CompaniesFeb 20 2014

Matthew Ames awaits sentencing for fraud

twitter-iconfacebook-iconlinkedin-iconmail-iconprint-icon
Search supported by

Essex-based Ames, who lived a millionaire’s lifestyle in a gated property with a rented Lamborghini, was found guilty on two counts of fraudulent trading and has had to surrender his passport while on bail.

The court heard that the investment scheme was so appealing that many famous names were taken in and offered their support, such as James Middleton, brother to HRH the Duchess of Cambridge.

This seemingly ethical fund, which cited a connection to the Rainforest Alliance – the fund’s designated operational entity – had attracted Mr Middleton with its claims to help protect the Amazonian rainforest.

In fact, during a trade fair in London in 2010, he helped to represent the fund.

In a 24-page document the Forestry for Life scheme stated that it could “guarantee a 12 per cent return for the first three years”, was a “low-risk ethical investment opportunity” and would help to “protect and regrow the rainforests”.

Isleworth Crown Court heard that the scheme achieved none of those aims and the investments did not exist.

Matthew Ames, 38, was found guilty following a jury trial with Judge Paul Dugdale presiding.

One investor caught up by Forestry for Life had been introduced by Ames’ father, David Ames, the founder of the Harlequin property investment schemes, the court heard.

In court, investor David Middleton (no relation to HRH the Duchess of Cambridge), gave evidence, stating he had dealt with David Ames and his business Harlequin.

It was then that Mr Ames Snr told him about his son Matthew and his green projects.

The court heard that David Ames then passed on David Middleton’s details to his son.

According to David Middleton, Matthew Ames then contacted him and eventually persuaded him to sell £75,000 in shares to plough into his other firm, Investor Club.

The court heard that Matthew Ames also hired England World Cup winner Jack Charlton and sport supremo Sir Rodney Walker to promote Forestry for Life and Investor Club, at events.

The company director’s glossy brochures included quotes from Prince Charles and Tony Blair to promote teak plantation schemes in Sri Lanka and an investment in the protection of the Brazilian rainforest.

But no land was ever purchased by Ames’ two companies and not a single tree was ever planted, the court was told.

The court heard that even an elderly investor had been swindled out of £75,000 for a fake tree scheme after claims the teak market was outstripping that of gold and oil.

Ames blew the cash on sports cars, flying first class around the world and staying in luxury villas in the Caribbean, the jury was told.

A jury of six men and six women at Isleworth Crown Court found Ames guilty by majority verdict.

Ames secured a total of more than £1.1m in investments into Investor Club following its launch in August 2008. Meanwhile, Forestry for Life, set up in July 2009, took £400,000 from green investors.

James Middleton was photographed representing the green firm at a carbon trading exhibition in London in October 2010 while Matthew Ames was under investigation by the then regulator, the FSA.

Mr Middleton had reportedly briefly worked with Ames for work experience after becoming involved in the development of Forestry for Life in June 2010, although he was never formally employed by Ames and there is no suggestion Mr Middleton had any knowledge of, or implication in, the fraud. The company would offer investors carbon credits that would be used to plant trees and offset their carbon footprint, the court heard.

But Forestry for Life was offering credits for a rainforest it did not own and the firm rarely gave investors certificates or proof of purchase.

Ames also offered investors high return rates of 15 per cent a year on their original investments but returns were often late and not paid in full.

The jury heard that Ames used a Ponzi scheme to conceal the fraud by repaying early investors with new investors’ money.

The company director was finally caught following an undercover sting by the Basildon Echo in August 2010 in which a reporter was mis-sold carbon credits.

The article led to the FSA investigating Ames’ firms, both run from a converted barn in Laindon, Essex.

Both Forestry for Life and the Investor Club were placed into liquidation in March 2011 with combined debts of more than £1.6m.

Ames was arrested in September 2011 following a referral from the FSA to City of London Police’s specialist fraud unit.

Giving evidence, Matthew Ames claimed he was “this close” to selling his business to Barclays Bank before he was shut down by the authorities.

The green finance boss told jurors he was not able to plant 5,000 tree saplings in Sri Lanka because he could not secure the “right” land.

He also claimed that every penny of the tens of thousands of pounds that he invoiced his firms for business expenses was “perfectly legitimate”.

Ames spent investors’ cash on meals at the exclusive Ivy in the West End and at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, alongside stays at the Savoy, the Hilton, and the Mandarin Oriental, a five-star hotel in Hong Kong.

He also invoiced Forestry for Life and Investor Club for a stay at the Upper House in Hong Kong and tickets to a Manchester United game at Old Trafford.

Jurors also heard of Ames’ boasts to potential ethical investors. In one April 2010 email, he wrote: ‘You just caught me coming out of a Lamborghini after ordering my new one. ‘I’m opening a new office in Dubai alongside ones in Singapore, Dublin, and London and have travelled between India, Singapore, and London’.