Nouveau World Wines/ Finbow sentencing fiasco

Daniel Snelling

In a surprise development the sentencing of Daniel Snelling on all four counts in the Nouveau World Wines Ltd/Finbow Wines Ltd fraud and Rebecca McDonald in respect to conspiracy to defraud in relation to Finbow Wines Ltd has been adjourned until tomorrow afternoon – around 2pm at Court 3.

A crowded Court 3 at Southwark Crown Court was stunned when His Honour Judge Grieve QC announced around 3.45pm that sentencing would have to be delayed because all Southwark courts could not continue beyond 4pm today due apparently to a community event. There were shouts of "you must be joking" from the public galleries, which included some 20 family and friends present to support Rebecca McDonald.

The sentencing hearing started a little after 2pm and by just after 3.30pm the Judge had heard submissions from the Crown and pleas of mitigation from counsel for Daniel Snelling and Rebecca McDonald. The court then rose for the judge to consider these submissions. His Honour Judge Grieve returned ten minutes later to make his bombshell announcement. He apologised profusely for the anguish this delay will cause the defendants but the circumstances were beyond his control.  

This very unfortunate delay was obviously particularly distressing for Rebecca McDonald. 

Dina Snelling was not present in court – she has been suffering from severe depression and was admitted briefly to hospital last week. She will be seeing a psychiatrist on 19th September. Dina Snelling will be sentenced once the judge receives the psychiatrist's report –  the sentencing date has been fixed for 11th October.

In relation to Daniel Snelling the Crown has applied that he be banned from serving as a UK director  – the maximum ban is 15 years. Also that a Serious Crime Prevention Order be issued against him and for this to apply from the time of his release from prison. Under a Serious Crime Prevention Order Snelling would have to reveal all of his financial transactions to the police. 

The process of issuing confiscation orders against the Snellings and McDonald has been set in train. 

The trial date for 32-year-old Kelly Humphreys, Daniel Snelling's girl friend, and 39-year-old William (Billy) Alan Davies has been fixed for 2nd June 2014. It is estimated to last three to four weeks. Humphreys is charged with three counts: conspiracy to defraud in relation to both Nouveau World Wines Ltd and Finbow Wines Ltd as well as money laundering (Count 3 – see charges here). Davies is charged with conspiracy to defraud in relation to Finbow Wines Ltd – he had no involvement in Nouveau.

Humphreys was originally due to stand trial with the others but was severed from the trial as she was pregnant. Davies was only found by the police and arrested on 13th August. He is now on bail with a surety of £100,000. Humphreys and Davies have pleaded not guilty.
             

Serial and master fraudster Paul Freeman returns with Wines World Wide Ltd

Paul Freeman in Mauritius 

Paul Freeman beside a beach in Mauritius 

Doubtless his many US medical clients will be heartened to see that 

Paul Freeman enjoys a tolerable lifestyle 

48-year-old Paul Freeman (DOB: 9.9.1964) has recently set up Wines World Wide Ltd based in Peterborough, Freeman’s home town.

Paul Freeman could be considered a benefactor of American doctors. He has dedicated much of his life to alleviate their potential back problems by fraudulently thinning their wallets.  

Freeman, along with Anil Knoli, was the architect of the remarkably successful Ocean-Seed (Ocean International Marketing/Seed International) scam, which brought in hundreds of millions of dollars. Wine was one of its main strands, firstly Champagne and then Bordeaux. Although the main office was in Rotterdam, there was an office in London's Mayfair and Ernest Saunders of 
Guinness fame was for a while employed as a consultant.

More recently Freeman and others were peddling 'worthless' shares in medical companies such as British Medical Trust Company Ltd based in Mauritius, which led to a court case in Tennessee*.  The case was brought by 88-year-old Dr Harry Peeler against the British Medical Trust Company Ltd (based in Mauritius), Paul Freeman, Beth Freeman (Paul’s wife), Carly Freeman (Paul’s daughter), Ryan Ferreira, Global Biohealth Solutions Ltd and Daniel Barlett.

Paul Freeman too busy with the BBQ (full-time job!) in Mauritius 

to acknowledge or attend court case in Tennessee

In September 2009 Peeler was induced to invest $100,000 in stock of British Medical Trust Company, which was alleged to participate in a joint venture with Apollo Bramwell Hospital’ (Moka, Mauritius). In April 2010 he was told that ‘his initial $100,000 investment had appreciated to $149,819.67'.

Although the British Medical Trust Company Ltd sounds impressive, the reality is rather different – ‘to date Peeler has failed to find any legitimate business function of BMTC. It maintains no registered agent or office in Mauritius and seemingly operates on the whim of its agents, specifically Freeman and Ferreira. Its phones do not operate. It is not registered in Tennnessee, and it is not registered to sell securities with the SEC or Tennessee Securities Division. 
In essence BMTC only exists on paper – the paper provided to Peeler from Ferreira and Freeman to induce the transfer of assets. It is reasonable to believe BMTC is a shell entity used to assist the individual Defendants in perpetrating this fraud with any funds distributed among them.’

Beth Maria Freeman celebrating 

the arrival of Dr Peeler's $100,000?

‘Freeman and Ferreira, by mail, facsimile, phone, and in person, disseminated false and fraudulent information in order to induce Peeler to purchase stock.’ ‘Fraud and negligent misrepresentation constitute a part of the defendants’ statutory violations. The inappropriate conduct of the defendants was plainly meant to induce Peeler to relinquish funds while receiving no benefit whatsoever. Defendants delivered fraudulent documents and information relating to his “investment” and, after several failed attempts to gain more money, went silent and nearly disappeared. Peeler ceased receiving any correspondence from the Defendants and has not received any return of the funds.’

Paul Freeman – day out on yacht, Mauritius

Peeler filed his suit on 24^th October 2011. Although the Defendants were served with process around 4^th March 2012, ‘to date, have failed to answer or otherwise defend this suit’.  

Wines World Wide Ltd was incorporated 1st July 2013. Its registered office is 23 Admiral House, Rivergate, Peterborough PE1 1ES, United Kingdom – given on 192 as an address for Paul Freeman but not on Electoral Roll. Paul Freeman is the sole director and is also is the sole shareholder with 100 shares@£1.

The company appears not to have fired up yet – there is no website. It is 
not known whether Freeman will be present in Peterborough or from wherever the company will trade. If he does spent time in Peterborough or the UK he will need to install a good boiler to keep himself, after spells in Monte Carlo and Tamarin in Mauritius, and his telesales staff good and warm.

I would certainly run a mile from any enterprise that involved Paul Freeman.  

* Source for information about Tennessee case: Order granting motion for preliminary injunction issued by US District Court for Western District of Tennessee 14th November 2012 by Daniel Breen, US District Judge.

A duo of fraudsters: Paul and Beth Maria Freeman

Update (17th August 2014): annual return for Wines World Wide Ltd has been overdue since 29th July 2014.

Diamonds can be for never – don't be duped!

Diamonds aren't necessarily an investor's best friend!

'Fraudsters used 'sucker list' to sell fake diamonds to victims with marks-ups of 2,800 per cent to fund luxury lifestyle in Marbella

• Gems dealers made £1 million duping investors into buying diamonds

• All the gems had been purchased out of a mainstream diamond catalogue

• Gang, due to be sentenced next week, added mark-ups of up to 2,800%

• One retired victim used his life-savings to buy gems for £140,000 but they were only worth £10,000'

Report in the Daily Mail of recent fraud trial at The Old Bailey involving diamonds with fraudsters now facing jail while investors have lost life savings. Sentencing on 27th September. Read rest here.  

See also report in Eastbourne Herald. 

Wine investment scams often linked to offers of 'investments' in diamonds, biofuels, carbon credits, plots of agricultural land on promise of rezoning etc. 

Also beware of companies, like Ethical Elegance Ltd, offering to swop assets such as wines for coloured diamonds.