.

Darren will, naturally, want to set the record straight, and help CWM victims get their money back after CWM “advisers” put their entire retirement savings into professional-investor-only structured notes. Many of these notes failed – costing victims £millions.

I have no doubt that Jody Kirby (or Smart or Bell – or whatever name she is using nowadays) will be keen to get involved. What exactly she has been doing to help the victims since September 2017 remains a closely guarded secret. However, I am sure she will announce it pretty soon now she knows that Darren Kirby is coming back.

Jody and Darren will, obviously, have a lot to talk about – and I am sure she will appreciate the importance of being frank with him. She will probably tell her current chap, Frank Pearson, to hop it while she and Darren debate the best way forward. Hopefully Frank will have the grace to duck out of the way so as not to distract Jody and Darren from concentrating on their responsibilities. After all, three is a crowd and Pearson doesn’t want to get stuck in the way like an unwanted duck a l’orange!

44-year old Jody has her own fashion business and has openly admitted to having made millions out of financial services. Once Frank is out of the way, she and Darren can put their heads together to formulate a plan to put that money to good use – in the interests of the victims of CWM.

A really smart way to approach this would be to write out a detailed account of everything that happened and who was responsible for each bit. I believe Darren Kirby has already made a start on this with the help of Alan Gorringe. This account will be especially helpful to us in the court proceedings.

As part of the frank account of the CWM disaster, all the victims will be keen to know what constructive ideas they both have for helping to put things right. There has been way too much silence on this subject from all the CWM advisers to date.

The victims will, no doubt, be pleased to see Darren and Jody committing to the rescue effort together. Jody was – and still is – sole director of Continental Wealth Trust which traded as Continental Wealth Management. A few years ago she described her role in the company on a television programme about “colourful” characters on the Costa Blanca. She confirmed that she was in finance and that she had contributed to the success of CWM saying that it had “gone global”. She stated that while their main office was in Javea, they had also expanded into Portugal, Ibiza, Turkey and France.

Jody explained in the interview that her role in the company was not as a (qualified) financial adviser, but to expand the company and bring the best people on board to work for her and her colleagues.

She goes on to say that CWM offers the “whole package for expats”, advising on the investment of funds (although the firm was never licensed to do so). She then explained how CWM offered “pension release” and detailed a scheme the firm offered whereby pensions could be transferred from the UK. She called this “just amazing” and said they had been very successful at doing this. She said the clients were told “we are going to give you money and it is not going to cost you anything – let’s just find out what you have got in your pension – it will only cost you a little bit of time and we can change your life”.

What she was actually describing was pension liberation fraud through a scheme called the Evergreen Retirement Trust – a QROPS in New Zealand. CWM’s “sister company”, Premier Pension Solutions, run by Stephen Ward, was the brains behind this scam (and CWM did the cold-calling and lead generation). 300 victims lost £10 milion in this scheme, and it cost them 10% of their transfer value in fees, plus 50% of their “loans” in Ward’s Marazion scheme. So not exactly the “nothing” that Jody claimed it would cost the victims.

Jody stated that they had “helped so many families” by releasing their pensions, and said she liked to help people because it was “in my nature”. I am sure the CWM victims will be pleased to hear that – and then to see some evidence of her – and Darren – “helping” them.

In another television interview, at the penthouse suite in a swanky five-star hotel overlooking Hyde Park, Jody explained how she had put half a million pounds into her fashion business. Over champagne, she told the interviewer she had ambition, drive and a burning desire in her.

Let us hope this passion translates into action and a commitment to helping the CWM victims who have lost much, most or – in some cases – all of their retirement savings.

February 28, 2018
James Hay + Elysian Bio fuel = Pension Liberation Scam
James Hay, the first UK SIPPS provider, could face tax charges of up to £20 million from HMRC, related to the Elysian Bio Fuel investment scam (sorry: scheme). Elysian Bio Fuels, which owned a bioethanol plant in the US and a renewable fuels refinery in the UK, was also used by other SIPPS providers such as Suffolk Life.

Money Marketing states : “Sipp investors are facing millions in write downs on a high-risk bio fuel investment, which has also been linked to a suspected pension liberation scam.”

Unsurprisingly, James Hay has launched an appeal against the tax charges AND as of January, has also slipped in a ban on non-standard investments including overseas commercial property, storage pods and carbon credits to be bought through its SIPPS platform.

We say to James Hay, “too little, too late, mate!”

Through SIPPS provided by James Hay, around 500 clients put £55m in to Elysian Bio Fuels. Yes, that´s 500 retail investors, placed into high-risk toxic investments, totally unsuitable for pensions. The business failed in 2015. James Hay claim that they did not advise their members AND limited their role to pension administration. Whilst they may not have directly advised their members, they did, however, allow crooked advisers to buy shares in Elysian Bio Fuels for the purpose of Pension Liberation.

The sheer act of letting crooked advisers advise their trusting members, whilst turning a blind eye to fraud, makes James Hay guilty in anybody´s book. How long can so called legitimate SIPPS providers continue to get away with this sheer negligence of their members´ funds?

Below is an email exchange between Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Solutions, his lawyer Alan Fowler and Angela South of Magna Wealth. This thread describes exactly how the Elysian Bio Fuels/James Hay liberation scam worked.

From: Alan Fowler <fowlerpts@gmail.com>
Date: 17 October 2013 21:28:21 BST
To: William Perkins <billperkins62@gmail.com>
Subject: Fwd: a solution for you !

Interesting….but I’m amazed that reputable SIPP providers will countenance this. Who’s making the loans? I’m not sure I see how the SIPP pays the member (or anyone for that matter) £100k – with what/who’s money? And won’t the SIPP need to verify that the shares in Xco are actually worth £100k. That said, if the IFA is doing these, it seems the process works………..

Regards, Alan

**************************************************************************

From: Stephen Ward <SWard@ppsespana.com>

Subject: Re: a solution for you !

Date: 17 October 2013 20:58:15 BST

To: billperkins <billperkins62@gmail.com>

Cc: Alan Fowler <fowlerpts@gmail.com>

The arrangement I heard about today works like this as an example ( ignoring fees) and this is the simplistic version …
1. Client borrows 16k or thereabouts (this is available in the package)
2. He gets a non recourse loan (which will not be repaid) of £84k
3. He buys shares in Xco for £100k. These are listed on the CISX ( name is Elysium)
4. Transfers £100k to James Hay SIPP
5. SIPP pays member £100k for the shares .,,,
6. Member repays the 16k and trousers £84k
My IFA connection has done 40 of them so far

Advice to transfer to the SIPP is from an FCA regulated IFA

James Hay and Suffolk Life know the full structure and are happy with it ….

Fees ….. On transfer to SIPP ( need to agree the commercials with the IFA)

Regards

Stephen

**************************************************************************

From: Stephen Ward [mailto:SWard@ppsespana.com]
Sent: 18 October 2013 10:01
To: Angela (South – Magna Wealth)
Subject: FW: QROPS opportunity
Importance: High

Morning Angela

I was not expecting such a fast green light !

But it seems to me that a green light is what we have

The next step is a test case I guess ….. ? I may have one but just need to check his fund value.

Putting my provider hat on I do not need to understand the details of the back end engineering, the fact its OK with James Hay is good enough for me.

**************************************************************

As always, Pension Life would like to remind you that if you are planning to transfer any pension funds, make sure that you are transferring into a legitimate scheme. To find out how to avoid being scammed, please see our blog:

What is a pension scam?

Follow Pension Life on twitter to keep up with all things pension related, good and bad.
February 14, 2018
Julian Hanson – why pension scammers must be prosecuted
Why pension scammers such as Julian Hanson must be stopped before they burn more victims’ pension funds – such as in the Ark and Barratt and Dalton scams

Julian Hanson – why pension scammers must be prosecuted.

And jailed.

BARRATT AND DALTON PENSION SCAM: The Pensions Regulator has announced that on 23 January 2018, four pension scammers have been ordered to pay back £13.7 million they stole from their victims.

BARRATT AND DALTON PENSION LIBERATION SCAM:

245 victims had their pension funds stolen by David Austin, Susan Dalton, Alan Barratt and Julian Hanson. Their company – Friendly Pensions Limited (FPL) – acquired the pension funds using cold calling techniques with promises of ‘tax-free’ payments.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) had asked the High Court to order the defendants to repay the funds they dishonestly misused or misappropriated from the pension schemes – the first time such an order has been obtained.

But this clearly demonstrates that pension scammers should be prosecuted and jailed quickly before they go on to scam thousands more victims. Julian Hanson – an integral part of the Barratt and Dalton scamming team – was also an integral part of the Ark scam.

Julian Hanson acted as an introducer/adviser in the ARK case (also in the hands of Dalriada) in 2010/11. He scammed over 100 victims out of their pensions – totaling around £5.5 million worth of retirement savings. Hanson, in common with the many evil scammers creating scam after scam, was happy to push aside the appalling predicament of his Ark victims and stroll on to find new victims for the Barratt and Dalton scam.

Hanson had promised his Ark victims their pensions would be profitably invested in “high-end London residential property” and would grow sufficiently to discharge the 50% they were allowed to take from their funds. This, he assured the victims, would NOT be taxable.

As soon as the Pensions Regulator placed the Ark schemes into the hands of Dalriada Trustees, Julian Hanson should have been prosecuted and prevented from ever scamming pension savers again. But, sadly, he was left free to continue his evil trade. Hanson was one of a whole army of scammers peddling the Ark scam:

And hereby lies a basic flaw in the system: had Julian Hanson (along with his fellow scammers) been prosecuted and jailed for scamming the Ark victims, in 2011, the subsequent Barratt and Dalton victims might have been saved. However, it will hopefully be the last one that Julian Hanson is allowed to get away with, as his name will now be synonymous with pension scams.

The same is true for the other introducers/advisers peddling Ark who remain free to continue their trade:

Andrew Isles is still a practicing accountant at Isles and Storer

James Ian Hobson of Silk Financial went on to operate more companies which operated lead generation and cold-calling services for further scams such as Fast Pensions and Trafalgar Multi-Asset Fund

Stephen Ward went on to scam thousands more victims out of their pensions and into toxic investments as well as illegal liberation in the Evergreen QROPS; Capita Oak, Westminster, Southlands, Headforte, and London Quantum.

The mastermind behind the Barratt and Dalton scam was apparently David Austin – a former bankrupt with no experience of pension investments. He invested victims’ pension funds in truffle trees and St. Lucia timeshares, and then laundered the victims’ pension funds through relatives in the UK, Switzerland, and Andorra. Austin used a number of businesses he had set up in the UK, Cyprus and the Caribbean – including Friendly Pensions Ltd. Austin’s family clearly had no shame about where their money came from and flaunted their new-found wealth all over social media. Fortunately, this vulgar and heartless bragging made the job of gathering evidence for the High Court much easier for tPR

TPR had appointed Dalriada Trustees to the case, and with this ruling, they will be able to attempt to recoup the stolen money from the four scammers. Unfortunately it is unclear how much money is actually left to recoup as scammers are notoriously clever at hiding their ill-gotten gains offshore and presenting themselves as “men of straw”.

Nicola Parish,TPR’s Executive Director of Frontline Regulation, said: “The defendants siphoned off millions of pounds from the schemes on what they falsely claimed were fees and commissions.

“While Austin was the mastermind, all four took part in stripping the schemes almost bare. This left hardly anything behind from the savings their victims had set aside over decades of work to pay for their retirements.

“The High Court’s ruling means that Dalriada can now go after the assets and investments of those involved to try to recover at least some of the money that these corrupt people took. This case sends a clear message that we will take tough action against pension scammers.”

One the investments in the Barratt and Dalton scam was £2 million in an off-plan timeshare development in St Lucia called Freedom Bay. This same development also took millions of pounds’ worth of funds from the victims of the ARK scam. Freedom Bay is now in administration.

In this scam, operating between November 2011 and September 2014, 245 people were cold called, promises of a cash lump sum and compliant investments at 5% were promised.

The reality of what happened to the funds was:
- More than £10.3 million was transferred to businesses owned or controlled by Mr Austin
- Just £3.2 million of the funds was invested
- False documents were made to cover these figures
- Funds given back to the victims were a % of their actual funds and NOT profits
- More than £1 million was paid to the “ introducers” or “agents” who conducted the cold calls
One of the victims, Colin, from South Wales, had become the full-time carer for his partner when he was approached via text message. Promised investments in the now bust St Lucia Developments, a lump sum which he planned to spend on a holiday. Having heard about the pension scams, he tried to contact the scammers with no success.

Colin, 48, said: “I should have known that it was too good to be true. I should have sought advice and asked more questions, but I didn’t.

“I had contributed towards my £50,000 pension pot, for which I had worked really hard, and now that has been taken from me.

“The loss of my pension will have a massive impact on my life. When my children finish school I will be around retirement age. There will be no money to draw down when I turn 55 and no pension savings for later life.

“I was greedy. I feel stupid for throwing away my financial future for £4,200.”

A couple, John and Samantha, both fell victim to this scam despite being advised by their pension provider that it could be a scam. They received their lump sum and were told their pension was invested in truffle trees. After reporting the case to the police, they were later informed that their lump sum was from their own funds and HMRC promptly served them with a large tax bill.

John, 46, said: “As a result of my dealings with Alan Barratt my final salary pension is in a scheme that I don’t understand the status of but which I have been told is a scam.

“As far as I know, the majority of my pension fund is invested in truffle trees but I doubt whether that is legitimate. My partner appears to have lost her pension too.

“I deeply regret ever listening to Mr Barratt.”

Why has cold calling not been banned by the government?

Why are ‘introducers’ still be used?

Why are the scammers in the Ark case not under criminal investigation?

Serial pension scammers like Julian Hanson and all the others need to be stopped now. New laws need to be introduced so hard working and trusting citizens aren’t left with decimated pension funds and huge tax bills they can’t pay.
January 28, 2018
Ex Continental Wealth Scammers – where are they now?

When a pension or investment scam implodes (as they always do), it is important to keep tabs on where the scammers go next, what they are doing next and who is helping them.

In the case of the Continental Wealth Management scam – headed up by Darren Kirby and purported to be the “sister” company to Stephen Ward’s Premier Pension Solutions – some of the scammers simply fled to Australia or other far-flung countries. But, sadly, some of the scammers are now employed by other advisory firms.

We need to keep an eye on this situation to make sure that neither the scammers nor the firms for whom they now work get any business until the scammers are put back on the street/in prison where they belong.

These scammers have, between them, destroyed the retirement savings of hundreds of victims – costing them millions of pounds’ worth of pension savings. Until and unless every last one of them is put in prison and the key thrown away, we all need to be vigilant of the scammers themselves and also the firms who are harbouring them.

One firm, Beacon Global Wealth, had inadvertently been harbouring ex CWM scammer Richard Peasley. But when I advised them of his background, they sacked him within hours. No argument; no hesitation. I hope all other firms employing these vicious scammers will do likewise.

EX CONTINENTAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT SCAMMERS

Darren Kirby – allegedly hiding in Australia. Let’s hope he turns into a kangaroo and never gets a chance to scam any more victims out of their pensions

Richard Peasley – employed by Beacon Global Wealth but immediately sacked when they realised how many lives he had destroyed. Congratulations to Beacon and their CEO David Vacani for doing the right thing so decisively!

Dean Stogsdill – referred to as “Dogkill” by some – is an expert on how structured notes can decimate a pension fund

Neil Hathaway – referred to as “Hadaway” by some – is another expert on the structured note scam

Antony Poole – employed by Woodbrook Group but sacked when he emailed all the ex CWM clients and tried to sign them up as Woodbrook Group clients

I will be updating this blog constantly as new information comes in regarding ex CWM scammers and where they are working now.

December 20, 2017
BEACON GLOBAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT EMPLOYS EX CWM SCAMMER
Richard Peasley

I am very pleased indeed to announce that on 6th December 2017, Beacon Global Wealth Management terminated Richard Peasley’s employment. There was no hesitation, no argument. Beacon’s David Vacani is also responding to numerous Continental Wealth Management victims who have complained about Richard Peasley’s employment with Beacon. I have no doubt David Vacani will correspond with them professionally, courteously and with great empathy – as he has done with me. Very well done David! A good day for the financial services profession.

Beacon Global Wealth Management had been employing former Continental Wealth Management pension scammer Richard Peasley. I found it hard to believe that any firm would take on such a man when he is well known for being one of the leading advisers at CWM who lied, scammed, defrauded and conned dozens – if not hundreds – of victims out of their pensions.

I am familiar with Beacon, and have spoken to Jennie Poate and know that she is acutely aware of the world of scammers. However, I now learn that Beacon had not been aware of the extent of Richard Peasley’s involvement in the Continental Wealth Management scam.

Richard Peasley, during his time at Continental Wealth Management, put his victims into high-risk, professional investor only structured notes, within hugely expensive insurance bonds. He also put his name to dealing instructions with forged signatures. Peasley then lied to victims about their huge losses – claiming they were “only paper losses” and that the pitifully low values were only “secondary market” values and that the notes would recover at maturity. (They didn’t).

CWM Sharks

Richard Peasley comes from a stable of scammers which includes:
- Alan Gorringe
- Anthony Bishop
- Antony Downs
- Antony Poole
- Darren Kirby
- Dawn Kirby
- Dean Stogsdill
- Jody Kirby
- John Owens
- Louise Kilic
- Marco Floreale
- Mark Davison
- Neil Hathaway
- Patrick Kirby
- Paul Clark
- Paul Taylor
- Phil Kelman
- Phil Pennick
- Rob Clark
- Rory Foster
- Sandy Eftekin
- Sandy Jones
If I have left anybody out, I apologise unreservedly.

Richard Peasley was responsible for the destruction of £millions and the prospect of many people facing poverty in retirement after working hard all their lives to build up a pension pot.

I have made a mistake by including the below dealing instruction and reporting that it was forged. In this particular client’s case, this instruction did have a genuine signature. However, all the other dozen or so were forged. What Richard Peasley and the other scammers at Continental Wealth did was to ask many of the victims to sign one blank dealing instruction, and then they would photocopy it over and over again to buy and sell high-risk, professional investor only structured notes. In other cases, Peasley and the others just copied and pasted signatures from another signed document and used that instead.

Richard Peasley is not someone who can be trusted with innocent people’s pensions – as many of his victims will be happy to testify publicly. I hope he will never work in financial services again, as there is no place in the profession for people who so deliberately and callously destroy victims’ life savings.

As always, Pension Life would like to remind you that if you are planning to transfer any pension funds, make sure that you are transferring into a legitimate scheme. To find out how to avoid being scammed, please see our blog:

What is a pension scam?

Follow Pension Life on twitter to keep up with all things pension related, good and bad.
December 5, 2017