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High Street Group and Bondreview .

Last month Safe Or Scam took over the management of the bondreview site – LINK to website following the retirement of the previous owners.

Some people have questioned why there are no articles on High Street Group on that website.  We do not know the full story behind it and have no interest in the reasons, but it was a condition of the takeover that we agree to not publish anything on that site relating to High Street GRP Ltd, Gary Forrest or High Street Commercial Finance Limited (“High Street Group”).

Since the takeover we have been contacted several times by an intermediary seeking reassurances that we would honour our pledge.  It seems that High Street Group do not trust us not to publish.  They are apparently concerned that we have not publicly declared our position.  Therefore, we now publicly declare our position in this article.

Safe Or Scam will not re-publish previous bondreview articles relating to High Street Group on the bondreview site, nor will we publish new articles written by Safe Or Scam or any third party relating to High Street Group on the bondreview site. 

That should be enough for them.  We gave our word to the previous owners and we stand by it.  This was the only condition. No other scam or defaulting investment is excluded and never will be.

However, it has been made clear to High Street Group that this promise does not extend to this website.

We have written articles on High Street Group before (here’s a LINK to our previous article) and will do so again.  In fact, we expect to write one in the next few weeks so keep your eyes peeled for it.

High Street Group must have been concerned that the original bondreview articles painted them in a bad light which they felt was unjustified.  We think it unlikely any article could damage High Street Group any more than they damage themselves.  The failure to file accounts for more than two years, the resignation of the independent auditor on the grounds that it was unable to verify figures quoted in the draft accounts despite repeated efforts to do so, the suspension of bond interest payments to investors, the refusal to repay long overdue capital to investors and the recent allegedly successful attempt to deny investors their lawful right to take action to recover their investment capital, does far more damage than a few articles reporting on those facts.

The vote to remove all Events Of Default from the Bond Instrument was, according to High Street Group, carried by the necessary majority.  That vote is to be challenged.  It was organised with the assistance of the inappropriately named “Security Trustee”.  An organisation which was described in marketing material as being in place to protect the interests of investors.  Clearly that is not the case.

Where can you find the Security Trustee ?  Try looking in Gary Forrest’s trouser pocket.  In fact, trouser pockets are where you will find most “Security Trustees”.  They’re employed for two reasons.

1. To provide false reassurance to investors; and

2. To protect the party which pays them.

High Street Group and Bondreview .

Lee Bramzell IVA Approved ……… or is it ?

On the afternoon of 29^th July 2021, the latest IVA Proposal of Lee Bramzell was approved by the creditors who had been accepted by Purnells Licensed Insolvency Practitioners – LINK to Purnells website.

However, as is becoming standard practice with Mr Bramzell the IVA was not without contentious issues, allegations of misleading creditors and the usual failure to disclose all relevant facts.

This was compounded by the fact that creditors ended up split into five groups.

Group 1 was the Lee Bramzell supporters who had done very well out of their long-term relationship with Shepherd Cox and Lee Bramzell, many of them right from the very beginning.  That group did not want Lee Bramzell to be made bankrupt because that could have brought their transactions into the limelight.  There have been allegations of favourable treatment, funds being siphoned off, high commissions to introducers etc.  This group is characterised by the Ezekiels and their allies, the introducers (those who ran organised investor pitching events) and the facilitators (those who helped establish the SPVs through which people could invest).

Group 2 was the parties involved in the administration of several of the hotels and against whom Lee Bramzell states he is preparing a legal claim e.g Tony Murphy of Harrisons, Elliot Webster of Luqa Ltd, and Peter Shakeshaft of FHG and Minories B Ltd.  Luqa Ltd sent an email to Purnells for circulation to creditors alleging that Lee Bramzell had not disclosed all relevant issues and was misleading the creditors.  It was sent on 28^th July 2021, the day before the hearing.  Lee Bramzell replied to it on 29^th July 2021 and it was then sent out by Purnells to creditors two hours before the hearing.  Nice move.  We will return to the disclosure issue because it may well have relevance as to whether or not the IVA approval is to be challenged.

Group 3 was the bulk of creditors who really didn’t know who to believe.  There were so many accusations, denials and counter-accusations, that creditors were being asked to vote on the basis of not knowing what was fact and what was fiction.  Could Lee Bramzell really rise like a Pheonix and repay them, or was he blagging and they would end up with nothing, or was a bankruptcy the best option so that they would at least get something out of it ?  It’s no wonder the majority of them lent towards the Phoenix scenario and supported the IVA proposal.  The decision was based on hope more than judgement.

Group 4 was those investors who felt that they had been misled from the moment they gave their money to Lee Bramzell.  They wanted to hold him to account.  They wanted bankruptcy and an investigation.  They also wanted to know the truth about the involvement of the Group 1 creditors and whether there had been any dishonesty. If there had, then the Group 1 investors could potentially be open to legal action.

Group 5 was those creditors whose claims Purnells had declined to recognise at full value.  Predominant amongst those was the administrator of six Shepherd Cox hotel companies who was acting on behalf of the creditors of those companies i.e more than 200 room investors who have claims of around £16m.  Had Purnells recognised those claims the IVA would have failed miserably and Lee Bramzell would be bankrupt.  You can’t fight voting power of £16m+.  Purnells chose not to recognise those claims at full value, thereby supporting the person who appointed them.  We believe the IVA approval may well be challenged on that point.

Before we move on we should mention the fact that an IVA Proposal must be truthful and include all issues which may have a bearing on the proposer’s ability to deliver on his commitments.  An IVA Proposal is a legal document and as such, to falsify or fail to disclose information is a criminal offence.

In Mr Bramzell’s IVA Proposal and in the period between issuance and the hearing, Mr Bramzell informed creditors of some developments e.g new IVA amendments and he answered creditor questions.  He declared at the time of signing the IVA Proposal his FHG Group owned five hotels (down from ten in the original IVA).  The remaining hotels were:

The Bridge Hotel & Spa;

The Three Ways House Hotel;

The Wroxton House Hotel;

The Olde Barn Hotel;

The Comfort Inn Sunderland.

He declared that Luqa Ltd had approached the bank lenders at The Bridge Hotel & Spa and The Three Ways House Hotel to take over their positions and that this might result in those hotels being repossessed by the senior lender.  That would reduce the portfolio down to three hotels.  He had already declared that “he was preparing an action” against the Group 2 parties.  Creditors should have recognised that “preparing an action” is not the same as having started an action.  Preparations can easily be halted once an IVA Proposal has been approved.

However, it has come to our attention that neither Lee Bramzell nor Purnells advised creditors of an important development which would detrimentally affect the calculations of potential returns to creditors.  A winding up petition has been filed against the Comfort Inn Sunderland.  That petition, if successful, would result in the loss of this property from the FHG portfolio.  FHG could effectively be down to two properties only. The petition has not been filed by a Group 2 creditor and there is no question of this creditor being subject to any “preparing an action” proceedings by FHG because it is clear that the creditor has a valid claim.

The Comfort Inn Sunderland is described in Lee Bramzell’s IVA Proposal as “A former Premier Inn, which was rebranded by Shepherd Cox. Again, significant revenue streams from parking and located next to the new Northern Spire Bridge in Sunderland”.  Significant revenue streams which are now under threat.  The loss of that hotel would significantly impact on the ability of Lee Bramzell to meet his commitments to creditors. It should have been disclosed.

We have been informed that the petition was served on him on Monday 26^th July 2021.  Ample time for creditors to have been informed prior to the hearing.  That information was not disclosed to creditors and the question is “If creditors had been informed of an insolvency action against this hotel would it have been enough to make 2% of them change their vote and decline to support the IVA”?  The IVA was approved on a 79% in favour, 21% against count.  An IVA needs 75% approval to be passed.  We think it would have had a material effect on the vote because creditors would have seen that the FHG portfolio was falling apart. We do not know whether there have been any actions taken against the remaining hotels, but if this petition was not disclosed then perhaps there are other issues which have been covered up.

So, who suppressed this information ?  Clearly Lee Bramzell did.  Did anyone else in a position of authority decide not to advise creditors ?

At the beginning of the article we made the statement “Lee Bramzell IVA Approved ……. or is it”?  We believe this non-disclosure of an important factor is likely to result in an appeal and the IVA approval being rescinded.  That is assuming Purnells does not take action itself to declare the vote invalid.  We await developments.  It’s never simple and straightforward where Lee Bramzell is concerned.

Lee Bramzell IVA Approved …… or is it ?

To view our previous article please click HERE.

Zehnder Consultants Scam.

Scammers have been telephoning people who invested in Westway Holdings bonds and Blackmore bonds with a new attempt at a follow-on-fraud.  The Zehnder Consultants scam could easily have been titled the Securities Best Inc scam because the initial approach is made under the name of ‘Securities Best Inc’.  If they get a response from an intended victim they pass that person over to ‘Zehnder Consultants’, but the two bogus organisations will continue to work together to perpetrate the scam.

Securities Best claims to be based in New York and is using the fake share model.  A man calling himself Stuart Jones contacts investors telling them that shares in a company called International Bonds have been reserved for them.  Stuart sends out a fake share certificate in the intended victim’s name and tells him/her that the certificate is “currently restricted” because the investor has to sign some documents.  Stuart tells the victim that he/she will be contacted by Zehnder Consultants who can arrange to have the restriction lifted, but there is a fee to be paid.  If they pay the fee they will end up owning the shares and will be able to sell them.  Stuart says that International Bonds is expecting to be paid for the shares, but they already have a buyer in place who has agreed to pay a lot more than the investor has to pay.

If the intended victim says they’ve never heard of International Bonds and cannot understand why they have shares in it, Stuart tells them that International Bonds has bought up the bonds issued by companies like Westway Holdings and Blackmore and that is how the investor has this chance to get shares in the company at a bargain price and immediately sell them to their buyer.

Here’s the follow-up email which arrives after the first call from Securities Best.

From:  stuartjones@securities-best.com

Following our conversation, please find attached, the documentation required for you to complete and sign to process the sale of your shares.

i. Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).
ii. Private Share Purchase Agreement (PSPA)
iii. Payment Settlement Agreement (PSA)

Important  –  Please confirm receipt of this email.

After your perusal, we ask that you initial each page and sign each document where indicated this will allow us to process your sale and execute all legal processes.

Once all documents have been completed please send back the signed copies to the email address stated.  Send your signed documents in good legible order.

Once your documents have been returned they will be submitted to the compliance department to ensure all is in good order.

If however, you do not wish to actively pursue the sale,  then please notify us by return so we can forward you a Notice of Default which you need to complete and return so we may notify the relevant parties involved that you do not wish to proceed.

We are currently processing a large number of applications regarding this matter and therefore we are facing specific deadlines and would ask that you return your paperwork promptly so as not to delay proceedings.

Should you have any questions regarding the completion of these documents, please contact feel free to contact me back.

Regards,

Stuart Jones

Acquisition Adviser

Securities Best Inc

www.securities-best.com

134 Broadway, Brooklyn, New York, 11211

Tel. +1 (917) 200 9541

This is a transmission from Securities Best Inc and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, and protected by the attorney-client or attorney work-product privileges. If you are not the addressee, note that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or use of the contents of this email is prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please delete it and notify us immediately at our telephone number +1 (917) 200 9541

The Securities-Best website domain name was purchased three months ago in May 2021.

As promised, the intended victim then receives a call from Zehnder Consultants and the follow-up email below:

From:  alan.jones@zehnderconsultants.com

Following our conversation, I’ve since been in contact with your legal representative Mr Stuart Jones in New York. I’ve expressed my concerns regarding potential deadlines with Stuart and he’s scheduled an appointment for me to speak to the head of accounts over the next hour. Therefore, I’m hoping to try and implement some security measures for you within this transaction.

I will update you accordingly, however, should you need any assistance or any questions answered then feel free to contact me.

Regards,

Alan Jones

Senior Portfolio Manager

Zehnder Consultants

www.zehnderconsultants.com

So now the Securities-Best guy has apparently become the intended victim’s “legal representative”.

Within 24 hours the Zehnder Consultants scammers are back with good news (see below):

From:  alan.jones@zehnderconsultants.com

I have now received back a signed copy of the Advanced Payment Guarantee from Securities Best Inc.

Once signed and returned by you it will mean that funds can be pre-booked in Escrow under your name, meaning, that at this stage all risk regarding time frame and available funds in Escrow has been eliminated.

I am hoping to receive some form of a response from Transfer Agents today and will update you accordingly. If you have any queries regarding the Advanced Payment Guarantee or anything else then, please feel free to contact me at any time.

Regards,

Alan Jones

Senior Portfolio Manager

Zehnder Consultants

Here is a LINK to the Zehnder Consultants scam website.  The domain name of zehnderconsultants.com was purchased in November 2020.  The gap between the dates of the two websites (Zehnder Consultants in Nov 2020 and Securities-Best Inc in May 2021) suggests that Zehnder Consultants was being used in other scams before the same team of scammers moved on to using the name of Securities Best Inc.

Here is an excerpt from the Zehnder Consultants website:

Zehnder Consultants was incorporation in July 2006 and is today considered one of the world’s leading global venture capital and private equity institutions.

Here at Zehnder Consultants we have an International team of financial experts who are all dedicated to our client’s success. With multiple offices located around the world, we attend to all global markets and cover every corner of the globe.

So, “one of the world’s leading global venture capital and private equity institutions”, which claims it was established in 2006, didn’t buy a website domain until the end of 2020 !  Pull the other one.  The website is plush and believable.  They’ve spent some money on establishing their scam profile.  The company claims to offer shares in Alibaba, Tesla, Alphabet, nVidia, Apple etc but the reality is that it is all a complete scam.

How does the scam work ?  The initial effort is designed to get the intended victim to pay the fee to lift the restriction on the shares, but they aren’t satisfied with just the one fee from their victim.  In the first email they attached three documents.  One was a NDA.  This is designed to prevent the intended victim from discussing this with anyone else and is often used to frighten the victim later on to stop them seeking help.  The other two documents were the PSPA and the PSA.

The PSPA (Private Share Purchase Agreement) effectively commits the intended victim to purchasing the shares. They are told that the shares have to be paid for, but they don’t have to worry because the funds are being provided by their buyer.  The PSA (Payment Settlement Agreement) lays out the terms of how and when the payment for the shares will be made. It is the intended victim who signs these contracts, not the mysterious buyer.

In other identical fake share scams which use the same model, the victims have later been informed that the buyer has withdrawn its offer to buy the shares.  The scammers told their victims that they signed the PSA and PSPA so the company, International Bonds, is expecting to be paid for those shares.  They have insisted that the victim has to pay.  Most victims never realise that this was always a scam. The scammers agree to accept a low first payment to help the victim out, but this is just a smokescreen. They come back time after time for more money. When the investor refuses to pay they bring in a bogus law firm allegedly based in the USA.  This firm threatens legal action in the USA against the victim for breach of contract.

This fake share scam model is particularly nasty and can cause a lot of anguish for the people who fall victim to it.

Zehnder Consultants Scam.

Intercare Wealth and Coastal Supported Living.

Last week we published three articles titled Intercare Wealth Scam, Parkmount Group Scam, and Coastal Supported Living Scam.  There are links to those three articles at the bottom of this page.

The gist of those three articles was that Rav Singh Dhillon, Amandeep Saur, Ansar Ali (aka Adam Ali, Ansar Noor), Shuma Ali (aka Shuma Noor, Shuma Noor-Ali) were colluding to carry out a series of scams on investors. It’s a complex arrangement where efforts had been made to make the scams appear to be separate entities controlled by unrelated parties, but the reality is that they are all part of one big scam. Hopefully the three articles explained the steps in the scam in a way that readers could understand.

We’ve now had further supporting evidence which links the Intercare Wealth scam to the Coastal Supported Living Scam. This evidence has come in the form of an email from Rav Singh using the email address of intercarewealth@outlook.com.  Here is a copy of his email below:

Here’s a LINK to Meet with Rav Singh

It is important to point out that the monthly and yearly dividends are not guaranteed and they are certainly not Government backed. 

The email confirms that Intercare Wealth and Coastal Supported Living are part of a process which would enable scammers to get involved in the Supported Living sector. Each part was compartmentalised to make it appear separate and unrelated. There are currently 9 companies owned by Shuma Ali or Ansar Ali (or their aliases) which are overdue on their filings at Companies House and are subject to Striking Off applications.

See our previous articles on these linked scams below.

ARTICLE 1 – INTERCARE WEALTH SCAM – LINK

ARTICLE 2 – PARKMOUNT GROUP SCAM – LINK

ARTICLE 3 – COASTAL SUPPORTED LIVING SCAM – LINK

BitIndexFarm Scam

BitIndexFarm is using a fake trading platform as cover for a Ponzi Scheme.  We received the following enquiry from a BitIndexFarm investor through our Contact page:

Dear Sirs

BitIndexFarm is a scam.

Please advise anyone you know who is at the verge of taking an investment decision not to fall into this trap. Any money less than $500 you invest into this platform will be refunded with 20% interest in 24 hours, but anything more will be absorbed by their system and they will start using new vocabulary which they had never mentioned before like, auto-invest, kick-start, ROD…

Don’t buy into all of these. It is a scam. They convince most people to join through a private Telegram group known as BitIndexFarm, similar to their website. In this group, they show fake withdrawals they claim people have made so that no one doubts the authenticity.

Permit me tell you that the only thing which is authentic about these guys is their thieving scheme. The admin of the Telegram group is the same team that acts like the support desk. So they have all the information to manipulate you while you keep on dropping in your hard-earned money in hope to cash out a jackpot when the time comes.

Unfortunately, this is just a dream. Please advise people not to invest a dime into this website.

We took a look at the BitIndexFarm website – LINK to website here.  We were able to confirm that it was a scam within a couple of minutes. On one page they have provided a copy of the company’s Certificate Of Incorporation (see below).  The certificate is fake.  It is a copy of a standard UK Certificate Of Incorporation and includes the words “The Registrar of Companies for England and Wales hereby certifies that…….”.  It then says “Given at Companies House , Amsterdam……”.  The last time we looked Amsterdam was in the Netherlands, not the UK.  Maybe it was part of a secret Brexit deal.  “Boris, we want your fish and we’re prepared to give you Amsterdam in exchange”.

Just for good measure we checked with the UK’s Companies House (admittedly it wasn’t the new Amsterdam branch) and there is no record of a company called Bit Index Farm.  Neither is there a record of any company with the company number of 26432786.

On the FAQ page of their website the first question is:  What is BitIndexFarm ?  Their answer is:

BitIndexFarm.net is an online investment platform who was appointed representative of BitIndexFarm.net who are authorised and regulated by the United Kingdom Company House Authority under firm reference number 234512. This information can be verified on the Company House website. BitIndexFarm.net is registered in England No. 153. Registered office, Wellington St, Leeds, United Kingdom

The opening sentence doesn’t actually make sense.  It’s like saying “I can speak for myself because I have appointed myself to act as my representative”.  There is no “United Kingdom Company House Authority”.  The organisation which authorises and regulates forex trading platforms in the UK is the Financial Conduct Authority.  We checked their records. BitIndexFarm.net is not registered with them and there is no firm registered with the number of 234512.  BitIndexFarm.net is a scam.

How does the BitIndexFarm scam work ?  Well, we’ve seen this a few times. They offer four different bogus trading plans which are as follows:

PLAN A  –  invest $50 and receive your money back + 20% interest in 24 hours.

PLAN B  –  invest $500 or more and receive your money back + 50% interest in 48 hours.

PLAN C  –  invest $2,000 or more and receive your money back + 200% in 48 hours.

PLAN D  –  invest $3,000 or more and receive your money back + 400% in 5 days.

Let’s say you’re tempted to invest.  How much would you start with ?   Most investors would start with the minimum investment of $50 just to see what happens.

Lo and behold, the $50 investors get a full refund + 20% interest within 24 hours.  They’ve made a $10 profit.  This is called “using a sprat to catch a mackerel”.  BitIndexFarm pays out on the  small amount because the scammers know the investor is certain to increase their investment once they receive their payout.  After all, who wouldn’t want to make 200%+ on their money in a couple of days ?

The sums quoted above are minimum investment levels for each of those plans.  The BitIndexFarm scam allows people invest up to $100,000.  As soon as someone has invested into PLAN B, C or D they suddenly find that BitIndexFarm isn’t paying out as they promised .  As the enquirer above wrote in the Contact Form, BitIndexFarm comes up with an excuse why they are not paying out.

When an investor opens an account they don’t pay their money to a bank account.  They have to open a digital currency account e.g a Bitcoin account and pay into that account.  The money is then used to purchase digital currency for the scammers which makes it untraceable.  The BitIndexFarm scam website has a Terms & Conditions page.  Several of the clauses are designed to prevent investors from taking action against them, but the clauses aren’t enforceable.  It’s not possible to have clauses which effectively say “It is a condition of joining this platform that if I steal your money you cannot prosecute me”.

In another twist, BitIndexFarm offers investors a “Trading Class” membership which costs $5,000 for three months.  Here is a short video from the website produced by “Andrew”.  Not sure why he believes filming a selfie on his mobile phone in front of a hotel pool is the best way to get his message across. Maybe he’s really a pool cleaner ?

Can’t wait for Andrew’s next video.  Let’s hope he’s not going to attempt to explain the complexities of crypto-currency trading while sat on the toilet.

If investors can find these people they can prosecute them, but finding them will not be easy.  We’ve seen versions of this same scam being operated by scammers in Asia and in Eastern Europe.

BitIndexFarm Scam.

Burton & Bailey Escrow Scam

Burton & Bailey are operating a follow-on-fraud targeting the victims of investment scams.  We were contacted by a woman who had invested in the Park First scam after she was contacted by one of the Burton & Bailey scammers and she wanted to know whether they were genuine or not.  They are not genuine.  It is a follow-on-fraud.

They use the domain name of burtonbailey.com which was purchased less than three months ago on 30^th April 2021.  They have been able to publish a website in that time – LINK to website here.  The website looks professional and it is easy to see why some of their intended victims will be taken in by it.

According to the website the company is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but the Home Page has a lot of detail on The Enterprise Investment Scheme (“EIS”) which is a UK Government tax-efficient investment scheme !  Not sure what relevance that has at all to the alleged business of Burton & Bailey.  Sometimes scammers want to make it appear that they know what they are talking about so they’ll pick up text from any financial website and use it on their site.  That is what they have done here.

For example, this section below is from the Burton & Bailey Escrow Scam website:

Early stage businesses who have raised finance under the EIS scheme may fall victim to the difficult market conditions. EIS relief requires a business to meet certain relevant conditions throughout a 3 year period from the date of investment, so what does it mean for investors who claimed tax relief on their investments if a business goes into liquidation in this timeframe?

Income Tax – Relief Withdrawal:

–    If the EIS company goes into liquidation within (generally) three years of the share issue, Income Tax relief originally given is clawed back.  The amount clawed back is 30% of any value received on liquidation (up to a maximum of the relief originally given).
–    However, if the value received on liquidation is considered insignificant or no value is received at all, no Income Tax relief is withdrawn.

Capital Gains Tax Deferral – Relief Withdrawal:

–    If an EIS investment was used to defer a capital gain, this gain will become chargeable on the liquidation.

Use of Losses:

–    If the liquidation proceeds are less than the original investment a loss arises. This loss is reduced by any Income Tax relief not withdrawn.
–    The loss can be set against income in the year of the disposal or the preceding year.
–    Alternatively, the loss can be set against capital gains made in the year of the loss, or carried forward to be set against future capital gains arising.

It has been lifted word for word from the website of Bishop Fleming, a reputable UK company.  Here is a LINK to the section on the Bishop Fleming website.

We have copied below the email which the investor received.  The investor was initially cold-called on her home telephone.

From: Admin | Burton & Bailey

Sent:

To:

Subject: Burton & Bailey Introduction

Dear

Thanks for speaking with us earlier today.

As explained over the telephone, we are currently carrying out a few legal checks on your active investment. Typically these checks consist of asset authenticity, its value (if any), and eligibility for any potential sale.

 Please allow 1-2 working days for these checks to complete. Once completed, we will be in contact with any results we feel are pertinent to discuss in terms of any potential sale opportunity.

In the meantime and in order to support the best possible outcome for your case, please provide as much information as you can regarding your investment for us to investigate. If you have any proof of ownership documents such as bond or share certificates, payment confirmations, etc. please send them in for us to review accordingly.

In the meantime, should you require further information on our company, you can view our website online at www.burtonbailey.com.

 Should you wish to reach us by telephone, you can reach us on our free-phone number at 0800 031 8239. Please note however there may be waiting times with this method of contact.

We will be in touch with you in due course.

Kind regards,

Michael Trainor

We were able to warn the investor straight away that this was a scam.  This investor, like many investors, has received several follow-on-fraud approaches in the past and we have been able to help her spot them.  She’s a woman of few words, but it’s nice to receive praise once in a while.  It’s a bit too short to put on our testimonial page, but here it is anyway.

Thanks

 You guys do an amazing job.

Burton & Bailey Escrow Scam.

Horizon Consultancies Scam.

A company calling itself Horizon Consultancies Ltd is running a follow-on-fraud against victims of investment scams.

On the same day we posted this article on Coastal Supported Living – LINK, where we mentioned Abdul Mukith who was involved in the Essex and London Properties scam, we received an email from an Essex and London Properties investor who had been approached by Horizon Consultancies. We’ve copied the email she received below:

Dear

There is a genuine Horizon Consultancies Ltd at the Barrow-in-Furness address, but this email did not come from that company.  The scammers are impersonating the company.  The good news is we think we might have had a hand in forcing this latest move by this group of scammers. The clue is right at the very end of the email “please visit our website: https://www.everesttradebvba.com”

On 5th June 2021 we published this article on Everest Trade BVBA – LINK.

This latest Horizon Consultancies scam shows it is the same group of scammers who were behind the Everest Trade BVBA scam and because we’ve publicised that scam they’ve had to change their identity.  However, in doing so in a hurry, they’ve not paid attention to the disclaimer at the bottom of their email and they’ve missed that it still contains a reference to the Everest Trade BVBA scam website.

The email uses a domain name ‘horizonconsultanciesltd.com’.  That domain was bought on 2nd July 2021 i.e only 22 days ago.  The domain is hosted in Chisinau, Moldova.  Nice to know we’re disrupting this organised crime group and preventing them from taking more money from the victims of investment scams.

Horizon Consultancies Scam.

Coastal Supported Living Scam.

This week we have written two articles concerning a group of people who have known each other for a long time and who have been involved in numerous scams.

ARTICLE 1  –  LINK to Intercare Wealth Scam

ARTICLE 2  –  LINK to Parkmount Group Scam

This the third article covering the companies of Shuma Ali / Shuma Noor-Ali and Shuma Noor who we believe is the same person.  Shuma Noor is the name currently being used for directorships in several new companies seeking to move into the provision of supported living services for vulnerable people.  She is doing so in conjunction with her husband, Ansar Noor (this is not his real name – he is really Ansar Ali).  Considering the history of the people involved we are very concerned that this is a scam.

The glue which binds this all together is the residential address of 2 Scratton Road, Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, SS17 0NZ.  It is a very nice 8-bedroom family home which was advertised for sale in 2017 as can be seen on this LINK.  It is also the property listed as either the registered office or the correspondence address for many of the companies.

Shuma Ali is the wife of Ansar Ali who is covered in ARTICLE 2.  Both of them are linked to the 2 Scratton Road address.  Here is a LINK to a company called B2B Solutions (GB) Ltd.   This company has Shuma Ali and Ansar Ali as directors.  Ansar Ali’s address was at 2 Scratton Road before it was changed to 8 Corringham Road which is a high street commercial property address.

For a while Shuma Ali became Shuma Noor-Ali.  She was involved in several businesses with Ansar Ali.  The two we would like to focus on are Lettings1st Ltd and Elite Jewellery (International) Ltd. 

Here is a LINK to the Companies House register for Lettings1st Ltd.  Note that both Shuma Noor-Ali and Ansar Ali are registered at the 2 Scratton Road address.

Here is a LINK to the Companies House register for Elite Jewellery (International) Ltd.  This company is interesting for two reasons.  The first is that the company name is similar to the name of Elite Gems Ltd which was owned by Ansar Ali and Sami Raja.  ARTICLE 2 contains links to that scam and to the subsequent arrest and imprisonment of Sami Raja. The second reason it is interesting is because it had three company directors – Shuma Noor-Ali, Herman Liu and Abdul Mukith.  We’ve come across Abdul Mukith before.  He was involved in the Essex and London Properties scam which we have reported on in detail.  Here is a LINK to our December 2020 article which confirms Abdul Mukith has been charged by the UK Police and is facing criminal charges in connection with that scam.

Here is further evidence that Abdul Mukith is also known to Ansar Ali.  Twenty years ago they owned a restaurant together.  LINK to Plaza UK Ltd filing. In 2018 they were also both appointed to a charity linked to their mosque.

Now Shuma Ali has morphed into Shuma Noor.  Let’s look at her timeline.

July 2008  –  Shuma Noor is co-director of Contract Car Solutions Ltd with Ansar Ali.  LINK to Companies House website.

June 2016  –  Shuma Noor forms a company called Essex Property Investments Ltd.  LINK to Companies House website.  It’s registered office is currently 2 Scratton Road.

August 2016  –  Shuma Noor forms a company called Everest Building Services.  LINK to Companies House website.  She gives her correspondence address as 2 Scratton Road.

December 2018  –  Shuma Noor forms Horizon Hotel Group Ltd.  LINK to Companies House website.  It’s registered office is 2 Scratton Road.

In 2020 there appears to have been a decision to move into Supported Living.  We won’t keep providing links to the Companies House entries, but the following companies either have the 2 Scratton Road address OR the address of Chantry House, 10a High Street, Billericay, England, CM12 9BQ.  This is an address also favoured by a director called Adam Ali, who we believe is really Ansar Ali.

All of the following Shuma Noor companies are linked to one of these two addresses:

January 2020  –  Coastal Living Southend Ltd  –  (Chantry House);

June 2020  –  Southend Assets Clearance Ltd  –  (Scratton Road);

July 2020  –  Coastal Supported Living CIC  –  (Chantry House);

July 2020  –  Coastal Supported Living C.I.C  –  (Chantry House)  –  note this is not the same organisation as the other July 2020 company.

December 2020  –  Coastal Housing CIC  –  (Chantry House);

February 2021  –  Rosebuds Supported Living Ltd  –  (Scratton Road);

April 2021  –  Coastal Supported Living and Care Ltd  –  (Chantry House).

Below is a copy of the ‘About Us’ page from the coastal-housing.co.uk website.

Website_About Us – Coastal Supported Living 

This page is very interesting for two reasons.  The first is that it says “Shuma works alongside her husband Ansar Noor who owns Coastal Estates”.  There is a company called ‘Coastal Estates Ltd’ but it has nothing to do with Ansar Noor or supported living.  The second is “The Branch Hotel now houses over 20 rough sleepers…..”  So now we know that ‘Ansar Noor’ is associated with The Branch Hotel.  This brings us full circle back round to Rav Singh Dhillon in ARTICLE 1 – LINK.  The Branch Hotel is the investment opportunity being offered to investors on the UKPropertyClub website !

But, there’s a problem.  According to UKPropertyClub the Branch Hotel investment is a Parkmount Group property.  As described in ARTICLE 2 – LINK, Parkmount Group Ltd is allegedly owned by ADAM ALI, not Ansar Noor.

It’s clear that Shuma Ali uses the aliases Shuma Noor and Shuma Noor-Ali, and Ansar Ali uses the aliases Ansar Noor and Adam Ali.  It all looks very, very dodgy and explains the Coastal Supported Living Scam.

We recently wrote to Samantha Reeder,  the manager of the supported living company.  There is no suggestion that she is anything other than an innocent party.  We will direct her again to all three articles so that she has a fuller understanding and we’ll see what she does with the information. She has a duty to report any concerns.

In recent years supported living, care homes, nursing homes and other ventures claiming to support vulnerable people have become targets for scammers.  They are latching on to investor sentiment where investors are keen to make more ethical investments.  There have been notable high profile failures such as Carlauren Group, Qualia Care and St Camillus to name three.  Between them well-meaning investors have paid around £150m into those scams and they have all collapsed with big losses for investors.  This is not an industry which should tolerate any questionable activity.  There is no legitimate reason why genuine people entering these markets should use false names.  It points to another scam in which investors will end up losing their money and vulnerable people will find themselves caught up in a stressful situation not of their making.

Coastal Supported Living Scam.

Parkmount Group Scam

Earlier this month we covered the Intercare Wealth scam which was being perpetrated by Amandeep Kaur and Ravinder Singh Dhillon.  Here is a LINK to that article – ARTICLE 1

The Parkmount Group scam is one of several running at the same time involving a network of people involved in scams for more than a decade.  We are naming this report ARTICLE 2.

ARTICLE 1 describes how Amandeep Kaur and Rav Dhillon Singh are attempting to solicit investment into a supported living scam.  It also covers their other ventures of UK Property Club and Harley Street Property Club.

UKPropertyClub promotes Parkmount Group investments.  Rav Dhillon Singh (who has begun calling himself Rav Singh and he is not the only person who has chosen to use a variation on his real name) describes himself as a director of Parkmount Group, but as ARTICLE 1 points out, he isn’t a director and never has been.

We have established a link between Amandeep Kaur, Rav Singh Dhillon and the Parkmount Group scam.  As Parkmount Group only has one director, Adam Ali, we can be sure that Adam Ali knows Rav Singh and Amandeep Kaur.

However, we believe Adam Ali doesn’t exist.  We believe it is a false name and Adam Ali is in fact Ansar Ali.  Both men have been involved in a lot of companies.  Both are registered at Companies House as having been born in July 1976 and both men have companies registered at the same addresses.  Furthermore, both men have been registered at separate times as co-directors of companies involving a lady who has also used different versions of her name.  She has used the names of Shuma Ali, Shuma Noor-Ali and Shuma Noor.  Shuma Ali is the wife of Ansar Ali, but as you will see in the next article – ARTICLE 3, when she uses the alias of Shuma Noor she gives her husband an alias too.  His is Ansar Noor.

We are particularly concerned about the companies below which were registered under the name of Shuma Noor.  Our concern is that she is acting as a front for Ansar Ali and potentially others who would not pass the necessary regulations to be registered as a provider of supported living services.  The companies involved are:

Coastal Supported Living and Care Ltd;

Coastal Supported Living C.I.C;

Coastal Housing CIC

Coastal Living Southend Ltd

Rosebuds Supported Living Ltd.

We will be writing ARTICLE 3 on Shuma Ali / Shuma Noor-Ali / Shuma Noor and these five companies later this week.

It is clear from the promotional material on the UKPropertyClub Facebook page that Parkmount Group is trying to raise investment for conversion of the Branch Hotel in Westcliff-On-Sea into a HMO (House of Multiple Occupancy).  See image below taken from the Facebook page:

Adam Ali of Parkmount Group is registered as a director of Trulea Estates Ltd (LINK to Companies House entry).  You will note from this entry that the correspondence address for Adam Ali is 13 Cobham Road, Westcliff-On-Sea.  That is the address of the Branch Hotel as can be seen on this LINK to a hotel site.

A check on the planning portal for Westcliff-On-Sea shows there has been no planning application made for the Branch Hotel since 2005. 

Suspicious Timings & Events

1.  Ansar Ali has had a lot of company directorships but none after July 2017;

2.  Adam Ali has had a lot of company directorships but none before July 2017, except for one in a company called Maddox Constructions Ltd which is a fake entry.  That directorship was not registered until January 2021.  The filing in January 2021 stated that Adam Ali was appointed as a director in 2017.  It is fair to assume that this is a false entry back-dated to cover tracks.  Directorships are expected to be registered within a few days of appointment, not almost 4 years later.  Since May 2018 Adam Ali has been registered as a director in 13 new companies that we are aware of.

3.  Ansar Ali has been involved in carbon credit scams, diamond scams and palm oil scams.  See the links below to newspaper articles and UK Government articles:

ELITE GEMS ARTICLE BY INVESTIGATIVE NEWSPAPER REPORTER TONY HETHERINGTON

UK GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENT ON ANSAR ALI INVOLVEMENT IN CARBON CREDIT SCAM

PALM OIL ARTICLE BY INVESTIGATIVE NEWSPAPER REPORTER TONY HETHERINGTON

The two companies mentioned in the Tony Hetherington articles, Elite Gems Ltd and Quick Payroll Solutions Ltd had two directors – Ansar Ali and Sami Raja.  Below is an article on Sami Raja and his escape from UK justice by fleeing to Dubai.  Fortunately, Mr Raja got fed up in Dubai and felt the need for a holiday in Greece.  He was arrested when his plane landed and was extradited to the UK where he is now serving an eight-year prison sentence.

SAMI RAJA NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

We have discovered there were at least eight other companies where Ansar Ali and Sami Raja were co-directors.

4.  Ansar Ali was also a director of Belgravia Property Group Ltd until another late filing at Companies House notified that he had allegedly resigned in March 2019.  That filing was made in October 2020 so it’s clearly another false back-dated entry.

5.  The man calling himself Adam Ali was appointed as a director of Belgravia Building Services Ltd and Belgravia Construction Group Ltd.  Both of these appointments were also false back-dated entries made in June 2020 stating that Adam Ali had been appointed in July 2019.

It is no coincidence that these three companies have similar names, all have back-dated filings at Companies House, which is quite rare, and all three have the same registered office address of Chantry House, 10a High Street, Billericay, England, CM12 9BQ.

Adam Ali is really Ansar Ali.  You can view Ansar Ali’s LinkedIn profile on this LINK.

Finally, you may say it’s clear there is a link between the name of Adam Ali and Ravinder Singh Dhillon because of Parkmount Group, but is there a clear link between Ravinder Singh Dhillon and Ansar Ali which ties all of this together ?

See this LINK to the directors of a company called FLS (GB) Ltd.   You will see that Ansar Ali and Ravinder Singh Dhillon were the two directors of that company.

In the next article on this scam network we will be looking look at Shuma Ali / Shuma Noor-Ali / Shuma Noor and highlighting her links with scams and scammers.  Not only is she going by the name of Shuma Noor, but her husband is apparently called Ansar Noor.  We’ll go on to prove that Ansar Noor is really Ansar Ali in that article and also provide further proof that Adam Ali is also really Ansar Ali.

To view our 3rd article in the trilogy (Coastal Supported Living Scam) please click HERE.

Parkmount Group Scam.

Intercare Wealth Scam.

Intercare Wealth Ltd is running an investment scam.  Like other scams before it (Northern Powerhouse Developments, Carlauren Group, Qualiacare, St Camillus Care Group, Westway Holdings etc), it is targeting investors who would like to invest in opportunities which have health, wellbeing or significant socially responsible elements to their businesses e.g care homes, nursing homes, supported living schemes, respite solutions, social housing etc.

Intercare Wealth Ltd is a UK company incorporated less than a year ago in September 2020.  Its registered office is 20-22 Wenlock Road, London.  This is one of the UK’s leading ‘virtual office’ providers.  In other words, it’s just a postal address.  If you visit the office, you’ll find one receptionist who doesn’t have a clue which companies are registered at that address.  There are tens of thousands of companies registered at 20-22 Wenlock Road and none of them are actually there.

The director of Intercare Wealth Ltd is Amandeep Kaur.  This lady has history.  She is the partner of Ravinder Singh Dhillon who we have covered before (and will again later this week) – see this earlier article – LINK.

Before we look at the Intercare Wealth scam in more detail let’s delve into Amandeep Kaur’s history a little bit.  Amandeep Kaur was a director of UK company called The Argyle Group Ltd.  This company was formed in 2016.  It used another of the major London virtual office addresses at 152-160 City Road.  Her fellow director was Ravinder Singh Dhillon.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority issued a warning about The Argyle Group in December 2019 – LINK to FCA Warning.  This company was involved in selling precious stones to investors which turned out to be not so precious, and then moved into selling scam crypto-currencies.  It was forced into liquidation in June 2020 and the investigation is ongoing.

More recently, in January 2020, Amandeep Kaur was appointed as a director of UK Property Club Ltd – LINK to Companies House details.  Rav Singh Dhillon runs a Facebook page called UKPropertyClub which is full of, well, HIMSELF.  This guy isn’t shy about his scams.  Here is a LINK to the Facebook page. 

Rav Dhillon’s facebook page appears to be focused on promoting investments offered by a company called Parkmount Group Ltd.  Here are three images from the UKPropertyClub Facebook page.

According to Rav Dhillon he is a director of Parkmount Group Ltd.  Well, as usual, that’s a lie……

Not only is he not a director and never has been (see this LINK to the Director page at Companies House which proves he has never been a director), but at the time of writing this article Parkmount Group Ltd is in the process of being dissolved by Companies House !  –  See below .

Parkmount Group – Striking Off Announcement

We wonder what will happen to all of the imaginary ‘divisions’ within this allegedly huge group.  The Parkmount Group website lists seven different divisions.  Here’s a LINK to the website.  These guys certainly have vivid imaginations.  Anyone who invested with Parkmount Group needs to contact Companies House immediately to prevent them from dissolving the company. 

Dissolving companies is common for this team of scammers.  They have history of never filing company accounts so that Companies House is forced to dissolve the companies.  If they don’t file accounts, then nobody will ever know how much money they’ve taken in from investors and the company simply disappears.

Another interesting point is that Parkmount Group only has one director registered at Companies House, Adam Ali, and he isn’t real !  It’s a false name, but we know who is using the name of Adam Ali.  We’re getting ahead of ourselves because we’ll be publishing a separate article on Parkmount Group later this week.

Back to Amandeep Kaur and her scam companies.  In May 2021, Mrs Kaur incorporated another UK company.  This one is called Harley Street Property Club Ltd.  It’s not actually based in Harley Street (although the website falsely claims that it is).  The company’s registered office is once again at the virtual office address of 20-22 Wenlock Road.  Here is a LINK to the Harley Street Property Club website.  Nicely put together, but a scam nonetheless.

So……. now we are back the the Intercare Wealth scam.  The Intercare Wealth website (LINK to website here) is soliciting investment into supported living housing i.e housing for some of the most vulnerable members of society who need extra help to live on their own.

Here are a couple of passages from the Intercare Wealth website which sums up the scam.  We have highlighted the lies in bold:

Working with Intercare Wealth can help you make the most of your investment in every way. As a national provider of social housing, we have a great deal of experience and expertise in providing supported living property. Our proven track record has been fuelled by our commitment and passion for delivering high-quality housing that changes the lives of vulnerable people enabling them to live independently and purposefully.

We already have a firm foothold in the market and a solid reputation. Our growth prospects are strong and as a financially viable association, we’re set to expand as a national provider securing properties for long-term social housing.

The true version is:

1. Intercare Wealth was formed in September 2020 with the aim of scamming investors.

2. Intercare Wealth is not a national provider of social housing.  In fact, it has no housing whatsoever.

3. Intercare Wealth has absolutely no experience or expertise in providing supported living property.

4. Intercare Wealth has no track record in supported living housing.

The only track record Amandeep Kaur and Ravinder Singh Dhillon have is in establishing scams, stealing a lot of money from investors and, so far, getting away with it.  Anyone who invests in any of the above-mentioned companies is guaranteed to lose their money because they are scams.

It is high time these scammers were stopped and locked up.

Intercare Wealth Scam.

There have been additional articles on this scam which you can view using the links below:

ARTICLE 2 – PARKMOUNT GROUP SCAM – LINK

ARTICLE 3 – COASTAL SUPPORTED LIVING SCAM – LINK

ARTICLE 4 – INTERCARE WEALTH AND COASTAL SUPPORTED LIVING – LINK