How I deal with extortion, blackmail and media persecution.
The reason for writing this article and posting it on my website and giving it to the local press is because to be honest with you, I’m fed up and had enough of the nonsense written about me on the web and in fact by the media when it suits them. I am also fed up with constant unfounded allegations, lawsuits and blackmail.
In the coming days the Mail on Sunday or some other media outlet will write a story and its headlines will be along the following:
‘Posh Chairman has criminal action filed against him in Spain’
‘Peterborough United’s future under threat’
‘Fraud committed by Posh Chairman’
Like everybody knows, most journalists are only interested in selling newspapers, and they won’t let the truth get in the way of a good story. With the recent promotion, we are newsworthy at the moment, and as such the journalists come sniffing around again. I have had experience of it before. They ask me for my comment but whatever I say to them, they twist it to support the story they are peddling. It’s not just me. I have had the conversation with many others in my line of work, and they all tell me to just ignore it because any sensible people don’t believe the rubbish in the papers anyway. However, I have decided that enough is enough.
Since buying the club nearly 5 years ago, this has been a constant irritation. Its got to the point where my wife suggested that maybe I should sell the club and just walkaway from it entirely as if you Google my name, it appears I am about as popular as Osama Bin Laden or Gadaffi at the moment. Without knowing me or anything about me, you would think I am a criminal mastermind and someone who has been found guilty of fraud on a grand scale or dodgy by nature. The press love to harp on about freedom of speech but the reality is that anyone of us could go on the internet, hide behind an alias and post that our neighbor or boss is a pedophile and there is no recourse what so ever and in some cases no way to get this slander removed.
So let’s go back to Wednesday and my arrival home to my family in the states. My wife told me someone has called me at my home phone and left a message for me to call them as they have information I will be very interested in. I made the call and got through to some guy living in Spain who told me he works freelance for the British press. He had managed to track my home phone number down and address where my wife and children live from a well known forum set up to stalk and badger the life out of me. He seemed like a decent guy and so I asked him to get to the point as I’m jet lagged and tired from all the travel. ‘Do you know there is a criminal complaint being filed against you this week?’ he asked; to which I replied, ‘really, let me guess it involves a certain ambulance chaser lawyer in Spain and a handful of furniture purchasers?’ He mumbled confirmation and I told him to send any questions he may have in by email as a conversation over the phone isn’t the correct format for this situation. I have become wary and cynical of many journalists.
Let me take you back 12 months or more when a small-time lawyer based in Spain by name of Flores decided to post various ramblings on his blog (What ‘real’ lawyer writes a blog?!). Anyway, the blog fantasizes about me and a grand conspiracy that MRI sold furniture with-out the intent to supply any, and committed fraud in doing so. He goes on to state that if he could go to court and prove it is a criminal matter and hold me personally responsible, he would be able to go after assets I have such as Peterborough United. It is not allowed in Spain for lawyers to advertize for business, so his blog served as a method of circumventing those rules and get MRI clients excited and hire his services and put a few quid in his back pocket.
Back to present day and I have learned that this lawyer and his partners have been touring England and Ireland (I believe it is Dublin this weekend) like a travelling salesman, meeting people and convincing them to part with thousands of Pounds and Euros to lodge a ridiculous lawsuit. From numerous people that have attended these meetings, I have been told that the strategy is to lodge a lawsuit in a big court, and even though the lawsuit is very flimsy, the media hype around it will force me to settle to keep my name out of the press. I have not heard through official channels about his lawsuit nor been informed by his law firm or even approached about it. This Journalist in Spain yesterday has in fact emailed a copy of it and the 40 claimants and its contents. A 58-page claim lodged in court in Madrid, which after reading in Spanish as best I can, says that I was behind this fraud and took their funds between 2006 – 2008 without ever intending to deliver furniture etc. It states that my assets should be frozen in Spain and elsewhere and paints this picture of me as the bad guy by including postings on the Internet, which again are unfounded, and without merit.
The funny thing is as you can see in below copies of emails I have attached is that the Journalist was never meant to send me the entire suit, just the front page. But doesn’t it make you wonder why Flores the lawyer would be sending copies of this legal suit to an Editor of the Mail On Sunday as shown in direct email correspondence between himself and Lisa Buckingham, and the email sent from the freelancer to me directly? What credible lawyer would do that? It can only be to pressure me into settling.
Dear Mr MacAnthony
The claim was lodged in Madrid this morning. Please find a stamped copy (first page only) attached.
I would like to stress I did not set out to undermine or affect your reputation with Peterborough FC in any way. As a journalist I was solely seeking a response from the football club of which, of course, you are the chairman.
Please accept my apology for not replying to this request sooner – I only saw it by chance in the last few minutes.
Fergal MacErlean
Freelance journalist
Malaga
Regards,
From: Antonio Flores
Sent: viernes, 03 de junio de 2011 13:59
To: ‘Lisa Buckingham’
Subject: RE: Stamped front page of criminal complaint
Hello Lisa,
You are right, it is actually only the first page that gets stamped.
I have attached the full complaint, where the defendants are named (page 3).
I would be grateful if you could not disclose the names of the claimants unless of course they agree to, for confidentiality reasons.
Thanks
Regards
Antonio Flores
Abogado/Lawyer LLM (Essex) – Reg. Nº 4712 I.C.A. Málaga
E-mail: aflores@lawbird.com
Homepage: http://belegal.com/blog-by-antonio-flores/
From: Lisa Buckingham [mailto:Lisa.Buckingham@mailonsunday.co.uk]
Sent: viernes, 03 de junio de 2011 13:54
To: Antonio Flores
Subject: RE: Stamped front page of criminal complaint
Thanks for that. Am I being stupid because I cannot see the name of MRI nor of its former directors on this document…..
Lisa Buckingham, OBE
Editor
Financial Mail on Sunday
Telephone 020 7938 6878
Fax 020 7795 6437
It just shows what the real intention is. It is pretty obvious it is not to represent clients in the most professional way, rather it is designed to make me pony up a couple of hundred grand to make it all go away.
After having consulted with my lawyers in Spain about this fiasco, the first thing they said was: Flores has filed this complaint with the court in Madrid that is set up to handle major international terrorism cases, such as the Madrid Bombers, or Al-Qaeda. They said there is no reason at all for Flores to have filed the case in this court other than to attempt to create maximum headlines. I asked them how we can present our case against these wild accusations and they told me that it hasn’t even got to that point yet. The court has to first review their document and determine whether they think there is even a case to answer. They have seen this strategy before where the file is made, and even though it gets declined, it gives the accusers the chance to get stories in the press and other media as if it is already an accepted case. It’s a cheap and cynical move by an ambulance chaser, but for me it means more legal fees down the drain, more shitty press and more drama as per usual making me out to be a thief. By the time I win this case and put it to bed (even if it ever actually gets to court), no doubt the Mail On Sunday couldn’t care less and won’t even give it a mention. I’ll win another case against the press (I have won many) and the newspaper will make another donation to charity, and print the apology in small print on page 54 like usual.
Anyhow for those wondering what this claim is all about and the ins and outs let me give you a brief summary as best I can:
For about the 6 or 7 years before I bought Peterborough United everyone knows I ran a massive company selling real estate in 19 countries around the world, which did well over 20,000 plus sales in that period of time. One of the products offered was furniture to go in the homes people were buying in countries such as Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Bulgaria and so on. Because MRI had so many clients and could buy in bulk, we could get furniture at a much better price than one client buying on his own. A quick example would be Client A would buy a well priced pack in Morocco for x amount many months prior to the property being completed, we would then use our bulk purchasing power to negotiate with Supplier B in Morocco and pay them money for this furniture pack. It was a great programme, thousands upon thousands of clients got furniture and everything was great. That was until the recession hit. By late in 2008 and early 2009 these suppliers starting messing us around on deliveries and in fact many of them went out of business completely. Flores made a statement on his blog that if it could be proved that MRI were taking money for new furniture sales when already failing to provide existing orders, he might be able to twist it into a criminal case – because he could claim it was fraud. Unfortunately for Mr. Flores, MRI stopped selling furniture in 2008, and were still supplying furniture into properties as late as 2010. Here are some facts backed up by hard evidence if it’s ever needed in court and relates to all 40 claimants in this 58 page document filed in court:
- The last furniture pack order was taken in 2008 from a client.
- MRI Overseas Property can prove that it was still paying furniture suppliers all over the world for installing of furniture as late as 2010. In some cases MRI paid for the same furniture pack twice after the first supplier went bust, another was found to fulfill the order.
- In fact from 2006-2010 – MRI Overseas Property paid out nearly 14 million euros for furniture, a fact that can be backed up with bank statements as evidence.
- 8 of the 40 claimants in this ridiculous suit bought furniture in Morocco, records show MRI Overseas property were stung for over 800,000 euros by one supplier their funds were paid to and again is backed up by hard evidence including a legal complaint against this Moroccan company.
- 18 of the 40 claimants bought furniture for Bulgarian property and again there are records showing the Bulgarian furniture supplier taking the money and going out of business before supplying the furniture.
- Many of these 40 claimants didn’t even complete on their property purchase and so were not even in a position to receive their furniture. There was no house to put it into!
- Yet many of these clients came back 5 years later to ask for a refund by which time the MRI company was no longer trading.
- The average amount paid by these claimants is in the region of 6 or 7 thousands euros.
If you look at the facts, it is clear to see that this isn’t a case of fraud in anyway. Instead it is a case that thousands of people bought furniture packs – most got them, but a few didn’t as the company hit tough economical times. Of course it doesn’t give me any satisfaction hearing that people have lost money, but to be accused of some grand conspiracy and actual fraud is just plain and simply incorrect.
One final example of what I am dealing with might allow you to see this for what it really is and this account is backed up with evidence including emails from said client.
Michele Norcup is a prominent participant in this legal suit and in the MRISG website that is all about portraying me in worst possible way. She bought a property in Morocco and her furniture funds were given to the company who stung MRI Overseas Property and didn’t deliver on furniture it was paid for. During 2010 when MRI Overseas Property was still in a position economically to help, a second furniture supplier was sourced and paid to deliver a large amount of packs so clients could end up with furniture. After being stung the first time, MRI sent down a team of highly experienced people to ensure that no mistakes could happen and clients would definitely get their furniture. Ms. Norcup was contacted repeatedly to ask her for the key to her apartment so they could install the furniture for her. She kicked up a fuss, avoided telephone calls, and wouldn’t give a definite answer. Eventually, MRI received proof from someone else confirming that she actually hadn’t completed on her property and was actually just hoping MRI would not supply the furniture and would give her a refund instead. MRI kept up its end of the agreement. She did not. Look at this email from one of MRI’s employees for proof…
On Sep 25, 2010, at 12:37 AM, Dean Masters dean.masters@mrioverseasproperty.com wrote:
Michele,
Further to the email below I really need you to contact me back to tell me where to deliver your furniture in Morocco.
I have tried calling both your land line and mobile numbers leaving urgent messages for you on both, in fact one time when I called your home number I was told by another woman that you were not there and that you should be back around 6pm, unfortunately every time I tried after 6pm there was no answer.
Please can you get back to me ASAP with instruction on where you want your furniture to go as I have people on the ground there now waiting for this instruction from you.
I look forward to hearing back from you shortly.
Regards
Dean Masters – MRI
She has since spent her time joining this legal suit, posting defamatory comments about me personally on the MRISG site, and doing everything in her power to make allegations like these stick. She wont win her battle I promised you that.
I think I have covered it all in the above and hope people with common sense read it and see this whole thing for what it is and understand it all better because I have no doubt this message wont be displayed in any article the Mail On Sunday might write. No doubt I will have to spend thousands of pounds of legal fees over this and for what may I ask; running a company as best I can in difficult times and having to do what many others have had to over last few years, move on, sell up or liquidate leaving behind creditors who wont get their full funds back for a mixture of reasons.
I have never broken the law, committed fraud or any crime, nor have I ever been spoken to by the SFO or arrested like some claim on certain websites, I operated a company which did thousands and thousands of sales all around the world with many happy clients, but will forever be haunted by the few hundred for which it didn’t work out as planned.
I’ll leave it to you to draw your own conclusion.
Thanks for reading.
Darragh
