On Friday I was contacted by WV, whose late father unfortunately bought a number of years ago some wine from scam investment companies. She had recently received a letter (see part below) sent to her late father's address by Storage Resources.
The letter from 'Paul Foley, Director' claims that Storage Resources has wine in its storage facility belonging to clients of Imperial Fine Wine Ltd. It now possible for clients to claim their outstanding funds, except for those who 'holdings have unfortunately been sold by the director of Imperial Fine Wines Ltd'. The clients will be reimbursed through 'Equity Partners Group' who apparently 'have been appointed and authorised by the Insolvency Service to assist in the sale of assets and the reimbursement of client capital. (Equity Partners Group - Tel: 0203 488 8049).
Foley explains that the delay in clients getting their funds back is because of 'the liquidation of Imperial Fine Wines' 'predominantly due to the pending high court claim held against the company and its sole director (Mr Pan Wong).
WV was told that there was '£43,750 from wine they have sold but I need to pay £3500 to get that money. I need to pay Equity Partners Group'. She was told that the £3500 would go into a escrow account was refundable once the transfer of the capital sum. WV duly received documentation from 'Equity Partners Group Ltd' with a letter signed by the 'director'. WV thought this arrangement was strange so contacted me.
There are a number of very curious aspects to this 'narrative'.
So where start? Well let's first have a look at Imperial Fine Wines Ltd. The company was founded in November 2012 with Pan Pan Wong, who lives in Hong Kong, as the sole director. The company filed accounts for every year for 2013 through to 2017. On 15.4.2018 Wong applied to have the company voluntarily struck off, which duly happened on 7th August 2018. Curiously Storage Resources fail to mention that Imperial Fine Wines Ltd never traded – all the filed accounts were for a dormant company. Thus there was no liquidation process, no high court claim either against the company or its sole director.
Nor, of course, was there any wine to be sold. The £43,750 cannot exist either: it is just bait for an advance fee fraud.
Now let us turn our attention to Storage Resources. It is just as well there is no wine because Storage Resources does not have a bonded warehouse facility in Harlow.
plenty of businesses but no sign of Storage Resources
A bonded warehouse would be a very substantial building,
especially one with 20" thick walls!
No storage facility in Harlow – surely there must be some mistake as their website waxes lyrical over the ideal conditions they offer for storing wine. Time to compare and contrast:
Storage Resources:
'Our Cellar
Fine wine often improves with time, but ageing in the wrong conditions can irreversibly compromise your collection and investment. At 55° we understand how the wine evolves in the bottle.
Our facility’s 20-inch thick walls and insulated interior walls are supplemented by refrigeration for an ideal cellar environment. The sturdy stone building also protects wine from potentially harmful natural light and vibration.
Vital Conditions
The key to proper wine storage is providing an ideal and unchanging environment, one that allows the wine to age slowly and gracefully.
Climate: It is generally agreed
that temperatures from 55° to 59° allow wines to develop at an optimum
rate. Higher temperatures will age wine prematurely, devaluing and
shortening a wine's lifespan. 55°’s cellar features
thermostat-controlled refrigeration which provides excellent air
circulation (important for controlling mildew) and ensures even
temperature distribution throughout.
Light: Light can prematurely
age wine, even when the exposure is very brief. Our stone cellar
prevents natural light penetration; we use low-intensity lighting
throughout to provide the greatest degree of protection.
Vibration: Vibration can affect
the equilibrium and development of wine. Our solid stone walls and
concrete flooring minimize movement within the cellar.
Security: For the utmost protection, our facility is equipped with state-of-the-art infrared motion detectors and security alarm systems. Each locker is secured with an individual padlock and key, and all conditions are monitored 24 hours a day.'
Contrast this text from 55˚:
With the exception of 'Built in 1889 as a brandy storage warehouse' the rest is a direct copy of 55˚, a wine storage facility in Napa, California that was established 15 years ago.
Not only have Storage Resources purloined text from 55˚ they have also pinched their photos:
In summary Storage Resources have copied texts from three Californian storage facilities – 55˚, Armored Storage in Lane County and Vinfolio – plus just for good measure copied a text from London City Bond on deliveries. Amusingly whoever did the copying for Storage Resources forgot to take out the Californian place names such as Eugene and Lane County – somewhat of a giveaway.
However, the most glaring error is to have left in the Californian earthquake – the first time I was aware that Harlow in the UK was also affected by the tremors:
Storage Resources: 2014 Napa Earthquake – 'only 17 were damaged'
| Finally what about the Equity Partners Group Ltd? At first sight this company's apparent involvement is a bit of a puzzle, especially as Storage Resources story about funds available from wine sold from a company that never traded. The answer is, however, simple. Just as Storage Resources has used texts from four storage companies, they have cloned Equity Partners Group Ltd and taken over its identity in a classic scam. I should stress that I am sure that Equity Partners Group Ltd and its director are innocent victims of this scam. | |
Equity Partners Group Ltd was founded in May 2009. Its registered office is at accountants Aston Shaw in Norwich and appears to be based in Great Yarmouth
A Google search throws up an address at 1 Trafalgar Square, Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5BW with a London phone number. Interestingly the supposed 'Equity Partners Group' website that was accessible on Saturday has been unobtainable since Sunday. This website claimed that Equity Partners Group Ltd is a financial services company offering funds along with advice on ISA's and pensions. Naturally the fake company isn't approved by the FCA (Financial Services Authority) to offer financial advice.
The clincher that the identity of Equity Partners Group Ltd has been cloned by the fraudsters behind Storage Resources is that the signature of the 'director' on the letter with accompanying documents sent to WV does not match the signature of the real director on documents filed with Companies House.
Storage Resources is an advance fee fraud – please avoid!
