Winnington Fine Wines Ltd – scarper leaving investors short of wine

Winnington Fine Wines Ltd: 'We offer a comprehensive service'

Unfortunately this service appears not to extend to buying investors' wines

Winnington Fine Wines Ltd is yet another short-lived, fly-by-night wine investment company. Formed on the 23rd January 2012 the company stayed around long enough to trouser investors' funds – apparently buying a small proportion of the wine ordered.

Winnington Fine Wines Ltd modestly called themselves 'a leading wine broker' but they were active for only a year at most before pulling the plug and disappearing from the 4th Floor, 40 Marsh Wall, Docklands, London W14. The sole director of Winnington Fine Wines Ltd was Mrs Narif Aziz born on 25th July 1972. Winnington's annual return is overdue, now accounts have been filed and the company is in the process of being struck off with the first Gazette on 21.5.13.

Winnington shared this address near Canary Wharf with two other companies – Creating Success Ltd (proposal to strike off – first Gazette on 11,6.13)  and Gig UK Investments Ltd (dissolved 7.5.13). Again a Mrs Narif Aziz was the sole director but this time born on 13.1.1958. Either she is the child bride of the Mrs Aziz, who is the director of Winnington Fine Wines Ltd, or botox and other cosmetic surgery procedures have worked wonders. 

What is not known at this stage is how much wine Winnington Fine Wines Ltd bought and how much their clients hoped they had bought. One couple who paid out £27,000 while dealing with a broker called Adam Brown – almost certainly not his real name – are devasted to discover that only a small fraction of their wine actually exists in their account at London City Bond. At some stage during its brief life Winnington Fine Wines Ltd did have an account at LCB but this is now closed. 

Clients of Winnington, who discover that they have wine missing, should make sure they file a compolaint through ActionFraud.  

Given the number of scam wine investment companies it is amazing that anyone cold called about wine investment doesn't immediately associate wine investment with ostrich eggs or emails (Nigerian 419s) purportedly from President Mobutu's widow eager to deposit at least £20 million in your bank account.

Equally I'm also amazed that any wine investment company that likes to think it is legitimate would consider cold calling as an appropriate sales tactic. 

A previous post on Winnington Fine Wines Ltd and an article from The Mirror.  

Nouveau World Wines/ Finbow Wines trial: Wednesday 18th June 2013 – Dina Snelling takes the stand

Dina Snelling took the witness stand and was questioned by her counsel – Nick Corsellis.

She told the jury that she was born on 4th December 1977. She is of previous good character, no previous convictions and this is the first time she has given evidence in a court. She left school with no formal qualifications and started work as a nanny/child minder looking after babes up to children aged 13. After doing this for some five years she became an air stewardess working for British Caledonian before moving into secretarial work where she stayed for around five years. She has no qualifications in business management.In January 2007 her daughter was born. The father provided no support. From late 2007 to early 2008 she worked as a painter, decorator and cleaner. 

Dina was asked how the Snelling family viewed Daniel's new business, Nouveau World Wines. "Daniel had been in the wine trade for three or four years. He had extensive knowledge about wines - he was for ever going on about wine." Dina agreed that he was an expert. "The family were proud that Daniel's new business was thriving and he was doing so well."

Dina: "At the end of 2007 I had no work and didn't know what to do. I had been left by my daughter's father." At Daniel Snelling's suggestion she joined Nouveau in early March 2008 as an opener, which involved phoning people up to introduce them to wine investment and to the company. She worked using phone numbers on an Excel spreadsheet and would arrange to send a company brochure if there was an interest.   

It was not a job she enjoyed nor was she very good at it – ‘it was quite deflating you need quite a thick skin”, so in May 2008 she moved into administration. Initially she worked with Lucy Jones, who Dina described as “around 5ft 4 with dyed ginger, blonde hair, needed a good wash and had a problem with her nose”.  When Jones left, Dina took over as office manager. She adopted Lucy Jones' name for the sake of “continuity and to save the expense of having new business cards printed”. 

She described the record and filing system at Nouveau as “just chaos – couldn’t find anything”. Lucy Jones “hadn’t filed anything correctly, had rewritten one document over another, meaning that it would indicate just one trade instead of multiple trades”. There was no one doing the books. “Daniel (Snelling) chaotic. His organisational skills? – none.” One of her roles became to sort out the filing and records. 

Asked about how much wine was purchased, Dina said “she didn’t have a clue – it was never mentioned. It was not her job to monitor wine purchases.”

At Daniel’s request Dina took over the Globex account – transferring money to Australia to pay for wine purchased. “We were buying a lot of wine – huge amount of money transferred.”
 
There were no board meetings – no meetings. She said that Daniel was “good at delegating – quite good”. “There was no-one in charge of accountancy – not aware of any records being kept.”
 
Turning to Winevaults, the storage company in Australia, Dina Snelling said she “was concerned about Winevaults’ efficiency”. She had “a few issues later in 2008, which increased in 2009”. She described how she and Rebecca McDonald had sent two large parcels of documents to Winevaults at the end of 2008. Winevaults denied ever receiving these two batches of documents.
 
Dina explained that in September 2008 Rebecca McDonald, her cousin, joined the company. Dina needed to assess how inaccurate the records were and this was a job she could not do on her own. Rebecca had no accountancy qualifications but she was used to managing up to 30 people. Becky’s task was “to put the back office in order”.
 
Regarding the laptop seized in Simon Dempsey’s car in November 2009, the computer had a log-in for Dina but it was a Nouveau company computer, which Dina sometimes used but was available for others.
 
Corsellis’ questioning then moved onto the setting up of Finbow. Dina explained that she first met Simon Dempsey in the Bar du Musée (Greenwich) in February 2009. Dempsey and Daniel were having discussions about setting up a new company, which would be selling Old World Wines (Bordeaux etc.) as Dempsey spoke good French. Dina was not involved in these discussions – “none of my business”.

Although Nouveau continued in April and May, Dina’s focus was increasingly on Finbow. Regarding using different names or persons, Dina explained that, although she had used Dina during her time as an opener, she thought it was “a natural progression” to stay as Lucy when she took over as office manager. “She didn’t see a problem with it.” She explained that at the time Nouveau was receiving a bad press from Jim Budd with the name Snelling attached to it – “a lot of bad publicity by Jim Budd”. Thus she did not want to use her surname Snelling – which could reflect badly on the company. Someone in the office suggested the name Harriet Harbridge, which she adopted. 

By July 2009 Finbow had an email account. Daniel Snelling used the name Aston. He wasn’t present at the time and this was chosen for him as he drove an Aston Martin. Dina said he would have been free to change it later on but never did.The plan to sell Old World French wines was short lived as in July and August 2009 they hadn’t sold any. So at the start of September 2009 there was a change of direction to buy cheap Italian wine and send it in containers to Hong Kong, China etc. Dina thought that the 12-month buy back guarantee showed the legitimacy of Finbow. “It insures the investor completely.”  

Dina Snelling was asked about a meeting with Mr Parsons, who was providing a new database called ACT. In his evidence earlier in the trial Parson had said that when he raised including suppliers on the database, he was warded away from the subject. Dina: "There was no need to have suppliers on the database. They had no wish for their suppliers to general knowledge. Didn't want to give out that information. Suppliers are the core of the business. Daniel guarded that information very closely. 

She was also questioned by her counsel about two companies: Merchant to Merchant and Greenleaf. Merchant to Merchant was to have been involved in containerisation, while Greenleaf would be for ethical investments – eco-friendly, pollution and water etc. It was to be based in Australia and at the end of 2009 Dina went out to set it up. However, Dina came back around February 2010 as Daniel asked her to come back to sort out the back office at Finbow. 

Corsellis closed his questioning by asking what effect this case had had on her. Dina: “devastating – both physical and emotional”. Through tears she explained that she had had to pull her daughter out of school because she had been bullied.

Cross-examination by the prosecution

This started in the last session of the day and will continue on Thursday. To be covered in the next report.

Nouveau World Wines/ Finbow Wines trial: Tuesday 18th June 2013 – Simon Dempsey cross examined

Defendants:

Simon Robert Dempsey

Rebecca Louise McDonald

Daniel Thomas Snelling

Dina Louise Snelling

The case, before His Honour Judge Michael Grieve QC  in Court 8 at Southwark Crown Court, is likely to conclude in some time in the first part of July. Evidence will probably finish this week or early of next. Speeches and judge's summing up will take up next week with the jury likely to retire in the first week in July to consider their verdict.

Tuesday AM

Simon Dempsey gave the first part of his evidence yesterday by answering questions from his defence counsel as well as Julian Christopher QC, prosecuting for the Crown, starting his cross-examination. I wasn't present for this part.

After a late start for the court, cross-examination of Simon Dempsey continued through the morning and into the afternoon.  

On the advice from his solicitor Dempsey made no comment to the two police officers when he was arrested and questioned at Limehouse on 4th March 2010. He was asked a series of questions – what he knew about Finbow, who was running the company and who owns it, who had control over the bank account etc.

The cross-examination was largely devoted to going through in detail various subsequent accounts given by Dempsey – in evidence to the court, a statement that Dempsey gave to the Insolvency Service (25.2.11), when he was interviewed by a Mr Stone, and his defence statement (25.10.12) that has to be prepared for this trial. Unlike when questioned by the police, the Insolvency Act requires that questions are answered. Furthermore the Perjury Act applies, so false answers could lead to a prosecution for perjury.

Before turning to his statement made to the Insolvency Service, Christopher asked Dempsey about how he came to be involved in Finbow and how he came to leave the company. Dempsey said that he had a series of meetings at Café Rouge (Bromley) with Daniel and Dina Snelling in the early part of 2009.

At this time Dempsey was unemployed as his building business had collapsed due to the economic downturn. He was declared bankrupt on 29th January 2007 and exited bankruptcy on 29th January 2008.

Dempsey explained that it was agreed that he would become a director of Finbow to assist with the general setting up of the company. In negotiation with Daniel Snelling he arranged to take a loan of £25,000 in the first instance, which was subsequently increased to £35,000. Romance with Dina Snelling blossomed in the bar of Café Rouge and he saw her most days.

Questioning then turned to how Dempsey left Finbow. He described a meeting on 9th October 2009 with Billy Davies in the square at the centre of Canary Wharf where he was given a ultimatum  to leave the company with a payment of £25,000 and a subsequent payment of £60,000 – a year’s salary as a golden handshake. Dempsey said that the £25,000 was for wages that he had not received. Dempsey said that his decision to accept was made in “a matter of seconds”. It was – “take it or leave it” – he took it. He and Davies went to a bank with the Finbow bank card and drew out the £25,000 with the Finbow bank card that Davies had brought to the meeting. Dempsey said that Davies then took the bankcard back to the Finbow office. 

Dempsey said that this was effectively the end of his involvement in Finbow. In subsequent evidence Dempsey agreed that he had been involved in subsequent payments and bank transfers. This included a transfer to Hong Kong of £10,000 on 30th October 2009. Dempsey was in Highgate when he was phoned by Rebecca McDonald, who asked him to make the transfer as she wasn’t able to leave the office. At that time Dina Snelling was in hospital. The company bank card was in the office. Snelling said he always carried photo ID with him – his driving licence. The transfer was arranged. Dempsey said he wanted to ensure “the smooth running of the business”. He was also invited to rejoin the business in early 2010 when Paul Rees, the director who succeeded Dempsey, decided to leave.
   
In Dempsey’s statement to the Insolvency Service (25.2.2011) he said that he was already in a relationship with Dina Snelling when “I was out in as a director of Finbow to learn the business”. A builder by trade Dempsey had no experience in wine. Although Finbow wasn’t a full time job, Dempsey said he visited the offices almost every day. He paid invoices and arranged the shipping. In his statement Dempsey said that, “he wasn’t keen on the man who had started the trading”.

Dempsey did not have his own office at Finbow. He used a spare, empty desk in Daniel Snelling’s office. Billy Davies also had a desk here for part of the time that Dempsey was involved in Finbow.
 
Asked why there is no mention of Billy Davies in his statement to the Insolvency Service, Dempsey said that at the time he considered Billy Davies to be “an insignificant party to the business” and “wasn’t aware how much Billy Davies had his feet under the table”.

PM
Dempsey was asked questions about his defence statement (25.10.12). In it he explained that ‘he was a married man with a daughter. He had fallen in love with Dina Snelling and that he had volunteered to become involved to cement relationship with Dina'. Christopher pointed out that there appeared to be a discrepancy in the accounts of how he became involved as a director in Finbow and whether or not his relationship with Dina preceded his involvement in the company.

The defence statement stated that Dempsey ‘had no office at Finbow' and was ‘an infrequent’ visitor to its offices'. Christopher pointed out to Dempsey that he had told the court that he was in the offices everyday (or nearly every day). Dempsey replied that he was saying that he was not full time but that he was in the offices “almost every day”. Dempsey said that his statement was “open to interpretation”.

The statement also said that he was responsible for “the organisation of wine shipments through ACE Freight Ltd”. Questioned on this, Dempsey said that he had effected the introduction of Edward and Deborah Merriman, directors of the freight company who were personal friends of his. Asked whether his statement suggested a greater involvement than an introduction, Dempsey said it was a question of “how it was interpreted".

Dempsey’s defence statement said he negotiated a parting payment with Daniel Snelling to buy himself out of the company. There is no mention of Billy Davies in this statement.

In a letter (1.2.2010) concerning the £10,000 seized on 26.11.2009 as part of an investigation into the ‘proceeds of crime’, Dempsey wrote that he ‘decided to sell interest back to Finbow. Following discussion a payment of £60,000 was agreed”. Christopher reminded Dempsey that he had told the court of his meeting with Billy Davies (9.10.09) regarding the ultimatum offer that  he had “weighed it up in a matter of seconds”.

Dempsey was asked about an envelope found at his flat when the police searched it on 4th March 2010. On the back of the envelope were a series of handwritten transactions from Finbow’s bank account. All except the first transaction listed are from after Dempsey’s departure from Finbow. The writing is Dempsey’s but he could not remember why it was complied. He could recall some but not all of the transactions listed. Some of the transactions were Royal Exchange (full title – Royal Exchange Investments Ltd), a company involving Billy Davies. Dempsey said that he did not know the level of Davies’ involvement at the time.

Dempsey was asked about the use of false names by Dina Snelling: Lucy Jones  during Nouveau World Wines and Harriet Harbridge during Finbow. Dempsey: "Not odd – she was in sales" adding it was "not a big issue". Christopher remarked that Dina Snelling was not in sales. She worked in the back office.

Christopher concluded his cross-examination by suggesting that Dempsey was the “official frontman for Finbow hiding the involvement of Daniel Snelling”. “This is what your role was – the name on the company notepaper.” Dempsey strongly denied this – “Not at all.” He had no suspicion that the proceeds could have come from crime.

Dempsey agreed that he had full access to the bank accounts. Christopher said that he could have seen that only three containers of wine were bought by Finbow – two going to Hong Kong and one to Nigeria. That all three containers had been paid for in September 2009, that no evidence exists of any wine bought subsequently and that from September 2009 “money from investors was coming in thick and fast".   

In conclusion Matthew Mcdonagh , Dempsey’s defence counsel, asked him some questions about the logistics of how the statement to the Insolvency Service was made – Mr Stone took notes. There was no tape recording of the two hour interview.

Dina Snelling will be giving evidence today. 

The investigation into the two companies was carried out by the Metropolitan Police. The defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.