When I reviewed the Imperial Investments Ponzi scheme I questioned whether co-founder Scott Wood actually existed. Unlike co-founder and habitual Red Bull drinker Dan Pugh, who fronts all Imperial's Facebook videos, Scott Wood kept in the background, with no public image other than a photo of some baby.
Thanks to reader "CG", I can reveal that Scott Wood does exist and is a convicted cannabis producer.
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In October 2018 I reviewed The Capital Bridge's IFISA bonds paying 9% per year. The Capital Bridge, whose full name was initially Capital Bridge Bondco 1 and then First Northbridge (it looks unlikely there'll ever be a sequel) loaned investors' money to Capital Bridging Finance Solutions Limited.
CBFS went into administration in April and The Capital Bridge inevitably followed it into administration in June. [Hat tip to reader Alex Wright who brought the collapse to my attention.]
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Struggling property investment scheme Magna Global has filed July 2019 accounts for its MIX2 entity, reporting a £1 million loss.
This follows Magna investors reporting they have not been repaid on time, and one of Magna's other companies which took in money from investors, Magna Investments X (aka MIX1), also posting a £1 million loss.
Magna Global has defaulted on interest payments to investors and written to investors to say that their loans may not be repaid, according to The Mirror.
The Mirror's article was based on the story of a couple who invested £950,000 with Magna Global, and are now unable to repay their mortgage.
Aston Darby, which offered investment in car parking spaces paying 11% per year, has been shut down by the Insolvency Service after winding up petitions were presented in June. Reviews on Google allege the company defaulted on interest payments as early as 2018.
According to the Insolvency Service, Aston Darby operated as a Ponzi scheme by paying off investors with new investors' money rather than revenue from its car parks.
Fortitude Capital has collapsed into administration. Neil Bennett & Alex Cadwallader of Leonard Curtis have been appointed as administrators.
The administrators were appointed by a secured creditor, which based on Companies House's list of charges is most likely to be Fortitude's Security Trustee, More Group.
I reviewed Fortitude Capital's bonds in September 2018 and noted that, despite Fortitude's owner Ajaz Shah claiming in literature that "The foundation of Fortitude is capital preservation", the bonds were inherently high risk.
Administrators Duff and Phelps have released their initial report into collapsed property minibond scheme Blackmore.
Of £46 million raised from investors, director Patrick McCreesh has estimated in a Statement of Affairs that less than £5 million is likely to be realised to pay them back.
The liquidators of MJS Capital have released an update into the first year of its winding up.
In total MJS Capital raised £42 million from investors, including via unregulated introducers. Claims for £36 million have been received by the liquidators and they estimate a further £6 million is yet to be claimed.
Allansons LLP, the solicitors behind a collapsed investment scheme which offered returns of 50% over 6-18 months, described as "zero risk" and "100% secure" by its third-party introducers, has gone into voluntary liquidation.
Voluntary liquidation indicates that sole director Roger Allanson instigated the process rather than investors doing so.
Accumulate Capital is run by an ex-alumni of Signature Capital, Paul Howells, who formerly described himself as a "Partner" at Signature. Its corporate entity was originally incorporated as EQT Capital Limited by Sarah Schofield, a director of two Signature companies. Signature Capital collapsed into administration in April.
Let's be very clear - the fact that both Accumulate's once and current owner were ex-Signature alumni does not mean that Accumulate is the same company as Signature.
One thing Accumulate and Signature do share however (apart from ex-Signature staff) is a predilection for pointless legal threats, while withholding information from their own lawyers.
