More Reo bosses facing jail and Easynights Ltd struck off

trumpton

Regular MSE Vent readers will recall my previous threads about a group of companies based in Derbyshire and Leeds who pressure sell mobility goods to the elderly.

Last year 2 of the bosses of Compass Mobility were jailed for "fleecing the elderly of £2.2 million in less than a year".

Rodney Stone got 4 years and Geoffrey Moore got 2 years.

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2011/11/reo-marketing-bosses-jailed-fo.html

Their co-defendants decided to withdraw their guilty plea and take their chance at a trial. Last week, "parasites so vile" Vincent Watkinson and Timothy Wright were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud.

Shockingly, a lady of 99 was intimidated into signing a cheque that one of their staff had already written for £1700 for an aid she could not use.

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2012/07/compass-mobility-the-shocking.html

A further Reo boss, John Higginson, plead guilty and will be sentenced later with these two.

Whilst in trouble over Reo Marketing, the same people started up JVATS Ltd which did the same scam of pressure selling to the elderly. This and 3 other companies were all shut in April by the DTI. One of them was Midlands Healthcare who had no clients and received monies only from Compass, Reo, and Jvats Ltd.

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2012/03/jvats-the-firm-that-preyed-on.html

Director of Midlands Healthcare was Janet Barber, former director of Express Healthcare Ltd in Leeds - a company set up and now run by the O'Reilly family. They have run other bed companies shut by the DTI like More Than Mobility.

Also in April, the DTI moved to strike off Easynights Ltd of Leeds. This was the latest in a series of Leeds bed companies which involved the same group of people - Lorraine Bryan and Amanda Goor. Both of whom were made to sign business undertakings last year:

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2011/03/from-more-than-mobility-to-eas.html

So, for now all these scammers have had their latest ventures shut down. However, the Insolvency Service and West Yorks Trading Standards will I am sure be interested in any info anyone may have about their activities.

Lorraine Bryan, Damien O'Reilly, and Amanda Goor are all banned directors and should not be involved in running a company in any way shape or form. Also, if Bryan and Goor, or salesman Paul Close, breach their court undertaking they are liable for contempt of court charges.

Trading Standards
West Yorkshire Joint Services
PO Box 5, Nepshaw Lane South,
Morley, LS27 0QP Tel: 0113 2530241
Fax: 0113 2530311

The guys at the Mirror are very interested in the people involved in these companies too, so why not inform them should you have any unsatisfactory dealings with any of the above mentioned companies and individuals.

Azari

Result!

....

trumpton

Yes, quite a good result. Nice to see that the authorities are getting tough with these 'phoenix' companies who liquidate and restart constantly. Good that the charges are conspiracy to defraud criminal charges, not consumer ones.

I anticipate some serious jail time as they withdrew their guilty pleas and took a chance at getting off. Let's hope they start recovering their assets as well.

Of course, there are still a number of people who in my opinion should be facing criminal charges, but investigations continue I expect, so perhaps we can look forward to further action in the months to come.

arcon5

An 85-year-old thought the salesman was charging £299 but the rep wrote £2,995 on the customer's cheque.

As low as it gets for me!

trumpton

Timothy Wright and Vincent Watkinson got 5 years each. John Higginson will be sentenced in October. Good to see that the jury recognised this as what it was - a criminal enterprise from start to finish:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2183253/Two-1million-fraudsters-sold-mobility-scooter-blind-man-jailed.html

"They were told by a judge as they were jailed that they displayed a "wholly arrogant and uncaring attitude" and showed not a "jot of remorse"."

"Judge Marson QC told the men that, in his view, REO was a phoenix company and the men were being "paid out by cash in brown envelopes" from it while on bail, which he said was an aggravating feature in the case."

The fact that they started another company, JVATS - now shut by DTI - whilst on bail for these offences shows that they really did not give a toss and seemed to think they were untouchable.

No doubt investigations will continue into other associated companies and hopefully we will see a number of other individuals facing similar charges.

trumpton

John Higginson has now been jailed for 2 years, after hundreds of complaints about the companies he ran:

http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/extra/news-item.cfm/newsid/973

Higginson "acknowledged the activities of the company were shameful and predatory". The judge noted that, "The final offence he admitted involved a salesman refusing to leave an elderly person’s home despite being repeatedly asked to do so. In the end the customer signed the agreement to get the salesman out of her home."

All the directors will now be subject to an investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act to confiscate the assets they have acquired as a result of their criminal conduct.

It is my view that these parasites will have no remorse at all about the misery and distress they have caused to hundreds of elderly people over the years. Read the comments posted by 'John Higginson' on the Daily Mirror Investigations stories to see his attitude.

Let's hope that this brings an end to a shameful scam that has gone on for years and has netted them millions. Two years is not nearly enough though.

Investigations into associated companies continue and I am hopeful of further prosecutions.