BREAKING: Harlequin Property applies to go into administration

 “The company is or is likely to become unable to pay its debts.”

Director Carol Ames of Harlequin Management Services (South East) Limited, Basildon at High Court, London on Monday April 22, 2013

URGENT BREAKING: David Ames said nothing during investor meeting although he knew!

“The Harlequin Investor Group met with David Ames yesterday afternoon. It is very disappointing that nothing was mentioned to the investor representatives.  The Harlequin Investor Group will now move to issue guidance to investors on how best to secure their investments in the Caribbean. “

Gareth Fatchett, Director – Solicitor & Notary Public – Regulatory Legal Solicitors special to Barbados Free Press

Notice of Appointment of Administrators   (PDF of Harlequin’s court papers)

Harlequin leaves Barbados with nothing but a huge mess

House of Cards about to go?

Yesterday David Ames met with some investors and their lawyers from Regulatory Legal.

Did Ames inform the group that he had already moved to have his sales company apply for administration? NO he did not!

What does this do to ongoing negotiations with various shareholder groups?

What does this mean for those who have not filed complaints that invoke insurance coverage?

So many questions, but if you listen carefully you might hear the answer as the cards on the bottom start to bend and slide…

Harlequin Property applies to go into administration

(Echo-News.co.uk)

SOUTH Essex multi-million pound Caribbean investment firm Harlequin Property has applied for its sales arm to go into administration.

The business run by the Ames family from Wickford which is promoted by big name sports celebrities lodged an intention to appoint administrators for Harlequin Management Services (South East) Limited, of Honywood Road, Basildon, at the High Court in London yesterday. 

Harlequin Investors must not walk away with a false sense of security

Gareth Fatchett of Regulatory Legal Solicitors

Risk Warning, a voice for distressed investors in the UK, cautiously welcomes Harlequin Property’s meetings with investors and IFAs, scheduled for next week in both Manchester and Basildon. It hopes that investors who have, thus far, met with stony silence from Harlequin will get the answers they have been seeking at these meetings.

Set up by Regulatory Legal Solicitors, Risk Warning recently met with investors throughout the country to help them advance their case with Harlequin.  The response at these meetings was overwhelmingly in favour of opening up a constructive dialogue with Harlequin. Gareth Fatchett from Risk Warning says, “The lack of information from Harlequin has been disconcerting for many of the investors we have been speaking to this month. It is important that Harlequin engages with its investors, many of whom are very concerned about the safety of their property investments in the Caribbean.”

While acknowledging that Harlequin’s efforts to have a dialogue with its investors signals a necessary step in the right direction, Risk Warning urges that investors must arm themselves with the right questions to ensure that they get a full picture of the current status. Mr Fatchett continues, “Given the amount of money invested and the state of uncertainty over a long period of time coupled with some of the recent news coverage on Harlequin, there are many detailed questions to which investors should be demanding answers. It is important that investors do not leave these meetings with a false sense of security.”

Risk Warning, which is acting for a number of Harlequin investors, has compiled a comprehensive list of over 30 questions for Harlequin, which it is seeking to raise with Harlequin next week. These questions demand answers on a number of critical issues such as:

• how much of investors’ money has been spent on Caribbean resorts being developed by Harlequin
• what has actually been built but is not yet completed
• what the cost to finish each development will be
• what the value of finance payments in arrears is
• when the Caribbean accounts will be brought up to date

“Hundreds of investors believed in Harlequin’s marketing and invested millions of pounds in Harlequin properties but now find themselves in the calamitous position of not knowing the outcome of their investments.

We call on Harlequin to listen to its investors carefully and to tell them the plain truth about where they stand regarding the current status of their investments and, equally importantly, what the future holds. Anything short of a honest discussion will be unacceptable. We sincerely hope that investors will have productive discussions with Harlequin.”

Gareth Fatchett, Risk Warning

Patrick Souiljaert: “I am making this video to warn people and to help people. Do not give any money to Harlequin”

We’ve been publishing way too much stuff about Harlequin lately only because we foresaw what was happening many many months ago and we know that it will be a huge scandal.

That said, I had to post this YouTube video of Patrick Souiljaert.

YES… Harlequin/Ames did this to the poor man, but so did the regulatory bodies and governments who gave Dave Ames what he needed to carry on his scheme for so long.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves: How many travel writers will you jail?

St. Vincent’s racist Prime Minister is on the record very upset that two BBC journalists ‘snuck’ into the country by telling Immigration authorities they were visiting as tourists when they were really working on a story about Harlequin and Dave Ames. Had the BBC journalists been filming a feel-good travel or investment article, Gonsalves wouldn’t have had a problem with them.

Too bad the BBC story was about how Harlequin collected hundreds of millions of pounds from British pensioners but only built a handful of promised holiday homes before running out of money.

Gonsalves threatened that Panorama tele-journalists Paul Kenyon and Mathew Hill committed crimes punishable by imprisonment.

No word on what PM Gonsalves thinks about Harlequin’s Ponzi scheme, but he is sure upset at the reporters for mentioning it!

How dare dem bloody reporters come snooping around and then expose the story of how SVG  and its politicians let a twice-bankrupt double glazing salesman get away with using the country to promote a pyramid scheme!

One problem though: does Prime Minister Gonsalves intend to apply the same rules to every travel journalist who comes to SVG as a tourist and then writes nice things about the island? Or is Gonsalves only concerned about the law when investigative journalists expose the truth?

If Prime Minister Gonsalves wants to put some journalists in jail he should start with every travel and finance writer who took a free trip from Harlequin and declared they were on holiday when they arrived in SVG. They are the ones who printed the flowery stories that set the trap for thousands of trusting Britons to lose their pensions. If any journalists deserve jail, it is that bunch.

Of course, it’s a good thing that the BBC journalists are of the white race because Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves is probably going soft on them. You see, Ralph Gonsalves is a racist who dislikes mulattos and brown people – and said so.

Further Reading

I-Witness News Citing possible jail time, BBC reporters staying away from SVG

Cartoon: SVG journalist Kenton X. Chance with PM Gonsalves. See BFP’s More WikiLeaks hit the fan!

Hope for some Harlequin victims? Investment victims’ lawyer going after Harlequin agents who misled about protection of funds

Harlequin & David Ames: Knew sales agents were lying to investors.

“After learning that some of his agents were misleading investors, did Ames and Harlequin take steps to alert investors? Now there is a question.”

Some agents and financial advisers selling Harlequin Property pre-March 2009 were telling clients that their investments were protected in a solicitor’s client account. This according to the UK law office representing a group of disgruntled Harlequin investors.

Gareth Fatchett… Pit Bull, lawyer or both?

Talking to Barbados Free Press, Gareth Fatchett of Regulatory Legal Solicitors explained “It is clear that Harlequin identified instances where agents were telling people that a solicitors client account was being used to protect their monies.“

Mr. Fatchett also provided a clue that his law office intends to go after agents who lied to prospective investors, saying, “Many agents think that by using a limited company they can absolve themselves personally of any liability for a statement made either fraudulently or recklessly. It is clear that some agents / financial advisers made statements which were plainly untrue.  English law makes provision for limited liability protection to be removed when grossly reckless statements are made.”

Regulatory Legal Solicitors are reviewing advice files for investors who are concerned that they have been misled by agents. Mr. Fatchett is also looking closely at advice given by advisers, financial advisers and pension advisers.

Dave Ames and Harlequin knew agents were misleading prospective investors!

In a March 24, 2009 “Policy Statement”  from Harlequin to agents, Dave Ames told his agents to stop the practice, saying “I am aware that some agents have been suggesting to investors that we do ring fence the payments and this has to stop immediately to avoid investors being misled.” and “It is also not true to say that investors’ money is held in a solicitor’s client account.” (PDF of Ames’ statement here)

While it is shocking is that Harlequin’s Dave Ames was apparently aware that some of his agents were misleading investors, the natural question is: What did Ames do after learning of the lies? After learning that some of his agents were misleading investors, did Ames and Harlequin take steps to alert investors? Now there is a question!

No reply from Harlequin or Dave Ames   

Harlequin Properties stunner! “No agent confirmed Harlequin’s land holdings or company information” SIPP-Pension investors advised to act immediately

“…the due diligence undertaken was the brochures, sale presentations and (free) trips to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.”

“SIPP Investors / Pension Transfers would be foolhardy to wait as Professional Indemnity Insurance stops immediately upon an insolvency procedure.”

Regulatory Legal Solicitors special report posted on Barbados Free Press

Harlequin investors are sure to be flabbergasted by today’s posting at Barbados Free Press by UK law firm Regulatory Legal Solicitors and their leading lawyer Gareth Fatchett. Mr. Fatchett was in the news lately as he was successful in achieving some kind of settlement for a handful of Harlequin victims.

Today’s Regulatory Legal Solicitors posting alleges that none of the agents advising folks to invest in Harlequin took the trouble to confirm that Harlequin actually held the land it was selling. No sales agent went to the trouble of obtaining company information about Harlequin’s Caribbean operations. And if you want to talk about “Due Diligence”, the agents confined their research to brochures, Harlequin sales presentations and (presumably free) trips to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Throw in free drinks and a few “hostesses” and Bob’s your uncle… the agents were ready to sell Harlequin and at a tempting 30% commission at that. (Not that we’ve heard of Harlequin doing the “hostesses” thing, but this is the Caribbean ya know!)

Master Agent suspends Harlequin sales

The master agent has apparently stopped selling Harlequin so we’ll have more on that in a bit. That sounds important to us because once the sales stop, how can Harlequin sustain current operations even if they scale back? We’re not even talking about building and new construction, just keeping the place open. There’s no staff worth talking about at the Barbados operations, and that is worth thinking about. Was the master agent “TailorMade” ? Can someone advise? See IFA Online’s article Harlequin distributor pulls plug on new investment.

Mr. Fatchett advises SIPP Investors and Pension Transfers to take action immediately because if Harlequin goes insolvent, that is the the end of Professional Indemnity Insurance. Complain now and if it all goes for a fall, the agents’ insurance might cover something. Wait… and, well, the lawyer doesn’t say other than the agents’ indemnity insurance ends but you can read between the lines for yourself. The post also provides advice for other classes of Harlequin investors, so have a read and make up your own mind, folks!

Discussion in the Comments Section

We’re going to make this post the current place at BFP to discuss the Harlequin situation, so join in and please remember to be respectful to each other and also watch the language, okay?

To keep all current discussion in one place, we’re also going to close off comments on previous articles and direct people here. That will take some time so please be patient.

Marcus @ BFP

As posted at Barbados Free Press by Regulatory Legal Solicitors…

Following the court hearing last Thursday, we are now in a position where we understand the full extent of the land holdings and build costs for the various Harlequin projects.

The court hearing last week resulted in a settlement for our clients. The terms of which are confidential.

A few things are very clear :-

1. No agent went to the trouble of obtaining confirmation as to the land position.
2. No agent went to the trouble of obtaining Caribbean company information.
3. Some of the SIPP providers in the main relied on an external due diligence process in 2010 & 2011. We have confirmation

We have both the land acquisition schedule and an affidavit from the new Harlequin accountant setting out the build costs etc. We are currently running the maths to work out.

HMSSE turnover 2006 – 2011
-less land acquisition costs
-less commissions
-less building costs
-less overheads

This should give us an indication of the actual position of the group. There is no evidence of external investors (into the equity of the business) and no evidence of any development finance.

Once again we find it remarkable that agents / IFA’s / SIPP’s have not seen this. These are accounting basics.  

Press release from Regulatory Legal Solicitors regarding Harlequin freezing order

Regulatory Legal Solicitors have seen much comment and speculation about the litigation issued at the High Court in Birmingham last week.

The case was brought on behalf of 10 individuals under case reference 3BM30141 on Wednesday 6th March 2013. Within the substantive proceedings an application for a freezing order was made. The freezing order application was listed on the 7th March 2013 at 2pm.

The judge postponed the hearing of the application until the 14th March 2013. The Claimants asked for an interim order for 7 days until the hearing on the 14th March 2013. This interim application was not granted by the court. The parties reached an agreement on the 8th March 2013. The terms of the settlement are confidential. Procedurally, the Claimants lawyers  will appear before the court on the 14th March 2013 to obtain an order from the court finalising proceedings.

“We have seen significant comment on this matter, most of which is wrong. This is of no benefit to us, Harlequin or those reading the inaccuracies. “

“This statement sets out the procedural position. We have no further comment on this matter”

Barbados Free Press received the above from Gareth Fatchett on Monday March 11, 2013.

Harlequin’s The Merricks Resort as it really is right now

The Merricks, Barbados – Thursday, March 7, 2013

(click all photos for larger versions)

Dear Barbados Free Press

While sight seeing and using Barbados Holiday Map provided to us tourists as a guide, we went looking for the “Photo Opportunity” shown on the map at Palmetto Bay. As we looked for Palmetto Bay, we came across the Merricks sign; so being a periodic reader of BFP I decided to proceed to see what Photo Opportunities we could find.

The attached pics were just taken Thursday March 7, 2013.  They look strangely similar to those previously published on BFP in August 2012! What has been done in the past year?

There were two workers (?)  on the site.  An old guy who was dismantling a temporary storage area, and a young kid who was wandering around and sitting around. Thought you might want save the time and gas expense to go out to the Merricks site.

Harlequin’s promotional claims that “The Merricks Resort is situated on the stunning Atlantic coast in the south east of Barbados; and the resort has been designed to take advantage of the stunning cliff top position which affords spectacular vistas across the Atlantic Ocean.” are true. I must have missed it but I saw no beach.

“Just Taken” moniker reflects that the photos attached were just taken a couple of days ago.  Fortunately I have not been taken in by the Harlequin Scheme.

Just Taken

...

Harlequin personnel infiltrating the ranks of disgruntled investors, spying on meetings?

UPDATED: Wed March 6 2013 6:30am Bridgetown

“Anonymous” poster thought to be revealed as Sean Ghent, Harlequin employee, bodyguard for David Ames!

“First the commenter claimed to be a Harlequin employee in St. Vincent…

Now they claim to be an investor in the UK wanting to meet and talk with other disgruntled investors.”

The editors at BFP want to remind everyone that this is an anonymous forum and website where most of the articles and comments are published anonymously. Not everyone is who they pretend to be, and some folks like to pretend to be many people for all kinds of reasons – mostly to support their own opinions or to pretend to be different voices supporting someone else.

A few weeks ago we caught a Harlequin supporter (or maybe a group of Harlequin supporters) really working the web under different names and leaving several hundred comments on Barbados Free Press and other blogs and discussion forums.

Now we have caught someone pretending to be two different people, but this is serious because they are not just talking – they are setting up meetings with real people attending investor meetings in the United Kingdom.

First they said they were a Harlequin employee in Buccament Bay Resort and then they came back three days later using another name and want to meet with other people attending investor meetings in the United Kingdom.

These two comments were left by the same person…

Buccament resort worker

Submitted on 2013/03/03 at 7:40 pm

As a worker at Buccament Bay Resort I find it rather disturbing that BFP would post a story from a source without first investigating the truth of the allegation! All resort staff have been paid this week for the month of February as they were paid last month and the month before! Why not check with any one of the 351 local staff before attacking with false stories!

(See the comment here)

Then the same person left many anonymous comments, including this one below… AND they made arrangements to meet with “Paul and Erica on the weekend”. They caution to be careful about people “hijacking the group” when it look like they are spies for Harlequin!

“Paul and Erica” you be careful…  These persons be something else other than what they say they are! They are not some fellow concerned investors coming to the same meeting!

How do we know these two comments were left by the same person?

Any HTML coder can tell you a dozen ways we know. The commenter made mistakes and we saw their mistakes. End of story. 100% it is the same people in St. Vincent claiming to be 1/ a Harlequin worker and then 2/ a concerned Harlequin investor arranging to attend investor meetings in the UK.

Cliverton

Here is one of their other comments where they are going to go to the investor meeting on the weekend in the UK… 

Serious Fraud Office confirms Harlequin investigation, asks for investor stories

Serious Fraud Office and Essex Police: Harlequin Property

5 March 2013

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO website), together with Essex Police, is looking into complaints in relation to the Harlequin group.  The business activity of the Harlequin group includes the marketing, sale and construction of luxury off-plan property developments in the Caribbean and other resort locations.  If you have invested in Harlequin schemes, we would welcome any information you can give us.

We are particularly interested in hearing from people who invested in the following resorts:

(1) Buccament Bay in St Vincent & the Grenadines;
(2) Merricks in Barbados;
(3) Marquis Estate in St Lucia;
(4) The Hideaway in the Dominican Republic;
(5) Las Canas in the Dominican Republic;
(6) Two Rivers in the Dominican Republic and
(7) Garapua Beach Resort in Brazil.       

Harlequin, Barbados Free Press hit with Court Order

Charles Ponzi never worked for Harlequin… but he could have!

“By the look of this latest court order BFP presumes that Daniel Dalligan and Harlequin have been caught with their pants down (so to speak) spewing untruths about Mr. Fatchett and Regulatory Legal Solicitors.”

BFP receives email from Gareth Ward Fatchett and Regulatory Legal Solicitors

If we at Barbados Free Press read the documents correctly – on Monday, March 4, 2013, His Honour Judge Seymour of the Queen’s Bench Division in the High Court of Justice did a court order against Daniel Dalligan and Harlequin Management Services (South East) Limited, prohibiting Dalligan and Harlequin from publishing words claiming that Gareth Fatchett and Regulatory Legal Solicitors are not legitimate, licensed lawyers.

Mr. Fatchett sent us a copy of the court order and a copy of his Practising Certificate proving that he is a solicitor in good standing. At the end of this article we publish the court order and Mr. Fatchett’s certificate. It sure looks to us that Mr. Fatchett and Regulatory Legal Solicitors are legitimate, hard working lawyers.

Mr. Fatchett alerted us to a couple of comments on Barbados Free Press where a person wrote that Fatchett and Regulatory Legal Solicitors were not legitimate and had linked to another website where someone had uploaded a little diatribe about Mr. Fatchett. We’re going to take down those comments and any others like that when folks inform us, just like the order say. But don’t forget Mr. Fatchett: this is a part-time do-as-we-can blog so it can take us a day or two to check the email and clear the comments. With over a quarter of a million comments on this blog plus thousands of spam comments every month it takes us some time to sort through things. So doan be too quick on the draw when you fire off those legal bullets, okay? Sit back, have a shot of Mount Gay an give us some time to sober up and check de email. 

Regulatory Legal Solicitors

It looks to us that lawyer Gareth Fatchett and Regulatory Legal Solicitors are representing some disgruntled Harlequin investors and that some persons who support Harlequin started to attack Mr. Fatchett by leaving comments at forums on the web and here at BFP. 

Harlequin replies to Mail on Sunday article: “highly defamatory disinformation, seeking legal advice”

David Ames and Harlequin released a statement in answer to the latest Mail on Sunday article about the holiday property scheme that has failed to deliver properties in the promised time to thousands of ‘investors’. (See BFP’s Serious Fraud Office asked to investigate Harlequin)

Fair is fair and we’ll let Mr. Ames speak for himself. Please take the time to get Harlequin’s side of the story…

Dave Ames Statement re press  (Download PDF)

David Ames denies bribing Prime Minister Gonsalves

In another recent press interview, Dave Ames also denied giving a suitcase full of money to the Prime Minister of St. Vincent in exchange for citizenship…

“The BBC has accused the Prime Minister of St Vincent Dr Ralph Gonsalves of accepting from me a suitcase of money in order to receive my citizenship. This is an outrageous lie.”

“Sam Commissiong, my solicitor in St Vincent, has attended each and every meeting I have had with the Prime Minister and will confirm the allegation is completely false.”

… read the full story at the Basildon Recorder: South Essex businessman denies bribe claims

Buccament Bay Resort staff member asks: March 1, 2013 a tipping point for Harlequin?

Some local Buccament Bay staff haven’t been paid for December or January!

by BB Staffer to Barbados Free Press

I think tomorrow will be a tipping point for Buccament Bay and Dave Ames. You might call it ‘Desperation for Dave Day’.

Harlequin has staff to pay and all the loan interest for the ‘investors’ that should have been paid earlier this month. If they don’t make those payments, I suspect there will be a lot more people will talking to the Mail on Sunday.

“There are staff at Buccament Bay Resort who are yet to be paid for December and January.”

Will these local people be paid? All the expat staff have been paid! Why not the locals?

I’m not even talking about how expat staff members are paid many times what locals are paid for doing the same jobs. Will Dave Ames and Harlequin ever show these wonderful local staff the same loyalty they demonstrate to him on a daily basis? Simply paying the local staff would be a start!

ALERT: Harlequin fails to pay loan interest

“Harlequin refused to comment on the investor’s missed payment, saying that the accounts team is looking into it, and that in the meantime the investor may have to make the payment themselves.”

Temporary delay or something more serious?

Here is what IFAonline posted yesterday:

Harlequin Property hits problems with payments
Author: Laura Miller
IFAonline | 15 Feb 2013 | 10:32

Harlequin Property, the unregulated collective investment scheme (UCIS) which invests in Caribbean property, is having problems issuing payments due under the terms of its agreement.

One investor, who did not want to be named, contacted Harlequin earlier this month after the company failed to pay the interest on a loan the investor had taken out in order to invest in a Harlequin property.

Under the terms of its agreement, Harlequin pays the interest on borrowings where the investor has re-mortgaged their home to invest in a Harlequin property. The interest is paid until the completion of the off-plan property the investor has invested in.

Harlequin said it successfully makes payments to investors, but that delays do occur occasionally.

However, in an email from the investor to Harlequin, seen by IFAonline, the investor informs Harlequin it has not made one of the payments. Referring to a telephone call the investor made to Harlequin, the investor said they had been told by Harlequin that “this was due to errors on the part of Harlequin and many people were affected”.

In an email seen by IFAonline to the investor, Katharine Manderfield, network sales director at Harlequin, said Harlequin has “had some issues with bank payments”. She said the payments will be resolved by 28 February. However, she refused to comment on the investor’s missed payment, saying that the accounts team is looking into it, and that in the meantime the investor may have to make the payment themselves.

“A spokesperson for Regulatory Legal, which is acting on behalf on some Harlequin investors, said: “We have received a number of client enquiries where interest payments have not been made.

“This is blamed on a banking error. We cannot see why this could not be remedied with payments being brought up to date in days…”

… read the rest at IFAonline Harlequin Property hits problems with payments

Court allegations: Padraig O’Halloran took Harlequin for $13 million spent on private jet, lavish lifestyle

Padraig O’Halloran

How did Harlequin get taken for so much money?

It looks like David Ames and Harlequin weren’t looking out for investors’ money when they let Padraig O’Halloran get so far over the line. Harlequin says that O’Halloran misspent $13 million out of payments of $50 million intended for the development of the Buccament Bay Resort.

You could laugh if it was Ames’ money – but it wasn’t. It was the ‘investment’ of people who trusted that their units would be built as Ames said they would.

My, my Oh My!  What a mess…

Court told of $13m used for ‘lavish lifestyle’

A developer unlawfully diverted over $13 million for his own benefit and “lavish lifestyle” out of some $50 million intended for the development of a luxury resort in the Caribbean, it has been claimed before the High Court.

Pádraig O’Halloran used some of the money to buy properties, a private jet, a grand piano for his girlfriend and also paid €120,000 to Weddings by Franc, the wedding organiser featured on TV.

Referring to the 2009 purchase of a jet, Paul Gallagher SC, for the plaintiffs, said Mr O’Halloran (42) was swept up “in the feeling of the times” and got ideas “wholly unsuitable” for what he was engaged in. It is alleged various payments were made by a company of Mr O’Halloran’s, Shippool, Innishannon, Co Cork, to Irish bank accounts.

Harlequin Property Ltd and Harlequin Hotels and Resorts Ltd, owners and operators of a luxury resort in Buccament Bay, St Vincent and the Grenadines, have also claimed Mr O’Halloran used their money to buy a property in Ireland; properties and businesses in the Caribbean; a $1.5 million private jet, a grand piano, dental work and other items of personal expenditure…

… continue reading this story at the IrishTimes.com

Would you invest with Jester Property’s ‘Fukemoff Cove’ project?

“Jester also bought some planes! Did they use my money to do that? I don’t know because the accounts were still not published.”

“None of the other resorts were really started yet even though thousands of people had mortgaged their homes to buy into them.”

Contributed by Beggars Belief

For a moment though let’s enjoy a story about an overseas developer called Jester Property. I invite you to comment on how much of this story could be factually applied to a situation in the Caribbean as we find it.

In 2006 I invest in a resort marketed by Jester Property. They promise to build my villa and open the resort at Fukemoff Cove in 2009 so I can enjoy a healthy return on my investment. The terms of the contract allow Jester to use my money, which wouldn’t be held in escrow, to build other resorts. They have trouble with their builders and so things go a bit slower than hoped. I got a bit worried because it wasn’t easy to find out what was happening with my money as the developer didn’t file their accounts.

Lots of other people were investing and some resorts were reported to be nearly sold out. Jester fell out with the next set of builders and I got concerned that they really weren’t in control of this project. I was relieved when they announced that a big multi-national Spanish hotel and travel agency was going to run the resort. Jester said that this company would really help maximise my return because of the global reach and the excellence of their operations. After a while though we didn’t hear any more about this company and I checked the Jester website and all references to them had been removed.

Delays kept happening

The delays kept happening but eventually some of the resort was opened but the general manager said that it was losing lots of money every month so it had to be subsidised. That’s strange I thought because the bloke in charge of Jester had told the world a year before that the resort profits in twelve months would be enough to cover my repayments on my unit. This didn’t add up. Although the resort was partially open my unit wasn’t one of them and I was told I may have to wait for a later phase when an international airport was due to open.

Jester then started building other hotels that hadn’t even been mentioned when I invested and the terms of my contract would allow them to use my money to do it. How much of my money was left by now. The second builders had been chucked off now and Jester said that they would finish building it themselves. Jester also bought some planes! Did they use my money to do that? I don’t know because the accounts were still not published. None of the other resorts were really started yet even though thousands of people had mortgaged their homes to buy into them.

OK, so Jester is a fictional company. But would you invest in Jester if they were for real?

Harlequin Accountant blows whistle: claims massive “Ponzi scheme” in court action

Harlequin & David Ames: Ponzi Scheme House of Cards?

New investors’ deposits used to pay existing investors’ interest payments!

“Cash raised by deposits: £270million

Amount spent on commission and marketing: £127million”

… from court papers filed by Harlequin’s former accountant

Accountant Jeremy Newman behind Harlecon website

“Harlequin is almost entirely dependent on investors’ deposits for income.

It has repeatedly tried and failed to obtain external financing. It cannot afford to meet its existing contractual obligations.”

… from court papers filed by Harlequin’s former accountant

Harlequin spent 47% of investor’s deposits on commissions and marketing!

by Barbados Free Press staff

Now we know why independent financial advisers and the news media pump Harlequin so much: Financial advisers are paid huge commissions, and the news media makes millions upon millions from advertising revenues. Together the financial industry and the news media were a wonderful tag team to snare both sophisticated and neophyte into ‘investing’ in off-the-plan resorts: most of which will not be built, according to a whistle-blowing accountant.

How much did our Caribbean Politicians receive?

How much investors’ money did Harlequin give Barbados DLP & BLP?

How much of Harlequin’s ‘marketing and advertising’ expenditures were directed to Caribbean politicians and government officials? That question will never be answered in Barbados because we have no election funding disclosure laws and no Freedom of Information legislation. And that’s the way the politicians like it!

Barbados politicians and government staff have been heavily involved with Harlequin’s projects in Barbados. Lately we haven’t seen many politicians taking photo-opportunities with Harlequin projects, but Bajans recall about four years ago it was nothing but smiling politicians on the CBC touring construction sites, or talking with Ames. Not any more though because that Harlequin house of cards is looking a little shaky and the political class is running for cover.

Bajans and burned investors won’t forget though how our politicians, financial advisers and news media let us down. If it looks too good to be true… well, you know the rest of the story, and sadly, so do many Brits and others who trusted their pensions to what looks more and more like one of the classiest Ponzi schemes that has been seen since, well, since the last one.

Echo News publishes bombshell Harlequin story

Folks, we don’t like to publish the full text from other publications, but in this case we again have to because of the public interest. Just like last time, there’s nothing on the Echo-news.co.uk website about this latest development, so we have to publish the entire article so we can back up what we’re saying.

List of all previous BFP Harlequin articles

Here is the latest Echo News story in PDF and text…

harlequin10  (PDF about 120k)

Accountant says he acted to protect potential Harlequin investors Website warned of luxury resort ‘fraud’

EXCLUSIVE
By JON AUSTIN
jon.austin@nqe.com

First published by Echo News November 14, 2012

AN accountant claims he set up an anonymous website about a luxury resort developer he used to work for to warn investors it was a major fraud.

Jeremy Newman, a former senior manager with accountancy firm Wilkins Kennedy, defended setting up spoof website Harlecon, about Basildon business Harlequin Property, claiming he acted in the public interest.

The website, online from October 2011 to June 2012, was registered in Singapore.

Buccament Bay Resort buyer successfully sues David Ames, Harlequin Resorts for breach of contract

UPDATED: The News retracts Harlequin story – says court case not finished!

St. Vincent & The Grenadines paper The News has retracted its original story that was the subject of our original article.

The News states:

No judgement yet in Buccama case

There has been no judgement yet in the case brought by Scotland resident Ana-Mendez-Canga against Buccament Bay Resort.

Last week’s report in The News – that there was a judgement in favour of Canga when the matter was heard before the Master – was incorrect. The News sincerely apologises for this error. A letter from lawyer Samuel Commissiong of the firm S.E. Commissiong & Co. Law Firm states that “No judgment was entered and could not have entered because a Defence and Counterclaim had been filed in the Suit, and of course an acknowledgement to the Claim was entered in Time.”

Several cases of similar claims are now before the court against the Resort and it’s understood there are some judgements and in others efforts are being made by the company to settle the claims.

Here is a copy of the original The News article:

(click photo for large)

Here is our original October 16, 2012 story…