A businessman whose company claimed to help people who wanted to emigrate to the US is being investigated by the US Secret Service following allegations that he stole more than £10 million (US$14.7 million) from clients.
Derick Coles, who has homes in Mayfair, London and Florida, promised to set up secure bank accounts for Britons who wished to obtain green cards through a US government-approved scheme.
His alleged victims claim that, after they wired money to the supposedly secure account, it was stolen. The theft has left many people’s dreams of starting a new life in the US in tatters.
The claims have sparked an international search for evidence and victims of Coles’ alleged scams. Scotland Yard has been in touch with the US immigration and customs authorities and the FBI.
Coles, 62, who has been described as a convincing and personable grandfather figure, used his company, New Horizons Group, to woo dozens of customers at a series of meetings in hotels across the UK. His alleged victims were those who wished to move to the US under the EB-5 visa scheme, which demands that emigrants deposit money in a secure escrow account, but expected to have it returned to them at a future date. Escrow is a legal arrangement in which money is delivered to an agent to be held in trust.
John Joyce, a spokesman for the Secret Service office in Tampa, Florida, said that officials have launched a comprehensive investigation into the fraud allegations.
“The US Secret Service Tampa field office is investigating a number of complaints from British citizens who have apparently been victims of a fraud scheme in which they thought their large financial investment would ultimately allow them to obtain their green card giving them permanent residential status in the US,” Joyce said. “This office is actively pursuing this case and I am optimistic that those who are responsible will be vigorously prosecuted for any criminal activity.”
He called for alleged victims to come forward and contact the US authorities.
Stuart Layton, 44, a professional golfer, from Felsted, Essex, invested US$410,000 with Coles after they had met at a hotel in Dartford, Kent. He and his wife, Paula, wished to launch a new career in the US with their five children after cashing in endowment policies, stocks and shares, selling cars and borrowing money from their parents. They wired the money to Coles’ supposed escrow account last July and August. In November, however, they were told by a US official that the funds had been misappropriated.
“It has wiped us out, we have to start again,” Layton said. “We are absolutely distraught and feel the same as others that we have been duped into believing our dreams could come true.”
Their hopes of moving to Florida had become urgent, because their 11-year-old son Ross suffers from chronic arthritis and requires a warm climate.
Coles, who was born in Bournemouth, could not be contacted at his Mayfair mews home, on sale for £1.25 million.
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