After more than five days of deliberation the jury has returned its verdicts. Daniel Snelling has been found guilty on all four counts, Dina Snelling on two counts and Rebecca McDonald on one count, while Simon Dempsey was found not guilty on all counts.
I
am delighted that the jury took its task very seriously spending more than five
days to reach its verdicts. I am also very pleased that fraudster Daniel
Snelling has been found guilty on all counts. Although I wasn't in court to
hear all the evidence, my impression was that his defence, particularly in
relation to Finbow was wafer thin. Investors poured around £2.5 million into the hare
brained Finbow scheme but only a maximum of around £45,000 was used to buy wine.
Finbow purchased and arranged just three shipments of wine. Of these only two
went to Hong Kong and one was sent to Nigeria for reasons that were never, as
far as I know, explained. Some investors put staggering amounts of money into
the Finbow scheme - £290,000 by one
deluded investor.
Investors
failed to realise that the guarantee given by Finbow that they would buy back
the Italian white wine at the end of a year if it hadn't been sold was worth
less than the paper it was written on. Cheap Italian wine will not have any
resale value a year on even if Snelling
ever had any intention whatever to fulfil his promise. As Snelling's Finbow email persona indicates – Aston because he drove an Aston Martin – his primary concern was to trouser his clients money.
It
was clear that Snelling was planning further frauds. His sister, Dina Snelling,
was sent out to Australia at the end of 2009 to set up an office in Sydney to sell eco-friendly investments. They didn't actually have any investments to offer but Dina knew how many staff were
required for their new boiler room.
I
hope that Snelling receives an appropriately severe sentence not least for
wasting everyone's time by not pleading guilty when charged. Was it arrogance,
over confidence that made Snelling think he could bluff it out? The cost of the
two month was clearly of no more concern to him nor the disruption to the lives
of the jury than the impoverishment of investors in Nouveau World Wines/Finbow
Wines was.
I wonder and will never know how much Simon Dempsey's brief but well delivered defence speech played in his favour with the jury. Towards the end of the trial Dempsey dismissed his legal team because of the rudeness of his barrister towards the jury. Equally I can't imagine that Dina Snelling's truculent and bolshie tone when cross-examined strengthened her case.
Snelling worked for the Australian wine investment scam company, Wine Orb, and then for European Fine Wines Ltd (see also EFWines Ltd) in Bromley. Nouveau World Wines Ltd was set up in September 2004 but did not start trading until early 2006 when the company changed its name from Infinite Rockall Services Limited. Scott Assemakis, recently banned from being a UK director for 11 years for his part in land banking scams, was a director from 1st January 2006 until 31st August 2006. Daniel Snelling became a director on 20th May 2006.
Snelling worked for the Australian wine investment scam company, Wine Orb, and then for European Fine Wines Ltd (see also EFWines Ltd) in Bromley. Nouveau World Wines Ltd was set up in September 2004 but did not start trading until early 2006 when the company changed its name from Infinite Rockall Services Limited. Scott Assemakis, recently banned from being a UK director for 11 years for his part in land banking scams, was a director from 1st January 2006 until 31st August 2006. Daniel Snelling became a director on 20th May 2006.
The
investigation was carried out by the Metropolitan Police with major roles
played by officers DC Andrew Bailey and DC Carl Hughes.
Sentencing will be on 9th September at Southwark Crown Court.
Sentencing will be on 9th September at Southwark Crown Court.
