Bar Works: The return of Renwick Haddow

993 thoughts on “Bar Works: The return of Renwick Haddow”

1. Good work Chris, it’s good to know that Renwick Haddow is still about as it means, hopefully, we investors who have lost a lot of money in Capital alternatives, and the regualtors will one day catch up with him!!!

2. Let me guess, the potential returns on such a great investment will be around 20%.

   But it’s a stupid idea that makes no sense. Why work out (and pay) for the use of a very cramped telephone box where you obviously can’t even sit down when you can take your laptop/phone into a coffee shop and relax on a nice chair or sofa.

   However, it makes a lot of sense if you’re the one’s selling the idea and receiving lots of money from investors…

3. Seems Renwick Haddow has filed for and been granted bankruptcy. Seems he wont be paying any Uk investors in Capital Alternatives a penny back.
   https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/2591667

4. Lorna Moore is Renwick Haddows sister……..

5. Very strange all of this as I have it from a very reliable source that Mr Haddow was indeed involved at the beginning with Bar Works a fact which he hasn’t been shy on telling people but only in an advisory capacity. The juice however is he is actually a shareholder and active in a company called Our Space. Take a look at ourspace.work (couldn’t even get the .com!). Now this does have the hall marks of Mr Haddow. Bar Works is actually a fast expanding brand I went to visit their site on San Fran. It is a historical building and I hate to say it looks fantastic and more importantly was busy with paying members. Our Space on the other hand have opened a space in a secondary town in Spain and would you believe there exclusive agent United Property Group – United Property Invest – sell Our Space from the Our Space offices. The other key figure involved is Jim Moore of Inside Track fame. What a duo, Haddow and Moore in Spain selling a product that has more holes in it than my winter hat!

6. Total fake work space with no members and run by kids from the ghetto, who are too naive to realize that JB is Haddow and Simpson is Milhench. Got to wonder who Kinard is…..look out.

7. @Marcus, not convinced your post is genuine. It looks to me that you may be linked to Bar Works and are aiming to deflect attention away from the company.

   What we know for sure is that Haddow’s wife is described by Bar Works as a co-founder and is using a false name. We also know that the CEO of Bar Works, Jonathan Black (if he even really exists), is not keen for his face to be made public and uses a photograph of another person on his Linked-In page. We also know that Haddow is described in documents as ‘a principal’ of Bar Works i.e an owner, and his signature is on documents binding the company to contracts. It is not normal for a consultant to have the authority to bind a client to legal documents. Everything about Bar Works is suspicious and points to being controlled by Haddow.
   Perhaps @Greg is right and Jonathan Black is actually Renwick Haddow. That could be quite easily cleared up by Mr Black appearing in a video on their website or proving his identity to one of the journalists. It is interesting that Mr Black was only willing to communicate with journalists by email and didn’t offer to meet them where they would have got a good look at his face.

   Haddow was also ‘only a consultant’ to the Capital Organisation in the UK but it is common knowledge that he was the beneficial owner and, according to some reports, he and his colleagues ripped investors off for more than $150 million.

   Perhaps you are correct and OurSpace is another Haddow-controlled company, but you haven’t provided any evidence to support that allegation. My guess (and it is a guess) is that OurSpace is a copy of Bar Works and is being run by people who were previously associated with Haddow and who he now dislikes. OurSpace is based in Dubai. It is well known that when the FCA launched their investigation into Haddow’s operations several of his former colleagues relocated to Dubai and opened copycat operations. Maybe they are still there and have been following Haddow’s progress with a view to copying him or maybe Haddow has kept in contact and is behind OurSpace and Bar Works after all. I think it is more likely to be the former otherwise you wouldn’t have come on here bigging up Bar Works on one hand and rubbishing OurSpace on the other.

   I can’t help but feel that you are a Bar Works plant. To quote “I have it from a reliable source that Mr Haddow was involved in the beginning with Bar Works……. but only in an advisory capacity”. You don’t need a reliable source for that. We all know Haddow has been involved in Bar works since the beginning. Don’t be coy – who is your source ? Why are you not prepared to divulge his/her name ? Why isn’t that person writing to Chris Lang and providing him with evidence so that Chris can publish it here and put investors’ minds at rest ? If your source is on the inside why isn’t the company responding to this article and providing proof that the article is incorrect ? Why doesn’t Jonathan Black come out and provide evidence of his ID ?

   You gave away your true colours when you couldn’t resist inserting a very unsubtle promotion of Bar Works into your post. This was presumably aimed at investors who have read this report and are rightly concerned that they have been victims of a scam. “Bar Works is actually a fast expanding brand I went to visit their site on San Fran. It is a historical building and I hate to say it looks fantastic and more importantly was busy with paying members.”

   “Bar Works is actually a fast expanding brand….” – sounds like a line straight out of the Bar Works marketing brochure.
   The “….and more importantly was busy with paying members” is just so so obvious. I think most genuine people would have said “…..and there were quite a few people in there”.

   Obviously it is very important to Bar Works to keep the investment rolling in because Haddow’s businesses normally collapse as soon as money from new investors dries up. The best way for Bar Works to get new investment would be to disprove the allegations. Maybe @Marcus should pass that back to his ‘source’ / sponsors.

8. Greg, you must be on something! I am at the West Village location regularly. The place is packed. Sounds like you either are an ex employee or competitor?

9. Marcus Riley, do you have anything to say about Marksie’s very compelling points? Who is Jonathan Black?

10. Also, @Marksie, do you have any evidence for these two points specifically?

    – “What we know for sure is that Haddow’s wife is described by Bar Works as a co-founder and is using a false name”

    – “We also know that Haddow is described in documents as ‘a principal’ of Bar Works i.e an owner, and his signature is on documents binding the company to contracts.”

    Thanks

11. @Jan Novak, I don’t have any evidence myself. My comments were based on the article written by the TheRealDeal who had a team of people looking into Bar Works and made those claims.
    If you go to ‘The Return of Renwick Haddow’ above and click on the word ‘article’ it will take you to the piece written by TheRealDeal. If you are looking for hard evidence you could contact the reporter and ask how they obtained it. He has asked people to contact him (see bottom of the article).
    @Greg – how do Simpson and Kinard fit into this? Are they part of the Bar Works team and how do you know that Simpson is Milhench?

12. Looks like the USA isn’t big enough for Bar Works. http://www.clinchproperty.com are offering the latest Bar Works venture. This time it’s in Turkey.

    “Purchase a 99 year lease in Bar Works third property located at the Sea of Marmara Istanbul and earn up to 16% PA.
    Take the opportunity to gain from the explosion in the demand for shared office work space, which is one of the fastest growing segments of the property market.
    Trade has long been the lifeblood of Istanbul, and today roughly 30% of all of Turkey’s commercial companies are reckoned to be located in the city, making the local chamber of commerce one of the largest such organizations in the world.

    Limited availability at the Beylikduzu district
    No upkeep or maintenance fees
    Potential 16% rental income per annum
    Rental payments paid monthly – first payment received within 14 days from investment
    Buy Back option at 125% after the second year
    Investment and returns in USD $ which provides stability in these volatile times.”

    Don’t be fooled. If Haddow is following his usual practice your rental payments will be taken from your own investment money and paid back to you in small amounts. That way he gets people going online to say what a great investment it is because they invested their money and started getting rental payments straight away. Those positive reviews bring in 10 times as many new investors. It’s classic Ponzi scheme strategy.

    Many Haddow-controlled companies have promised buy-backs but not one has ever bought back any investment and none of them have maintained rental payments for very long.

13. TheRealDeal is still highlighting serious concerns over Bar Works and whether investors are being conned out of their money. https://therealdeal.com/2017/02/24/bar-works-scrubs-mystery-ceos-name-from-docs-continues-to-raise-money/
    A genuine company would be desperate to meet the journalists to put the record straight. Bar Works is working very hard to avoid contact with the journalists which suggests they have something to hide.

14. The Insolvency service have issued the following press release regarding Agri Firma Capital. One of Capital Alternatives network of companies.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/australian-wheat-investment-scam-directors-reap-lengthy-disqualifications

    I have contacted the insolvency service to ascertain the name of the man alleged to have been the controlling director and they replied that it was Renwick Robert Haddow.

15. Are there lawyers that we can contact, as a collective, to try and recover some of the money already invested?

16. Good article but dig deeper
    UPI, Jim Moore, ourspace to start with

17. @Scotty – Marcus Riley beat you to it with this comment. See also Marksie’s reply. If you have any details or further information to add to this discussion, that would be great. Thanks!

18. Anyone who invests into a ‘license’ with no asset backing the return must be crazy or had one helluva ‘pitch’.
    I don’t understand how a ‘buyback’ can even be offered at a fixed rate? Does the desk increase in value over time?

    I wonder why ourspace was set up if barworks and all involved were raising so much cash?

19. Is it true about Jim Moore?
    Does anyone know where he is?

20. Has anyone tried to get lawyer to claim back the money before the model collapse? They could not answer my questions, they just keep telling that their venues are packed. If so, why facebook page only 521 likes and instagram only 390 followers? I am thinking their members are not more than 50 and that memberships only in West Village. Their business is super terrible, they just use new investors money to payout monthly rent do previous investors – absolutely Ponzi model.

21. @Stephanie, I have the exact same concerns. Maybe we could set up a Facebook group to draw together other concerned investors.

    Do you have any experience with what steps to take when you think you’ve been drawn into a Ponzi scheme?

    Have you seen the ‘executive summary’? It states that the San Francisco location alone has a monthly turnover of $140,000. If that is the case where’s the pictures of all these happy end users, using the work spaces? A lot of the pictures used on their instagram appear to feature the same person!

    All logical thinking points towards the conclusion that returns are being paid with new investment money, rather than revenue from the Bar Works coworking spaces (ie: the definition of Ponzi). You would think that it would be possible, and indeed in the interest of Bar Works, to prove this allegation wrong and also for Jonathan Black to come forward publicly and make a statement. All very worrying.

22. First off let me start with an apology. I did not mean to criticize or offend anyone who has invested into this or the ourspace schemes by using the word ‘crazy’. We’ve all had the slick pitch and marketing thrown at us down the phone at some stage and the marketing with this scheme is as slick as it gets.

    With respect to it being a Ponzi scheme, many of these types of schemes follow that model. This is all circumstantial at present until the serious fraud squad or lawyers or similar are contacted and it’s proven however it has all the markings.

    Let’s use an example. Investor puts in 100k. (These people tend to offer an ‘entry level’ always at circa 20k to generate more enquiries and then upsell and exploit the investor) They are offered say 15% return each year and a 125% buyback after 5 years (contract terms are normally so tight with these schemes and in favour of the ‘seller’ so you need a legal opinion on it).
    This means the investor gets 15k each year and 125k after 5 years. That’s 200k in total back for 100k in or 100% return.
    Doable? In some property markets, at a real push. The property would need to be undervalued to start with, tenanted and above all over 5 years increasing in value but if you look at the uk as an example you might get 5% each year in income and 5% growth so over the same 5 years, it’s basically half of barworks. And that’s probably in the most stable (or was), mature, legally tight market available right now.

    Now, work on this – if your 100k invested is actually only around 75k after the master agent, sub agent, barworks, directors etc have all taken their cut, the scheme actually has to yield 20% each year in income to pay you your 15% return and the growth aspect has to be over 65% over the 5 years to hit the buyback target.
    Doable?

    The ins and outs of which people are involved is really neither here nor there. What you have to assess is how you file and against which entity and in which jurisdiction if your lawyer advises to do so.

    This is a huge jigsaw with the outsides done. Finding the middle bits might prove tricky but someone (Serious Fraud/lawyers/FCA etc) should be approached and an investigation opened. Your agent won’t give you any information as I doubt they even know themselves what’s going on and who is pulling which strings and remember commission driven and already received.

    Not sure which forums/where you get the biggest numbers of investors to join but there must be hundreds, globally, affected.

    As I said Mr. Lang has done a good job so far but someone needs to take this to the next stage.

    Two phrases spring to mind; leopards and spots and where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

    Good luck to all

23. Hi @Scotty, thanks for your input, you seem to have some experience with this type of thing. Can you tell us what similar schemes you have seen in the past and how they were dealt with?

    In the example of Bar Works, at the highest investment/return level, they offer 16% annual return with the option of a buy back at 125% after 2 years. Technically the investor is buying a 10 year, or even 99 year lease, but as I understand it, the buy back at 2 years is a kind of break clause.

    If somebody invested $125,000 (the minimum investment to get the 16% return, I believe), they would receive 16% the first year, broken into monthly payments, 16% the second year, then 125% at the end of the 2nd year, if they request the buyback. That gives a total return of 57% on top of the initial capital after 2 years.

    That does sound too good to be true, granted, but as you say, “slick pitch”.

    Can I ask you what you think the next stage is, specifically?

    Is there a particular lawyer/firm that would be especially suited to this type of thing that you know of? I’ve heard the Financial Ombudsman is only really effective with financially regulated companies, but they are free and even for a consultation, lawyers fees are going to mount up quickly. I’m also getting the impression that a large proportion of investors in Bar Works are UK based, though maybe there are a great many from all over the world. I do think that a lot of people have discovered this page though, so maybe here is a good place to try to ’round people up’.

    Serious Fraud is an option but as you say, all evidence is circumstantial at the moment and returns have been paid up to the present.

    I have actually contacted the FCA myself and, because Bar Works are based in the US, the FCA seem more interested in the UK based brokers of the Bar Works model. Obviously the brokers and Bar Works are all unregulated so I think the jurisdiction of the FCA is somewhat limited anyway.

    What you said about all the cuts that have to be taken by the various agents/sub agents/directors etc. has crossed my mind, then there is the matter of Pod Works in the UK which Bar Works appear to be funding. All of these different entities, as well as the different entities of Bar Works itself :-
    barworks.nyc, barworksusa.com, barworspartners.com, barworks.us make for, at the very least, a very complicated explanation.

    Everybody seems to be getting paid so far and I imagine, if the allegations are true, they are getting paid out of newly invested money, hence the seemingly huge/increasing amount of new brokers/agents appearing on several pages of google as soon as you search ‘bar works investment’.

    What do you take from the concerns about Bar Works’ low numbers on social media that Stephanie raised?

    Just out of interest, are you UK based? I am, by the way. And can you help in any way as we try and move forward and get to the bottom of this?

    I’m assuming the only logical next step is to speak with lawyers.

    One last question, for @Alic, who made an earlier comment:- Do you have any evidence for your claim of Lorna Moore being Renwick Haddow’s sister?

    Hopefully more and more genuine investors in Bar Works can get in contact through this page and we can attempt to figure out the best way of moving forward.

24. @Jan – honestly? I wouldn’t know specifically who to contact and I’ll explain why together with the issues you face.
    1. As you rightly point out, you are in ‘unregulated territory’. Anything like this or property investment falls into this category. The upside is you can generate higher returns than the regulated sector. The downside is companies like this can set up, raise funds, disappear and you have no ‘body’ who can act for you. So the FCA probably won’t take it on unless it’s classed as a ‘collective scheme’. I presume though that the way they have got round this is to provide everyone with individual contracts or licenses?

    2. Jurisdiction – is the contract under US law or uk law? Do you ‘sit’ contractually with barworks directly or the master agent or the sub agent you dealt with? My guess and I emphasize a guess is that you filled in a form with your agent who then sent it on to the master agent who then send on to a lawyer in the US and you sent money directly to an ‘escrow account’?

    3. Returns are being paid – this is a tricky one. What do you do, wait until they stop and then look into taking action? Will it be too late then? Do you prep now for when it does happen? The first thing that will likely happen is a ‘delayed payment’. This could be genuine but could also be that the agents have had a slow month. This could well point you to the Ponzi idea as your returns are basically reliant on other investors.

    4. Number of entities and people involved creates a minefield of who you ‘go after’ if that’s your chosen route. People in this ‘field’ tend to set up things as complicated as possible.

    You need first of all to find out if any investors have been to any of the sites and seen them functioning.

    Is there a way of enquiring about membership to see/investigate how true their numbers are? Social media seems low yes and some ‘likes’ can be employees!
    Someone mentioned a turnover of $140,000 a month (!), is this just from San Fran site? Memberships or total turnover including wet and dry sales? Might sound odd that I ask but if say membership is I don’t know, $100 a month and each member spends the same again in food and drink etc, you need circa 700 members…. is there any way of checking this? Asking?

    Your agent – uk based or not?

    There are hundreds of agents now set up to sell this so I would probably approach one of them after compiling your concerns, let them ‘pitch’ you and ask a few questions as to HOW the returns are made and the buyback ‘works’.

    The 57% is frankly absurd and I still can’t understand how they can commit to paying you 25% more in two years than you invested??? It doesn’t make sense to me. I doubt even the wolf of Wall Street would get his head round it!

    1. Ask a lawyer to look through your contract and advise if under uk or us law.
    2. No harm in contacting someone like Serious Fraud to say you ‘think’ you’ve invested into a Ponzi style scheme and ask if they have had any other complaints.
    3. Ask as many questions on here, of other investors, agents etc as you can.
    4. Don’t believe this is not fraudulent until you have your proof. Too many people feel embarrassed to admit it or hope like hell its not and work on it’s not fraudulent until it’s proven!
    5. Don’t wait to take action of any kind as it might be too late. If you do your own real investigating and get your answers and everything is fine you will sleep a lot easier!

    If it’s all above board, you could be one of hundreds set for a healthy return but these things tend to run for 18/24 months before toppling. If you can get out at month 24, I would.

    Hope some of that helps.

25. I’m still thinking about the numbers Jan you mentioned and it’s a bit like this:

    Imagine I’m a agent selling1 and 2 bedroom flats in the uk. (Let’s leave London out of the equation as will become apparent). I would have to sell you a 2 bedroom flat for £100k which was already tenanted and producing 16k a year. That’s about £1300 a month in rent. (*For a 2 bed flat costing £100k!?! ….plus the 16k to you is after any fees or margin for the letting agent so actual ‘market rent’ would probably be about £1500 a month). Now take into account the 25% ‘costs’ at the start (commission in barworks case) and that leaves the builder/developer with 75k. Work on rough rule of thumb of 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 (land, build cost, profit) and its build cost is £25k!
    On top and to boot Jan, after 2 years give it back to me and let’s set a sale price now of £125,000…… how does that sound to you?

    Let’s take Microsoft, owned by the wealthiest pulsating human on the planet. If you had taken a position 2 years ago until now, you’d probably be looking at about the same profit as barworks are predicting over the next 2 years so it is ‘doable’ however A). Nobody can predict the future, B). Barworks isn’t Microsoft (although probably has a similar number of agents!) and C). From what I’ve read, RH is definitely NOT Bill Gates.

    Let me think some more about this for you or has anyone else got some info I am missing?

    I’ve watched these types of investments over the last 15-20 years or so Jan and many fall over unfortunately. Let’s just hope you are all in the good ship that sailed but at the moment we seem to have boarded one with a few holes in the hull !

26. @Jan Novak, my advice is to enlist the help of people in the USA otherwise you will struggle to get to the bottom of this.
    1. Send an email to the journalist at The Real Deal. He is based in New York and has now written two investigative articles about Bar Works. He seems to have people who can make enquiries and he may be able to help you.
    2. See if you can find an american investor who is concerned about their investment. Ask that investor to contact the SEC to report Bar works as a possible scam. The SEC won’t do anything for a UK investor. The SEC is far more pro-active and aggressive than the FCA. The journalist may know a US investor. They can use the fact that they think Jonathan Black doesn’t exist and the other founder is using a false name.
    3. Keep pushing for information on Jonathan Black. I think he is the key to this. If he doesn’t exist then everyone has been conned. Black’s signature is in the brochures so somebody had to have written it.
    4. Don’t wait until the two years are up. Act now. The buyback will never take place.
    5. Try this guy – Andy Culshaw Mobile: 07944685374 Email: [email protected]. He has a UK website promoting Bar Works and is a director of Bar Works USA Ltd. He doesn’t appear to be hiding because he has a picture of himself and his contact details on the website. I notice that the new top man at Bar Works, Franklin Kinard, has just formed a new UK company called Bar Works USA/UK Ltd (Formed 27th January 2017). That’s an odd thing for him to do and might suggest that all is not well with their relationship with Culshaw. I would not necessarily believe anything that they say to you. They are very good at lying, but it is worth a try. It’s possible that Kinard and Culshaw are still allies but it won’t do you any harm making contact. If they are allies you can ask Culshaw to hook you up with Kinard directly.

27. @ Marksie – some great comments made.
    My one immediate question is whether US investors have actually taken part. The SEC as you say are stridtvabd exactly what the UKs FCA should be more like, protecting the investor as opposed to dealing with the fan after the **** has hit it.
    Anyway, no harm in getting the clarification first, maybe someone acts as a IS citizen to ask if they can take part?
    Personally I think Jonathan Black is either as real as Batman or he does exist and is receiving a nice little earner from them to use his name etc.

    I hear that the other coworking opportunity/scam was set up after RH and JM fell out….. interesting.

28. Jonathan Black is 100% Renwick Haddow.

    It is very simple how to find you. You compare Jonathan Black and Renwick Haddow profile on LinkedIn.

    Johathan Black – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-black-2b224510b/
    Experience:
    I have an extensive background in finance, having qualified as an Accountant. My career history has included working at senior level as a Stockbroker and Fund Manager with vast experience in the startup of ventures. I was employed for many years as a Finance Director/Financial Controller of two chains of bars in the UK including Regent Inns Plc with a market value $400m. More recently I set up a number of startup ventures including Car Share which is a car sharing APP. I saw the potential of shared work space and have used my expertise and experience to finely tune the model to overcome the deficiencies in the current offerings which I had previously encountered when renting serviced office space. My focus is on building a marketable brand and ensuring above all that Bar Works first two sites are successful before rolling out the brand.

    Renwick Haddow – https://www.linkedin.com/in/renwick-haddow-779421/
    Experience:
    Financial Controller
    Company Name Regent Inns plc
    Dates Employed 1993 – 1998 Employment Duration 5 yrs

29. If you do a quick search on Mr Culshaw and read his website he offers a personal service to his clients, many multi millionaires etc however I wouldn’t expect to meet him in person at his offices. At the address listed, this is what you get:

    9106 companies located at: 71-75 SHELTON STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON

    Try his mobile as suggested but both the use of virtual or serviced addresses and/or using non geographical or odd sounding numbers is a sure fire recipe for someone calling from somewhere other than they actually are. The ability to ‘push’ numbers these days means anyone can suggest they are based in London for example but actually be in a completely different country.

    Personally I think as I stated before that this scheme has been marketed globally.

30. @ Marksie – If the investors or lawyers can prove that JB is definitely RH and he has therefore used a false identity to sign documents, is this not grounds for fraud?

    Someone mentioned Lorna Moore being RH’a sister. Does anyone know if it Is a coincidence of names or is she married to Jim Moore making RH his brother in law? If so, this is all really bizarre.

    Is it possible that barworks raised money/made returns in a ‘dodgy’ way to start with and tried to copy Weworks model by leasing the buildings but then thought we need to buy a building to add some substance? RH and JM and UPI then all fallout so JM decides to start up his own ‘brand’, ‘arsespace’. UPI then switch and act as master agent for them. contact all the barworks investors and say they are dealing with sites outside of the USA and piggyback?

    My goodness this is a plot and a half if all proven.

31. @Stephanie, that was a good spot about Regent Inns. It does look very likely that Jonathan Black is really Renwick Haddow in which case US investors should definitely be involving the SEC.
    For the moment I am going to sit on the fence regarding the Bar Works – Ourspace link although it seems increasingly likely that they were hatched from the same brood. It hasn’t been proven beyond any doubt that Haddow and Moore know each other and have worked together, but there is quite a bit of circumstantial evidence.
    1. Both were active in the UK at the same time. Both were amongst the biggest marketers of UK alternative investment promoters so it is almost certain that they would have met at some point.
    2. Both were employed as ‘consultants’ to recently established companies focused on leasing desk space.
    3. This is a blog about Renwick Haddow’s involvement in Bar Works. @Marcus Riley brought Ourspace into the discussion but then gushed praise on Bar Works. I suspect that post was a plant by Bar Works so it does suggest that there is bad blood between the two companies. Perhaps the people at Bar Works think Jim Moore/Ourspace gave the TRD journalist the information which enabled him to write his first damning report ?
    4. There is something a little bit odd about the news on the Ourspace website. It mentions Jim Moore and says:
    “We understand that Jim who worked with us as a consultant to OurSpace has relocated to the USA in order to handle some key personal and commercial issues and will no longer be working with OurSpace as a client. We extend our sincere thanks for his contribution and our good wishes go with him and his family for the future.”
    Now that is a major coincidence. But one has to ask why Ourspace even put that up as news on their website and phrased it in that way? It is almost designed to confirm the conspiracy theory. Firstly “We understand….”. This implies that Jim Moore never told them himself that he was moving to the USA and ceasing the relationship. Perhaps this is Ourspace’s way of trying to distance themselves from him because of the bad press they have been getting.
    Secondly, why tell everyone that he has relocated to the USA ? It is almost saying “Jim Moore has gone to link up with Renwick Haddow, Bar Works or both”. Why tell us it involves “key personal and commercial issues”. That might be a way of telling everyone that Lorna Moore is Jim’s wife and that they are involved with Bar Works in some way. So many possible permutations but this piece of news has been put up for a reason and I feel it is not just to wish him well.
    Haddow has a history of falling out with partners and then making good when the **** hits the fan. Investors in African Land will remember when Capital Alternatives sold more than $8 million of the rice farm land that didn’t exist. They didn’t tell Robert McKendrick of African Land. He was furious and there were threats of legal action between the parties. One might think that McKendrick was demanding that Capital Alternatives return the money to investors. They would be wrong. McKendrick was upset that he hadn’t received his cut. In the end they shared the money between them, the legal threats ceased, nobody got any land and investors were defrauded. Maybe Moore has taken his family to the USA to kiss and make up with Haddow ? If that is the case it can’t be good news for investors.
    @Scotty – how did you hear that Haddow and Moore had fallen out ? This would confirm that they definitely know each other and had been working on the same project. Also, do you know for sure that UPI was marketing Bar Works first, then switched to Ourspace and began contacting Bar Works investors, or is this just a theory at this stage ? Are there any Bar Works investors out there who could confirm whether they were approached by Ourspace ? Does anyone have a contract they can post so we can see how they have structured the deal ?

32. @Scotty & @Marksie, what is UPI marketing?

    I am not US investor, do you know or do you have any suggestion what can I do? Any US investors here reading this comment? Please let me know.

33. @Marksie – mine is theory however I don’t think it’s too far from the truth.

    I’ve been following this for about 18 months. Honestly, I didn’t know how anyone could compete with the ‘numbers’ being banded around so I decided to dig and dig and dig.

    I have spadefuls of theory as it’s like trying to piece together a homicide case however someone needs to get the link between RH, UPI and JM in writing or confirmed to progress it to the next stage.

    Apologies for bringing arsespace into it but my belief as I said right at the start, was to dig deeper into these 3 entities. They are or were definitely connected.

    Does anyone have a marketing email or brochure relating to barworks and UPI to start with?

    And ditto arsespace?

    I heard that the Spanish arsespace they were offering was actually the UPI office!

    As for JM, there is an incredible possibility regarding the post on their website but their words are full of it and they look to be distancing themselves from him now too in my opinion.

34. Has anyone been on the UPI website recently?

    Dropped ourspace??
    Now selling signature works? – big developer in Liverpool and good at what they do

    Maybe they are independent and have decided to go straight and drop all connections to RH & JM?

35. @ Stephanie – where are you based, who did you deal with and did you invest in barworks or ourspace?

36. @Scotty I am based in Asia, what is UPI marketing? I invested in Bar Works. Do you also invest in Bar Works?

37. @Stephanie – you’ve proved to me and us that this went global anyway if you are based in Asia.
    Did you invest via an agent based in Asia or another part of the world?
    UPI or United Property Invest started off with barworks, moved onto ourspace and are now working with a few different projects by the looks of their website.
    No, I personally have not invested into their schemes.
    How long ago did you invest Stephanie and have you received your returns?

38. Has anyone looked into contract terms yet or jurisdiction?

    I’m tempted to write a book or blog but am confused why this thread is not attracting more input.

    Somebody has to find out where the investors stand contractually and if definitely under US law.

    Somebody has to contact the SEC who will have a field day with this if proven to be a Ponzi.

    The investors need to find a way of grouping together and if applicable filing as a group.

    No point going to your agent or the master agent as they will just say they were acting as a marketing company.

    These people are ‘good’ at what they do but after time they drop the ball on occasion. Someone needs to find out where they have dropped it. JB’s real identity? RH involvement? Connection to JM? Why ourspace was formed? Who is behind it?

    Timeframe – act fast and before it’s too late.

    Phone sales – strange how we buy things on sight most of the time for smaller purchases but with an investment of any size, we do it over the phone.

    Dig into where JM is. Yes in the US but why and where. Rumour is his ‘commercial and personal issues’ or however they described it is more ‘handcuffs and chains’ for a completely different wrongdoing but ask yourself this. If he is currently in the US for a matter separate to this, can you trust his integrity? If he was in business originally with RH for barworks and then split, why was this? Why won’t the biggest lead generator in the uk not deal with them? What’s the connection? How do you piece it all together?

    There is a lot to do and it won’t be easy but now is your time to act. Seize the opportunity and don’t delay. Make the connections.

    Ok, I am off to put together some research for another client on a shady property deal.

    Good luck everyone and keep at it.

    Please remember that my opinions and comments are based on theory, research and suggestions but if anyone has any questions, happy to try and answer them.

39. @Scotty @Marksie @Jan Novak, can I have your email address please? I don’t like to comment too much here. I believe there is someone from Bar Works is watching us here.

40. @Stephanie, @Scotty, @Marksie, and @Jan Novak – Please don’t share your email addresses here. Instead, send me an email ([email protected]) to confirm that you’re happy to share your email address with Stephanie, and I’ll pass on your email address to Stephanie. Thanks!

41. P.S. Obviously I can’t vouch for any of you – or for anyone else commenting under a pseudonym on REDD-Monitor.

42. @Chris – Are we able to email you directly with our findings, suggestions and thoughts for you to investigate further on behalf of the group?

43. @Scotty, you say you haven’t invested in any of the schemes, so can you tell us what interest you have in any of this? Are you working on behalf of other potentially defrauded investors?

    The connection to UPI, Jim Moore and Ourspace seems to make all of this all the more complicated and I feel like, as mentioned before, the best bet for investors is to prove the identity of Jonathan Black. If he is Renwick Haddow in disguise then this is clearly a case of fraud as it is Jonathan Black’s signature on the lease agreements.

    Also @Scotty, please could you explain why you think Jim Moore is such an important figure to look into and also your point about the biggest lead generator in the UK; who is that?

    Finally, @Marksie, could you also tell us your interest in all of this, if you too have not personally invested in Bar Works? The whole case, and now even this comment thread is becoming so convoluted that it is barely understandable.

    I have a feeling that in the case that Bar Works does have this rotten core, and eventually goes bust, the senior figures involved (who I imagine have already transferred huge amounts of money into offshore accounts) would be able to claim that Bar Works was a legitimate company that simply didn’t work out, like so many other young companies. After all, there is evidence of these Bar Works sites being in existence. Would that mean that investors have little to stand on? Is this some kind of ‘perfect’ scam?

44. @Scotty – Feel free to email me. Of course I can’t promise to find out anything, but I’ll see what I can do.

45. @Jan Novak, 100% fraud and 100% fake signature of Jonathan Black. Jonathan Black is not exist, he is actually Renwick Haddow, trust me.

    @Scotty @Marksie @Jan Novak, do you know any lawyer that can help me? I am overseas investor, not US resident.

46. @Jan Novak, this blog has only scratched the surface of the Bar Works story. It will get more and more complicated.
    I agree that Jim Moore, Lorna Moore, UPI, Ourspace etc are coincidences that should be kept on file, but they are a distraction. If you were to try to invest in Ourspace you would have to certify yourself as a High Net Worth Individual (HNWI). I know because I tried to go through their investment procedure. That puts the investor into an entirely different sector of the population and means that he/she would have virtually no right of redress through the FCA. I don’t know if Ourspace has always had this requirement or whether they recently introduced it but it does show the types of people they are targeting. Bar Works does not do this. It targets ordinary members of the public which puts it firmly in the realm of FCA intervention. However, as Bar Works is a US company the FCA would have to go after the UK-based brokers who are selling the product.
    The real story is Bar Works, Jonathan Black, Renwick Haddow and his wife. So we have to look at the most basic facts and start there.
    1. Who is Jonathan Black ? What is Franklin Kinard’s background ? He is the new CEO of Bar Works and has anyone written to ask him about Jonathan Black ?
    2. Who are the directors of Bar Works Inc ? Has anyone written to them ?
    3. Who are the other senior people in Bar Works ? There has to be one honest person among them who can’t be happy being involved in the company. Has anyone written to the senior managers ?
    3. Who are the shareholders in Bar Works Inc ? Has anyone asked Franklin Kinard about the major shareholders ? This is very important because the shareholders control the company.
    4. @ Jan Novak, you would have invested through a broker. Has he asked these questions and if not, why not ? Under UK FCA regulations the broker is more liable than Bar Works itself. The broker cannot hide behind limited company or employment protection. He/she is personally liable and the FCA can confiscate their personal assets to reimburse investors. When you challenge your broker you should ask for proof of his/her identity (passport or driving licence) because almost all of the dodgy ones use false names.
    5. Outside of the SEC and financial regulators is there any other route that can be followed to threaten closure of Bar Works Inc ? Who owns the properties that they are leasing ? Are they aware of this blog and the major questions over Bar Works that the company is refusing to answer ? Make life difficult for Bar works Inc until they come forward with answers.
    There is a saying in police circles – Always Follow the Money. Haddow and his mates set these things up for one reason only – to put cash in their pockets. @ Jan Novac, who did you pay your money too ? Was it the broker or a holding company or Bar Works Inc ? Look closely at the name because it might not be Bar Works Inc. It could be Bar Works Holdings Inc or Bar Works Secretarial Inc i.e a different company to provide protection for Bar Works and to enable funds to be siphoned off. At some point the company that received your money had to distribute it. That is normally when the investigating authorities find out how much went to your broker in commission, how much went to Bar Works Inc, and how much went to the offshore accounts of the people behind the company. You should go in hard on that company because it controlled the money and can be the weak link in the chain. Often they get much less out of the scam than the founders and don’t like it when you turn the heat on them. Let us know who it was because if it was an independent company we can blog about them and generate bad press if they won’t tell you where they sent your money. Often the threat of that is enough to make them cough up the info.
    Two final points.
    1. Don’t waste your time with solicitors. You will spend a lot of money and get nowhere. Been there – done that.
    2. Please don’t trust anyone on this blog or anyone who contacts you or joins you to take action. You don’t know any of us. Focus on things that are proven and not supposition because plenty of bad people will want to send you in the wrong direction. My experience is that action groups are always infiltrated and end up giving information back to their adversary. Out of every 5 investors there is always one who thinks the bad guys aren’t that bad and tells them what the other 4 are saying. @Stephanie should also be mindful of this when she wants to communicate outside of this blog. It carries risk.

47. So, has anyone who is reading comment here tried to contact SEC and report Bar Works?

48. @Stephanie – I have tried to report Bar Works to the SEC from the UK and they didn’t seem at all interested. You could try and see if you get a different response.

49. Ok, I feel that I have maybe complicated this thread by the sounds of a few comments and if so, apologies.
    I will however try and explain why I made my original suggestion:

    There is no question that RH is at the core and he is the single entity you need answers from. If JB IS ACTUALLY RH which everything points towards, then as someone has mentioned, he has signed agreements, contracts, leases etc in a different name/identity which is illegal. This might be your best route or angle to the centre of this. It’s also been mentioned that the company might be seen as operational but didn’t turn a profit etc however this is not the point. The point is IF they have been raising funds from individuals to then pay back others, this is a Ponzi scheme where only the top tiers earn money and again is illegal.

    I agree that it only scratches the surface as barworks has done a very good job at creating the facade and it will not be straight forward to prove hence my suggestion to dig into the other entities on the periphery which might lead you in via ‘the back door’ so to speak.

    We know that the master agent UPI or UPG started with barworks and moved on to ourspace and have now dropped that.
    Proof of them being involved in barworks?

    http://www.opp.today/agents-wanted-for-next-big-thing-in-us-office-space-investment/

    We also know that JM was instrumental in ourspace which was being sold from the same offices as UPI and to back up my earlier cryptic message about why JM is currently in the US:

    http://www.iap-instant-access-properties.co.uk/jim-moore

    Forgive me but that IS a reason for UPI to distance themselves.

    My hope is that the whole thing will collapse as these people deserve to spend time however my fear is that If the investors wait to see what happens or do not take action/file a complaint, it will be too late and you will lose your money.

    Were funds sent to a barworks account or a lawyers escrow? Tell me they didn’t go direct to barworks?

    If the FBI is already investigating JM, surely now is the time to bring it to their attention and ask them to look at another of his companies ourspace. And whilst you are contacting them or the SEC, ask them to also investigate RH on the belief that ourspace was a spin off of barworks. The SEC don’t take kindly to fixed % returns and don’t allow US investors normally to invest.

    The FCA will say its unregulated so can’t help but would look into who has been promoting but I guarantee if you ask a ‘broker’ or joker broker as one of my colleagues terms them, to show their regulatory license etc, their stock answer will be ‘don’t need regulation to sell property or property based investments and we act simply as a marketing company’

    I’ve never met, spoken to or worked for RH, JM, barworks or ourspace but the entire telesales/broker/investments sector needs a real kick up the * and regulation of sort.

    I cannot be much clearer than the above

    Good luck and let’s hope someone can start the process and maybe even book JM and RH into the same cell!

50. @Scotty The funds go direct to Bar Works.

    Bank Name: JPMorgan Chase Bank
    Bank Address:
    Broadway & 61st, New York,
    New York, 10023, USA
    Account Name: Bar Works Inc.
    Account Number: 790961622
    SWIFT: CHASUS33
    Routing Number: 021000021
    Address: Lincoln Center, New York,
    New York, 10023, USA.

    I don’t know is there any investor is going to take action. I can’t do anything because I am non US resident, can you help to call SEC and report it?

    My guess is none of the investors here is going to take action because they are comfortable with their monthly income received. That is totally fraud Ponzi scheme. Sooner or later it will collapse, while it still has time, I beg someone who is reading this, please try to call SEC and share it here what is SEC response?

51. @Jan Novak, like what was commented by @Marksie:

    See if you can find an american investor who is concerned about their investment. Ask that investor to contact the SEC to report Bar works as a possible scam. The SEC won’t do anything for a UK investor. The SEC is far more pro-active and aggressive than the FCA. The journalist may know a US investor. They can use the fact that they think Jonathan Black doesn’t exist and the other founder is using a false name.

    Because you are from UK that is why SEC did not interest. We need some investors from US to call SEC and report it seriously.

52. @ Stephanie – I cannot report it as I’m not involved and I seriously doubt any US investors are involved because of the strict restrictions they have via the SEC but it’s worth a go to find out if any are.
    Maybe interpol? Or Serious Fraud in uk first who then may take it internationally?

    To everyone involved – Don’t let the fact that returns are being ‘made’ currently stop you. That’s a short term position and mindset.

    If funds have gone directly to them im afraid you might have more issues but there should be a trail. Quite how you get access to that trail without involving the authorities is another story!

53. @Stephanie – Thanks! Bar Works makes its bank details public in its brochure, available here.

54. JB is Haadow, Simpson is Milhench/millhouse, Kinard is….Kinard.
    Wake up people

55. @Greg, Yes it certainly looks like JB is Haddow. You are sure of it but do you have proof ?
    In February I asked you how Simpson fits into this because I have not heard that name before. What role does Simpson play in the organisation and do you have proof that Simpson is Milhench ?
    Only when there is proof can we be sure. In the meantime we have to keep asking Bar Works to prove that Jonathan Black exists. We are 99% sure that JB was Haddow but 99% is not 100%.

56. Who is Simpson/Millhench?

57. Pod Works’ London address is 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden

    ‘Andy Culshaw Mobile: 07944685374 Email: [email protected]. He has a UK website promoting Bar Works and is a director of Bar Works USA Ltd. He doesn’t appear to be hiding because he has a picture of himself and his contact details on the website.’
    Address: 71-75 SHELTON STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON

58. First – http://www.barworks.nyc/
    Second – http://ourspace.work/
    Third – http://signatureworks.co.uk/
    Fourth – http://workspacecommerce.co.uk/

    All started from UK – Renwick Haddow origin

59. Is there something stopping people from stating their personal interest in this case? @Marksie and @Scotty? I asked you both already and you seem to have ignored me.

    @Greg, I would like to ask you the same as what @Marksie put to you:- Some proof really would be helpful. And who is Simpson?

    Your input is appreciated but if you’re just going to make statements with nothing to back them up it’s not particularly helpful.

    I have personally invested in Bar Works and I am worried because of the points brought up on this site (redd-monitor) , and TheRealDeal. I have spoken at length with Chris Lang of redd-monitor as well as Konrad Putzier at TheRealDeal, neither of whom seem to have any conclusive evidence of these allegations, but I agree that something definitely feels off about the whole thing. Konrad at TheRealDeal informed me that he had been contacted by investors in Bar Works who are based in the US but when I requested that he ask them to contact me, it seems they have declined. I also asked him for a number on which to contact Kinard, which has not been forthcoming.

    It seems many people, on both sides of these allegations, are not being entirely open or honest with information which I just don’t understand. Surely, if the allegations are true, it is in everybody’s interest (except Bar Works, of course) to come together to get to the bottom of all this.

    Why does it feel like everybody, even the supposed ‘good guys’ who want to put a stop to these types of Financial crime and see an end to people getting conned like this (people on this thread included), has something to hide?

60. @Jan Novak, you invested for how many spaces? Which country are you from?

61. Jan

    People have to be careful writing on message boards like this when they attack the companies mentioned because many of the people behind these sorts of companies can afford to use very high priced lawyers. That is why you might get the impression people are holding info back as well as their true identities. It is understandable.

    As for something potential fishy going on, if investors ever smell fish coming from their investments or the people running them, it’s more often than not right. You smell fish, therefore you are right about your investment.

62. @Jan Novak, I refer you to the final paragraph in my post of 30th March. For those reasons I prefer to work alone.

    I have been through your posts looking for information that you have given that might genuinely help the investigation move forward. I found very little information on your personal investment process. For example, you haven’t mentioned the name of the salesman and broker firm that you used in the UK and neither have you given any information on the contract you signed with Bar Works. This would be extremely useful in helping everyone understand where the get-out clauses for Bar Works are.
    I am sure an investor would have emailed both his broker firm and Bar Works itself pushing them for answers to all the questions raised in this blog and by theRealDeal, but you haven’t said anything about that or the responses that you would have got back from them.
    @ Stephanie has provided links that have helped put more pieces into the jigsaw. As yet, you haven’t provided anything of genuine substance. You have told us that you are a UK-based investor. If that is true you would clearly have documents and information that could help to shed more light but you have not shared them. Instead you have mentioned there has been no interest from the FCA or SEC (which are easy claims to make if unsupported by documentary evidence) and you have been fishing to find out more about other contributors.
    You need to respect a person’s right to anonymity and if you don’t like that then don’t read their posts. As for myself I am interested in the quality of the material a person posts, not in who they are. If a person wants to tell everyone who they are they will. If they want to remain anonymous I don’t care as long as the information they are providing is sound.

63. All I can say is that if there are any actual investors on here who are genuinely concerned, as I think they should be, then they have been given so much information by various posts and people on here.

    People on here may not have invested into barworks but they may have invested into previous projects similar to or run by the same person. Once bitten.

    The signs cannot be much clearer, act now.

64. @scotty–Word!!

65. @everyone – Are there any actual investors on this board or is this a waste of my time?

    2 Free bits of advice – everyone’s heard of the wolf of Wall Street but how many of you have seen Boiler Room? ‘Invest’ 90 minutes of your life to see how unregulated brokers work.

    If you receive an email offering an investment, as soon as you enter your details to receive more information, your details are stored by a marketing company and sold to a company selling the opportunity. Even if you unsubscribe you never leave ‘the system’.

    @Chris – Feel free to post on every board you run although if people are on these boards it’s probably too late.

66. I am an Asia based barworks investor. This month I haven’t received my payment and when I contacted barworks to ask about the reasons of the delayed payment, I got no answer. Just a mail that we are checking the issue and then nothing… now they are not even answering my phone calls. I think it is only a question of time before they start doing the same with the US and UK investors.

    Please if there is a US investor reading this, I beg you to report Barworks to SEC to take action against them and don’t be fooled by the monthly payments, it will stop sooner than you expect as it was the case with me.

    @Stephanie @Scotty @Marksie @Jan Novak and @any other barworks victim reading this board, I am ready to join any action that can be taken against these scammers and to help with everything I can as I have invested directly with barworks and contacted several people there in the process.

67. The actual investors don’t believe it will be too late as they are too comfortable receiving the monthly return payments. I am actual investor but not US investor, so nothing I can do. I am just begging and hoping if some actual US investors who are reading this, please take action to call SEC and report Bar Works, then please share here what are the actions you have taken.

    Until then, I can only wait and hope.

68. If an investor is genuine they would describe their investment process i.e how they found out about the project, who they spoke to, what they bought and when. They would provide information contained in emails and letters from their broker and Bar Works, along with extracts from their contract because they would be wanting people on this board to help them recover their money.
    Nobody has done that so in my opinion there are no genuine investors posting on here. I’m happy for those people who claimed to be investors to prove me wrong.
    I am not bothered that no genuine investor has posted because I am sure that a lot of investors, and prospective investors, are reading the blog. This blog is highlighting serious concerns about the honesty and integrity of the Bar Works management and the legality of the investment package. Bar Works could squash all this talk very easily by proving the existence of Jonathan Black and answering concerns. They haven’t done it so it seems very likely they are running a Ponzi scheme which will eventually collapse leaving investors with nothing.

69. I did warn the first sign would be a ‘delayed’ payment.

    @ Erik & @ Stephanie – which company did you invest through?

70. And as I said before I very much doubt there are any US investors involved due to their strict rules and guidelines of investment practices

71. It is not unusual for a competitor e.g Ourspace to have their friends pretend to be investors so that they can keep piling the s*** onto Bar Works. It is also quite usual for a company under attack, e.g Bar Works, to put their friends on the blog to try to divert attention away from themselves, perhaps putting attention onto a competitor. I suspected an earlier poster had been planted by Bar Works. I suspect that one or more of the people claiming to be investors have been planted by a competitor. So far there are three people claiming to be investors so I direct the rest of this post to them.

    @Erik, @Jan Novak and @Stephanie, you all say that you have invested in Bar Works. What is the name of the broker company that sold you the investment ? What are the names of the sales people ? What are the names of the people at Bar Works ? You should post them up here. Other investors might have dealt with the same people and may be able to help you. If you put the company names and sales person names up here you can contact them to say that you have done this and they might be more willing to deal with your claim once they can see that you have publicly named and shamed them and have raised the stakes.

    At the moment there isn’t a single broker company mentioned on this blog, nor one single name of a sales person, nor one name of a person at Bar Works who dealt with a customer enquiry. I find it very strange that people who say they have invested have not given more information. This makes me sceptical as to whether any of the people claiming to be investors are genuine. I think other people reading this blog should be wary of people who claim to be investors but don’t give any evidence. The ball is in the investor’s court to prove that they are genuine investors and then some of us would be more willing to join a group.

72. Thanks for all the various comments. Here is a post about one of the “brokers” offering investments in Bar Works – Heron Global Partners:

    Alternative Investing with Heron Global Partners and Renwick Haddow: Inbound marketing is the new cold calling

    And here’s a response from the director of the firm that ran the marketing campaign for Heron Global Partners, in which he admits that at least part of the campaign was “potentially misleading”:

    Response from Richard Wood, Director of Six and Flow, about Heron Global Partners: “We appreciate that the line highlighted is potentially misleading”

73. Completely agree with Marksie that IF investors are on here, then post who you invested through.

    Please let’s not call them ‘brokers’, these are just unqualified sales people.

    The marketing companies/promoters will exempt themselves of responsibility but it might help others to realize they are in the same boat.

    @ Marksie I think your scepticism is spot on and of course if any barworks or ourspace staff had any sense they would be on here trying to deflect but the investors need to step up and make public exactly what you have asked.

    You won’t win this individually people. You just won’t.

    Both barworks and ourspace are toxic.

    Again, I don’t get why there are so few on here who are genuinely affected

74. I am based in Asia and scammed many times by the crooks from this horrible pseudo-country called United Kingdom of Crooks, the country of pirates and opium sellers…No regulation, no law and the most corrupt pseudo-authorities in the world. I am in the sucker list and I received the below. Needless to say that I will never put a penny in anything coming from United Kingdom of Crooks. What

    Bar Works Inc Las Vegas – Key benefits
    Own a 10 year lease on Work Space units in our Las Vegas Bar Works and GET A FIXED MONTHLY RETURN
    Single workspace, $25,000 – monthly rent $292 – minimum % return per year 14% per annum, payable monthly – first payment within 14 days of purchase;
    Two workspaces, $50,000 – monthly rent $625 – minimum % return per year 15%
    Three workspaces, $75,000 – monthly rent $969 – minimum % return per year 15.5%
    Five workspaces, $125,000 – monthly rent $1,667 – minimum % return 16%.

    Further returns on future rental increases elevating your annual return
    No upkeep or maintenance fees
    Hassle Free investment
    Buy back option at 125% after the second year and assured return of your initial investment at the end of the 10 year lease
    Trading platform available for early exits
    Key Parties
    Group Company Name: Bar Works Inc.
    Property Attorney: Reznick Law
    Bankers: JP Morgan Chase
    Auditor to the Company: ProTax Center

    About Bar Works Inc.
    We buy and remodel existing businesses with restaurant and bar license into Co-Sharing Work Spaces with work stations, private office’s, facilities (food & beverage, gym, internet, VoIP phones, printing, etc) which are then rented out to our members on a monthly basis.

    Having expanded to now 7 locations in Manhattan, 1 in San Francisco with several more venues on the pipeline. We have also purchased our first Freehold property in Eastern Europe, Istanbul Turkey, the first of many in 2017.

    We are currently selling work spaces for our newest locations in South Miami, Istanbul and our latest in Las Vegas.

    From each location we sell approximately 100 Work Spaces to private investors, such as yourself, on a 10 year lease with returns from 14% – 16 % per year paid monthly, which you in turn Sub-Lease back to us so we can than rent them to our members and manage your investment, hassle free.

    Brief Outline of Las Vegas in the Arts District – Latest Opening

    http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/entrepreneurs/ceo-lands-tenant-downtown-las-vegas-coworking-space

    We are pleased to announce the acquisition of our latest new venue, in a city that is famous the world over. In 2015 the number of conferences and exhibitions was 21.306 attracting 5.9 million delegates, a huge number of business minded people and future Bar Works members.

    Bar Works is a corner site in the area known as the “Arts District”, an up and coming area of downtown Las Vegas, surrounded by a variety of retail and restaurant options. New and tech-focused businesses are now in or moving to Las Vegas. The foremost of these is Switch, a key tech firm managing data for thousands of America’s biggest companies. There is also optimism that the arrival of electric car maker Tesla in northern Nevada will encourage more tech and engineering savvy workers and entrepreneurs into what was once a one-trick state

    With over 5000 sq ft of ground floor space with a full corner frontage and high ceilings, 1500 sq ft projected mezzanine to provide additional space for 300 work stations and meeting rooms, alongside spacious social and networking areas for use by temporary and part-time members.

    All of our Bar Works sites located all over the USA including at Midtown, Time Square Manhattan, “West Village”, Tribeca, Chamber Street, Brooklyn and San Francisco were all sold out within weeks of being released to the market!

    If you would like a brochure along with any other information, please do not hesitate to contact me directly,

    I look forward to hearing from you.
    Please click here to see our latest investment opportunities
    Regards,

    Sarah

    Albany

    e – [email protected]
    m – +44 (0)7931 427882 o – +44 (0)1908 521811
    w – http://www.albanyhill.co.uk

    Albany Hill
    Gloucester House
    399 Silbury Boulevard
    Milton Keynes
    Bucks
    MK9 2AH

75. @ Enough – I agree with you that the authorities need to regulate this field however this company whilst based in the UK is simply acting as a marketing agent to investors. Sure, they should do more due diligence on the products they promote however when offered high commissions (the first alarm bell to me) and they are themselves ‘sold’ the offering, it makes it hard to say no.

    The issue should not be with ‘Sarah’ from this company but with the Head of the Snake that is barworks. Unfortunately you are venting your anger in the wrong direction and I would suggest you don’t write off the UK at all as there are some fantastic opportunities IF you run your own thorough DD.

    I think you will find that the man who runs barworks is NOT from the UK, the opportunity is NOT in the UK and this is one of hundreds of companies globally who are promoting this scheme.

    You may also find that many of the companies who appear to be in the uk are actually based in other countries.

    My suggestion – stick to property or similar where you can buy or investment into with an underlying asset to support the returns.

    I’ve just noticed their ‘trading platform’ exit play which made me laugh as this was a huge ‘idea’ I believe when these people were offering carbon credits many years ago.

    It’s simple people, don’t invest and if you have, look how to get out fast!

76. An extract from an email received today from Barworks client Relations and that every Barworks investor should have received. This was also their explanation for the “Delay” in payment that I am facing:

    <<>>

    @Marksie and @Scotty, I invested directly through Barworks which I already mentioned in my first reply here. I have found the “Opportunity” while searching on Internet and contacted them directly. Initial contact was through a person called Stephen Williams (Investor relations).
    In the process I also contacted Ourspace to enquire about their offerings and what was interesting is that the person I spoke to explained that he was selling Barworks at an earlier time when I told him that I am a Barworks investor which corroborates the possibility that these two scams (Barworks and Ourspace) are from the same people at some extent.

    Now I understand that investors do not feel comfortable giving more details in a public board like this (me included) as we are all sure that this is being followed by Barworks guys. And, I am also sure that if a private action group is initiated, we will have more people involved and hopefully some US investors that could report the scam to SEC.

77. @ Erik – great confirmation that ‘ourspace/united property’ were first marketing barworks.

    Simple really – RH does a deal with UPI to sell barworks, RH then fails to keep his side of the deal and holds back commissions. UPI and ourspace is formed as a breakaway company to offer a competitive alternative to barworks (after all they’ve seen the money to be made).
    Then JM gets arrested for a previous scam and UPI drop ourspace marketing and switch to another option.

    The two are intertwined as I’ve been trying to suggest for a while now.

78. @Greg – Do you think it goes something like this:

    Theory
    You can ‘invest’ into this great scheme. Just $25,000. I’ll pay you say 14% each year for 10 years but if you want to get out after 2 years, I’ll give you say $30,000.

    Reality
    I’m a well known con artist working in a country where I’m not a ‘wanted man’ but still better use a different name. Let’s market it to the middle and Far East as they use US$. Oh and the brits too. Brexit must have made them nervous. Can’t really have Americans involved as the SEC will bite my ass.

    Of the $25,000 you give me, I’m going to keep say $10,000 to pay myself and commissions to my underlings. Probably 50/50 so I get roughly $5,000 per investor. Let’s aim for 2-3,000 investors over 12-24 months using loads of different agents who have their own clients. This gives me a wage of say $10m which I can live on. Now, I’ve got $15.000 left so Out of this I’ll pay you say $3,000 a year to keep you thinking it’s all cool. When your own money runs out, I’ll be long gone anyway……ah, the buy back……maybe hold off on that and delay if they want it or if we’ve got enough cash in we could use that (?!) but I reckon most people will be happy to get their (own) returns and might even put more cash in.
    Tell you what we could do…. if they give us more at the start we dangle the increased returns carrot? What do you think?

    And let’s make the contract hard for them to get out of and if anyone complains, the brits will go to the FCA but that won’t do jack as it’s in America and the SEC won’t do jack here as the clients won’t be Americans…..

    Let’s just hope they don’t contact interpol the FBI or SOCA or hunt me down personally although if they do, they’ll end up looking for some dude who’s name I’m using anyway.

79. @Erik, the extract from your email isn’t showing. Try to copy it into your next post.
    What is the name of the tenant company that is supposed to pay rent to you ? Normally they keep it separate from the company that takes your investment money. For example, Bar Works Inc will take your investment but the tenant in your contract will be a different company called maybe Bar Works Tenant Inc. That way, when the tenant company stops making payments you have to take it to court and they will then just close it down. it won’t affect Bar Works Inc in any way and they will keep raising money for their next venture.
    I’m interested to know which premises you bought into and the name of the tenant company. I’m wondering if they use a different tenant company for each premises.

80. Doesn’t anyone here have power to report Bar Works? Everybody here is just commenting but no any single action. Investors who are reading this have “anxious” feel, but after getting monthly payment, the “anxious” becomes “relief” again and again, over and over. Sooner or later the investors will lose money, it will be too late.

    Doesn’t anyone here want to take action step? A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Someone please try to take a step, be confident, no worry for the mistake, but worry for losing money someday.

81. Any actual investor can report them.

    And I would suggest someone does it soon!

    Your returns are your own money coming back to you in small amounts!!

    It can’t and won’t last forever

82. @Stephanie, are you really an investor ? I question this because you haven’t given any information that anyone could use to help you. I have copied below some paragraphs that I wrote earlier this month in case you missed them.

    “If an investor is genuine they would describe their investment process i.e how they found out about the project, who they spoke to, what they bought and when. They would provide information contained in emails and letters from their broker and Bar Works, along with extracts from their contract because they would be wanting people on this board to help them recover their money.
    What is the name of the broker company that sold you the investment ? What are the names of the sales people ? What are the names of the people at Bar Works ?”

    If you want people to believe you are genuine you need to give more information than ‘I am an Asia based investor’. Asia is a big continent !
    @Erik says that his payments have stopped but you haven’t mentioned your payments so, if you are genuine, are we to assume that you are still receiving your payments ?
    If so, then I’m sure @Erik would want to know why you are getting your payments and he isn’t. Maybe you bought in different premises with different tenant companies ?

    @Erik, I am certain that Bar Works is following this blog. That would be good news for you. I think the silence from Bar Works shows very clearly that Haddow and his wife control the company. Looking at previous Haddow behaviour this means that investors who are polite and nice have NO CHANCE of getting their money back. You have to make his life very difficult and hit him in the pocket. This means making sure he knows that you feel you were misled because Jonathan Black does not exist and you are demanding a refund. You should shout long and loud about your experience with Bar Works and become a thorn in their side. That is the only way you have a chance of getting money back.

    No investor has told this blog the name of the Bar Works person who signed the purchase contract or the tenancy agreement. Was it Jonathan Black ?

83. @Marksie Yes, the person who signed the purchase contract and tenancy agreement is Jonathan Black.

84. Why don’t investors Google ‘mis-sold investment lawyer’ and get talking to one, and QUICKLY.

    Many offer a no-win-no-fee deal.

85. If contracts with clients and tenancy agreements have been signed by JB who is RH or anyone else but JB, then this is surely fraudulent and makes the contracts null and void and more importantly gives investors the ‘hole’ they have been looking for?
    If this is so, this is your chance investors to attack!
    You won’t get a better opportunity, miss this at your own peril

86. Here is the mail extract that didn’t show-up last comment:

    “A note from Bar Works’ CEO, Franklin Kinard…
    Over recent months, Bar Works has been facing difficulties with its banking facilities. This has resulted from the large and growing volume of transactions coupled with the broad international client base we have built up.
    The result of this has been a significant increase in banking costs which has made it unviable to continue with this method of banking.
    We have taken the step to change this now. However, with our new banking partners we are experiencing limitations to the size of daily transactions, volume of transactions and limitations of which countries we can send payments. We realize it is never a good time to change banking facilities and it will inevitably lead to some delays in payments and administration errors however in the medium term it will be worth the investment.
    To try to minimize disruption we will phase the change over of our banking facilities which will mean we will send rents/payments in batches as the new accounts are set up with our banking provider. Initially this only relates to outgoing payments.
    We are doing all we can to minimize this disruption and we really appreciate your patience and the faith you have put in Bar Works.”

    By the way I still haven’t received my payment till today. @Stephanie, are you receiving your money?

    The tenant company on the contract is called “BARWORKS MANAGEMENT INC” and yes, Jonathan black signed both the purchase and lease agreements (if he ever exists). It was done through docusign so no actual handwritten signature is there.

87. @Stephanie, if the contract is signed by JB and he doesn’t exist then you have been a victim of fraud. I would not worry too much about the US authorities. I think you can be confident that they are already looking at Bar Works. They will not give anything away until they are ready.
    1. What was the name of the company that contracted with you on the purchase (e.g was it Bar Works Inc) ?
    2. What was the name of the tenant company ?
    3. Are you still receiving your monthly payments ?

88. @Erik – Thanks for this. I’ve just done a post featuring the email from Franklin Kinard:

    “Bar Works has been facing difficulties with its banking facilities”, Managing Director Franklin Kinnard tells investors

89. @ Stephanie – I believe you were adamant in earlier posts that JB is actually RH. Now that Erik has stated that JB has signed contracts etc I’m confused as to why you are not now taking action?

    @ Jan Novak – Have you disappeared? Are you still watching this forum?

    @ Erik – finally, someone has had the foresight to post something which is vital and a piece of this jigsaw. Congratulations

    To all of you – nobody has yet stated who their ‘broker’ was in the first place??

    So basically Barworks are too big for JP Morgan who now can’t handle the volume of cash…..how amusing.

    And they are having problems sending money to some countries…..hmmmm, I wonder which ones those will be…..

    I’m sorry to tell you I was right by stating the delay in payments would be the first stage but now you, the real investors, if there are any MUST take action. Do as Marksie suggests and be a thorn in their side. Make life as uncomfortable for them as it will be for you if you lose all your money. Do whatever it takes or sit back and watch another multi million dollar fraudulent scheme crash to the ground without any chance of recovering your money.

90. Jeez, this guy has been busy:

    • Active directorships – 0
    • Resigned directorships – 110
    • Closed directorships – 30

    !!!!’

91. @Scotty – Which guy?

92. @ Chris – They are the ‘stats’ for Mr. Haddow.

    Huge number of companies spanning multiple market sectors, normally set up and run for a couple of years and then closed down or he moves on to the next thing

93. Bar Works exhibits the usual trail of smoke, mirrors, lies and confusion. I will bet that very few investors actually have any idea who they have contracted with or how their money has been distributed. I’ve looked at three Bar Works brochures (Jacks in San Francisco, Miami and Istanbul) and this is what I found:

    BUY-BACK
    The guaranteed buy-back after 2 years is in each of the brochures. It is promoted as a safeguard for investors but the reality is that there is no guarantee at all. The text says that Bar Works has the option to buy-back anytime after two years (generally with a 25% profit for investors) IF IT CHOOSES TO. So, if it chooses NOT to buy-back then investors are stuck with the investment.
    However, bearing in mind that the sub-lease term in San Fran and Istanbul is 99 years then Bar Works has the option of buying back anytime between year 3 to year 99. I think you’d be pretty upset if you paid $25,000 today and got back just over $30,000 in 20 or 30 years time, especially if the property has doubled or trebled in value. Bar Works are only ever going to buy-back if there is a big profit in it. If there is then they have ensured that the profit will go to them. If there isn’t a big profit then the investor can keep their sub-lease as far as Bar Works is concerned. In effect investors HAVE NO GUARANTEED BUY-BACK AFTER 2 YEARS.
    Miami is a little different because the sub-lease is only 10 years.

    RENTAL INCOME
    You might think that is OK if you are getting 15% annual income from the rentals, but here is the bad news. The company responsible for paying your rentals in all three brochures is Bar Works Management Inc. There is no explanation of the role of BWM or how it is able to afford to pay the rentals to investors. One is left to assume that BWM brings in the people who will use the workspace and this will generate enough to pay all investors. But what if this doesn’t happen ? Well, the worst case is that BWM will declare itself insolvent and will close down. Rental payments would stop. That would definitely be bad news for investors. One would think the same would be true for Bar Works, Haddow, Kinard and their accomplices. Actually no, it wouldn’t be bad news for them at all.

    LEASE & SUB-LEASE
    It gets a bit complicated here. Throughout all the brochures they use the term ‘Bar Works’ frequently. However, there are multiple companies involved that all begin with ‘Bar Works’. This is a deliberate ploy to be able to claim in future that they were referring to the different companies and not to Bar Works Inc each time. Confused ? I’ll break it down for you.

    Jacks @ San Fran is apparently owned completely by Bar Works Inc. it says that on page 12 i.e ” The Group (Bar Works Inc) owns the freehold”. But, on page 13 it says that Bar Works Capital LLC owns the freehold. If the brochure is to be believed investors have taken a lease from Bar Works Capital LLC. It is described as ‘a lease’ and not ‘a sub-lease’ which would imply that BWC is the freeholder. We are left to assume that Bar Works Inc must own BWC but we don’t know that for sure. So investors buy a lease from BWC but for some reason the money doesn’t go to BWC. It goes to Bar Works Inc. Why ?
    What was the market value of Jacks ? Does anyone know ? $1m, $2m, $3m ? Well, 300 stations were being sold at $30,000 each which makes $9m income to Bar Works Inc. Whichever way you look at it the investors have just bought a property for Bar Works and put millions in profit into their bank account. When the tenant company BWM goes bust investors have no comeback against Bar Works Inc or BWC. Those companies will carry on without any liability to make rental payments to investors.

    Miami – they don’t own the freehold here. In this case Bar Works @ Miami LLC have taken out a 10-year lease and investors are ‘sub-leasing’ from BW@M. Again, when a person buys a sub-lease they send the money to Bar Works Inc and not BW@M. Why ? This is a very dodgy premises. Bar Works inc are selling 350 stations @ $25,000 each. That’s another cool $8.75m for Bar Works Inc but what are you actually getting. Investors have just paid $8.75m with not even the property as security. Investors have given $8.75m to Bar Works so that they can buy a lease which probably cost them $100k !!
    Let’s say BW@M breaches a condition of the lease and the freehold owner decided to cancel the lease (as he may well be entitled to do). The investor has a SUB-LEASE. If the main leaseholder (BW@M) loses the lease then so do all the sub-lessees. Investors are left with absolutely nothing. Again, there is no comeback against Bar Works Inc and they get to keep the investor’s money.

    Istanbul – another variation. This time the brochure says that the freehold is held by ‘Bar Works Consulting & Office Leasing Services Ltd’. Wow – I wouldn’t want to answer the phone at that company. This company leases it to Bar Works Istanbul LLC. Investors buy sub-leases from BW Istanbul but once again send all the money to Bar Works Inc. The potential dangers are the same as Miami i.e if BW Istanbul loses the lease then investors are left with nothing. You might think that this is unlikely to happen because the owner is BWCOLS and they must all be linked somehow. Don’t you believe it. Haddow’s ventures have taken the life savings of hundreds of people and he won’t hesitate to do it again. one has to wonder why the freeholder BWCOLS didn’t just issue leases direct to investors. Why put BW Istanbul LLC in the middle ? Because it means that investors can have no claim over the property when everything goes bad – that’s why.

    So what can investors do ? The best thing is to put pressure on the salesmen you dealt with. Write emails and put their names on the blogs. Write emails to Bar Works and copy them onto blogs so that everyone can see.

    At the very least you should demand to know the following:

    1. Who are the directors and shareholders of each of the Bar Works companies involved in your investment ?

    2. Look at your brochure. Make sure you know which company is liable for payments to you. Demand to know how your money was distributed once you sent it to Bar Works Inc.

    3. Have you got a clearly defined workstation i.e a plot plan showing exactly what you have leased or sub-leased ? if not, demand one.

    4. But most importantly it is absolutely vital that you are given a copy of the main lease no matter what property you have invested in. This head lease might contain clauses which mean that you could easily lose all your money.

    This announcement by Kinard is unlikely to be a voluntary change of bank by Bar Works Inc. In my opinion it is either the bank refusing to take in more money because they suspect a scam and they don’t want to be associated with Bar Works, or the account has been frozen either by the bank itself or by the US authorities, or new investment has dried up and the Ponzi scheme is unravelling already.

    It is interesting that the tenant company in every case is BWM, but investor’s rental payments are not made by BWM. They are made by Bar Works Inc.

    Sorry for the long post.

94. @ Marksie – You cannot apologise for a long post if you have explained a very complex and convoluted scam with exact precision! (Big round of applause, possibly a standing ovation)
    I congratulate you on not only finding the edges and insides of the jigsaw but for laying the pieces out ready for someone to simply put the last one in, I.e. Take Action!

    Investors – As Marksie points out, your money goes to Bar Works Inc and your returns (your own money) are paid back to you in increments. by Bar Works Inc…..funny that!!

    I would estimate that Haddow has collected in about $50m through this scheme so hardly surprising they are now ‘buying’ premises to try and show they own assets. However as Marksie rightly points out, it is the investors who have paid for them.

    Name and shame people, name and shame

    Or uk clients go to NCA

95. Hi, I am Barworks investor, I invested $100,000 and was paid only for 10 months (10 payments only) now it stopped …
    this month (April) they didn’t pay. I received one reply begging of the month saying “We moved to a new FCA regulated payment processor ….” after that they did’t response to my emails, massages and phone calls.
    I believe now i am scammed ! can anyone here advice how to go about reporting them.
    I will be contacting SEC, embassy.
    I also, can share all the information, staff names and contact information.
    If yo are looking for investors to team-up i am ready, please ask

96. @ Salam
    Where are you based, which country?
    Who did you deal through?
    Which project did you invest into?

97. @ Salam – if they have stated they have moved to an ‘FCA regulated payment’ method, I would ask who told you this?

    Barworks is not a regulated entity so this is a blatant lie.

    Also, if they have ‘moved’ to one, that would mean they were not with one previously so why now move?

    It sounds like a lot of fluff to make you think you’re now more secure to me.

    Do you receive your returns in US$ from the USA? If so, why would they need the FCA regulation which is only for the UK?

98. Silence is deafening on here!

    Has anyone actually done anything yet?

99. barworks.nyc website is gone.
    Trading Platform menu is gone.
    FJP investment is no more promoting Bar Works investment.
    UPI (United Property Invest) is no more promoting Bar Works investment.

    Sugar Hill Coffee in Midtown Manhattan is not in operation.
    95 Chambers Street is not opened.
    8th Avenue Chelsea is not opened.

    No one has taken any action.

100. @ Stephanie – Did you invest through FJP? Do you know where they are based?

     UPI switched to Ourspace a long time ago when RH and JM fell out.

101. I did suggest:
     1st – delayed payments
     2nd – agents dropping it
     3rd – trading platform exit laughable.

     Don’t let it get to 4th or 5th base investors…….the home run won’t be in your favor!!!

     @ Salam – are you still active on here? Can you post any information you promised?

102. Bar Works are stopping their lease program. Here is an extract of their email announcement:

     “Bar Works to Close it’s Lease Program

     Only a Few Workstations Left …

     Bar Works is pleased to announce that we have achieved our targeted expansion ahead of schedule, now with twelve strategically located venues. After much consideration, we have decided to end the Wealth Builder Lease program. This move was done to concentrate our efforts on adding value to our own internal resources, thus driving up revenues from our newly opened industry leading venues.

     This past March, our Miami venue has already begun to attract the attention of a major technology firm, wanting to utilize the space for its staff. This newfound interest can be traced back to our new venue format. We are expecting similar responses from our soon to be open locations in New York. We will be making a further announcement when these locations open as these formats are going to influence the shape of our business and the industry going forward. We are pleased you are part of this exciting brand and thank you for the confidence you have shown in Bar Works.”

103. Sound familiar???

     ‘According to the FCA, around 75pc of unregulated investments result in losses for private investors. But the people selling them are well trained to ensure they sound very attractive. Typically they make promises of “guaranteed yields” or high income payments’

104. There is more than one level of investor involved in Bar Works. From what I can see there are 3 levels of investor.
     1. People who invested in a US Tech start-up fund (name not fully disclosed in brochures);
     2. The people who bought shares or loan notes in Bar Works itself with a guaranteed return on loan notes, paid quarterly;
     3. The people who bought ‘workspaces’ in Bar Works sites where there was a guaranteed return, paid monthly.
     In 2015 Haddow was ‘sponsored’ by a US company called Incrowd Equity (ICE). http://www.incrowdequity.com.
     ICE was/is a US crowdfunding site. I say ‘was’ because their website hasn’t been updated in 6 months and they now have no projects listed on their site so it would be interesting to know what has become of them. It’s very important to know what their status is because they still apparently hold important roles in both the Bar Works investment set-up and a Tech start-up fund.
     ICE was/is a Delaware company. This enables the real owners to hide their identities. My guess is that Haddow owns a large part of ICE.
     At the start almost all of the projects on their website, maybe even every one of them, were projects that were set up by Renwick Haddow. E2-Marketing, Gleason’s Gym Ltd, Bar Works, Bitcoins etc. All of those were on the site and all could be linked back to Haddow.
     So it appears that ICE was a company set up by Haddow to appear to offer investments in different companies but actually only offered investments that were set up by Haddow. This is not the first time.
     Capital Alternatives Ltd in the UK was set up in exactly the same way. Lots of projects being promoted that appeared to be completely independent but which had all been set up by Haddow using ‘front men’ who were prepared to take cash to pretend to be the owners of each project. Now Haddow and some of those people are facing possible jail sentences in the UK. The court case has been put back until July this year.
     ICE acted as ‘General Partner & Adviser’ for a new US Tech start-up fund and was aiming to raise $2.5 million. ICE had a role in determining which companies would get some of the fund’s cash. Presumably it still has that role if the fund is still running. Interestingly, although the fund was investing in US tech companies the fundraising was taking place in the UK with the following advice “before investing investors should consult a professional adviser who is authorised under the UK FSMA”. It’s odd that a US Tech Start-up Fund, run by people in the US, raised its’ money in the UK. Of course, that wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that the SEC only investigates fraud if it involves US investors.
     The Fund document stated that it would invest a minimum of $100,000 and a maximum of $250,000 in any single company.
     A few months later ICE also acted as ‘Sponsor’ for the Bar Works Private Placement where Bar Works was looking to raise $1.5 million. The Placement Memorandum states:
     “Bar Works has received an investment of $500,000 at 75 cents a share from a US based Tech Startup fund located in Silicon Valley”.
     It is possible that this investment is completely unrelated, but that is very unlikely. Something doesn’t ring true here (as usual). Either Bar Works is lying or the Tech Fund has broken its terms of operation. The Tech Fund cannot invest more than $250,000 in any one company or it would be in breach of the terms of its licence to operate.
     If I were an investor in the fund I would be asking my UK FSMA professional to find out what is going on. What investments has it made and of what sum ? It seems likely that Haddow is controlling ICE which is controlling the fund’s money.
     If I were an investor in the Bar Works Private Placement I would also want to know what is going on, especially since the brochure states that Bar Works has three directors, Jonathan Black, Zoe Miller and Robert Munden. Black doesn’t exist, Miller is Haddow’s wife and Munden was previously a director of Plantation Asset Management Ltd, the company involved in Haddow’s palm oil scam in Sierra Leone. So in effect Haddow controls Bar Works too. The Bar Works PPM brochure states:
     “The Company has taken reasonable care to ensure that the information contained in this Information Memorandum is correct and accurate”. REALLY !!!
     So it looks like all three levels of investor mentioned at the start of this post have a case for action against the perpetrators.
     Just found the following comments on a website talking about ICE. This is very worrying for the Fund investors. Interesting that these guys came from the UK.

     Pros
     The owner does not bother you as long you are closing deals.
     Cons
     Fly by night startup equity firm from the UK. The pay is horrible, big turn over. There is no structure at this company. They need a Human Resource Dept. The building is old, elevator only holds 5 people, The internet service sucks still on DSL. Open desk layout, no privacy, no coffee machine, no microwave!
     Advice to Management
     The IT person you have working for you will end up getting you sued. I suggest you find someone with a professional manner. And pay people what they are worth.

     Pros
     Absolutely nothing. Place is very disorganized, fights almost everyday, and a very unprofessional environment.
     Cons
     I don’t even know where to start. Manager visits inappropriate websites using the company’s computer during work hours while everybody is working their butts off. Looks like everything is a scam for sure. Some of the brokers are alcoholics and/or on drugs. There are fights almost everyday at the office. No business structure, no HR department, no rules. Let me not even talk about the pay……Horrible!
     Advice to Management
     Stop scamming people, be more professional, and please have an HR department.

     There is one nice review on the site – looks very much like it came from the company itself.
     https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Reviews/In-Crowd-Equity-Reviews-E959707.htm?countryRedirect=true

105. @Erik,
     First it is a banking issue that stops your payments and now they announce they are stopping their main source of fundraising. I don’t believe they would voluntarily do that. In my opinion the US authorities have stepped in.
     In your next contact with them please ask where someone should go to meet the management team. Enquiries in the US have been unable to find a genuine office for Bar Works i.e one where there are desks, management and employees. It’s possible they might be working out of the Incrowd Equity office in Manhattan because the two organisations are very closely linked. I have a friend who will pay them a visit.

106. IF there are actually any investors on here, which I believe there are a couple, read and listen to every word @ Marksie writes/says.

     If you don’t, you stand to lose, if it’s not gone already, every single penny/cent you ‘gave’ RH.

     There is a reason he set up in the US but didn’t ‘invite’ US investors. There is a reason he ‘invited’ UK and overseas investors into a project in the US. And remember the majority of the ‘work’ has been done by the ‘brokers’ hungry for commissions and driven only by that, egged on by an egotistical ‘manager’ akin to Ben Affleck in Boiler Room. And don’t think for one minute that Boiler Room or The Wolf are far fetched. They are tame in parts! Ask yourself if you could work in that environment?

     These people go back years, they’ve been doing it for a long time, they have a close circle who then reunite after they’ve disappeared for a while (like real life robbers), theyve fine tuned their process and learnt from their mistakes and they cover up their tracks like professional hit men! What you have to do is get smarter at how to beat them and not rely on other people.

     There are differences between the likes of The Wolf and these people as The Wolf ran one huge scam in one sector whereas these people run several if not dozens across multiple sectors but the ethos is the same; to extort as much as they can out of you.

     The warning signs have been there since Mr. Lang’s original post and the subsequent comments and hints from some of us.

     Ignore them at your peril.

107. @Marksie @Scotty can you please provide what are the steps can we take? Can you refer any lawyer that can help?

108. @Erik, @Enough, @Salam, @Marksie, @Scotty and @Jan Novak

     Can I have your permission to get your email contact from @Chris Lang?

109. @Erik, @Enough, @Salam, @Marksie, @Scotty, and @Jan Novak – If you want me to pass on your email address to @Stephanie, please send me an email and I’ll forward your address to her. My email address is [email protected].

110. @ Stephanie, where are you based, country specific as this will have a bearing on suggestion.

     As per Marksie’s previous post I wouldn’t actually go to a lawyer now as they will simply offer advice as to the contract terms. You would also need to know who exactly you want to sue and as I’ve said these people cover their tracks and trails. You can’t sue the broker as they were ‘simply acting as a marketing agent’ but if you have anything in writing that states they were actually giving you investment advice but are not regulated it will help.

     You need to be approaching a ‘higher’ entity that deals with serious crime/fraud etc. If the US authorities are digging they will be after the entire set up and the directors etc with a legal case to follow but you need to find a way of finding out if they are.

111. @Stephanie,
     I have not authorised Chris to release my email to you. I think your request should be turned the other way around. In your next post you should authorise Chris to email each of the 6 people one at a time with your contact details (not as a group email). The reason for this is because it is possible that one or more of the group are not genuine. You need to be very cautious about who you trust.
     To address your post, there are two scenarios. The first is that Bar Works genuinely does have banking issues and they have also voluntarily decided to stop their fundraising. In this case they would have no restrictions on paying refunds if they chose to. This is very unlikely in my opinion. In any case, Haddow doesn’t pay refunds. He keeps the money and ignores any letters or emails from investors. In my opinion Bar Works Inc would not refund your money and you would waste a lot more on a solicitor who would get nowhere.
     The second scenario is that the bank account has been frozen, either by the bank or by a financial regulator, and Bar Works is unable to pay out any money or to take in new payments from investors. I feel this is more likely. In this scenario the authorities generally allow small payments to keep the company running but do not allow payments to investors or the management team.
     There could easily be more than 500 investors involved. Bar Works would have been instructed by the authorities that they cannot treat one investor differently from another. This means no refunds for anyone until the regulators unfreeze the account.
     If you think that the first scenario is true then I advise:
     1. Write to Bar Works and the company that sold you the investment (if there was one). Advise both of them that you believe you were tricked into investing through false statements in the brochures and marketing material. Demand your money back within 7 days. Send them your bank account details.
     2. If you get a response let us know.
     I will tell you what I would do next once we know how you got on. This next step could be blocked if I reveal it on here now. The same advice applies to other investors. Put your request for a refund in writing to Bar Works and the agent. Let us know the response.

     @Stephanie – you haven’t told us anything about your investment process e.g who sold you the investment, where they operate from, the names of the salespeople etc. That was asked for weeks ago. If there is a reason why you don’t want it out in public then that’s OK, but if you go ahead and authorise the release of your email address to me I will ask you for proof. I will treat any information you give me as strictly confidential and it will not be released. I’m not really interested in the detail of what you provide, just that there is clear evidence you are a genuine investor.

112. I am an investor albeit a small one, has anyone had any luck being paid this month? I am thinking about setting up an email inbox for all concerned investors to send me their details to approach these guys together.

113. @everyone… sorry I sent my message not realizing that you guys had asked Chris who wrote this blog to share emails around. I emailed Chris will my details also.

     @marksie… good advice btw – I think a demand in writing is wise, would you say via email or actually in writing is better? Are you based in the UK? I am from UK but in UAE.

114. Just to prove my authenticity, I initially heard of barworks via united property invest but ended up going direct. Dealt with a guy called Robert Delaware last May and then laterly Peter Jones. A lady called Tahyira was also involved. I had good dealings with them initially, until i didnt get any payment in April and my emails to them have been ignored for the last few weeks….

115. first of all if all this was true other titles would have covered the story….and it would have made big news and important titles! I believe it’s probably dirty competition who started all this. Saying this I wrote to the editor 2 times asking me to put me in touch with the investors here but he never did. Wander why??? You can all talk but none of us knows the real truth. Saying this I spoke to the MD today and I have lots of updates and news. Youa ll talk just to talk….get a solicitor instead of vomiting stuff on here!

116. @Marksie
     I have already done what you suggest weeks ago and asked for a refund based on the fact that I haven’t been paid and that I believe I have been scammed.

     I have asked @Chris to share my email address with you and I will send you the details along with their answer

117. Hi
     I am an investor in Barworks NYC. I was concerned to read about this issue in the blog and the subsequent replies. I am keen to get involved and help towards any action group for investors.

118. @ Jared – Are you an investor yourself in any of the Barworks programs?

     I think it’s quite simple really – if you are and you have concerns then share them here to benefit others. If you have no concerns, carry on regardless until you do have concerns.

     Up to you

119. @jared – your comments are interesting. That could be true indeed, why only Real Deal covering this and not other news channels. if it was a mass scam one would think major news papers would at least print something..

     Could you share your email address with Chris the owner of this blog so i could have a chat with you offline? Or vice versa. Thank you :)

120. Great news Jared !! We’ve been waiting for someone like you who is friendly with the MD of Bar Works. I’m sure everyone is really looking forward to hearing all these fantastic updates and news, especially as it comes from the top man at Bar Works. All we want is some clarity and the truth. So, can you answer three really easy questions first ?
     1. Where can we find Jonathan Black ? That shouldn’t be a problem should it ? If you don’t know yourself please ask the MD and then we can begin clearing up this misunderstanding.
     2. Where is the Bar Works office ? I have someone who would like to visit the office to thank the staff for their support and to arrange a friendly meeting with Franklin Kinard.
     3. What are the contact details of the MD ? You have been able to speak directly to him and I know there are a few people who would like to do the same to have their minds put at rest. Was it Franklin Kinard you spoke to ? Just post the MD’s name, email address and phone number on here and then we can start mopping up all this vomit once and for all.
     If you could help to clear up these tiny little snags everyone would be much happier.

     @Gogsuk and other investors, send emails to each contact that you have ever dealt with at Bar Works and the salespeople. That makes it much more difficult for them to deny they ever received it. Put a ‘notify me when opened’ tracker on it if you can and then keep and file the response so you have evidence it was opened. If you are also able to send a recorded delivery letter to their HQ which is Bar Works Inc, 47W 39th St, New York, 10018, USA, then do so but it is not essential because emails are now regarded as legal evidence.

121. If proof was needed, Jarad just gave it to us.

     These people and these sorts of companies only have 2 strategies in their playbook to fight back against comments on message boards –

     1. Say the negative comments are all from jealous competitors, or

     2. Say they’re from ex-employees with a grudge against the firm

     The one thing they will NOT do is hit back with hard facts, verifiable facts, perhaps even a Youtube video from the CEO telling everyone EXACTLY what is going on. But you might all whistle dixie as the last thing these firms deal in is verifiable facts, it’s all talk and forward looking figures which have the same use as loo paper.

     Barworks investors, as others have said, you are in real trouble, any investor in a company where the dreadful Renwick Haddow is involved is always going to be in real trouble.

     Listen the other commentators on this side, get a gameplan together to try and salvage part or all of your investment as this company will not be around probably within a year. No smoke without fire and this one has smoke coming out from every possible orifice.

     People say don’t get lawyers involved because of the money but there are plenty of lawyers around who will offer a no-win-no-fee deal if they think the case is strong. Start to contact some they can only say no at worst, yes at best.

     They also say get a private investigator. That might work for some initial inquires and they’re a lot cheaper than a lawyer. Whoever mentioned it, has some good ideas so listen to him.

122. @Jared, MD you mean Franklin Kinard? What updates do you get from him?

123. @scotty @marksie @stephanie @erik @salam @jannovak

     I have set up an email account –

     If you guys want to collaborate and contact some Ponzi scheme attorney in NY or the US as a group to see if any of them would be up for trying to approach these guys on our behalf on a no win no fee basis it could be worth a shot.. We can share this email address and and see how many people we can get. I’d say if we can get 10 to 20 people on to this we could get some interest here..

     Thoughts?

     To be accepted, please state your name where and when you obtained the investment, how many seats you purchased and for which location. Also if you went direct or via a broker, if yes who.

     Thanks

124. But will Jared answer, that is the question…….. we all await but not holding my breath.

     One reason I believe a newspaper is not carrying this for the record is that they will wait to print until AFTER the fan is hit by the huge amount of **** that is about to be thrown at it.

     And just think Jared, you can then turn round and say ‘Jeez. I didn’t see that coming’ whilst everyone else might have got something back from these people

125. I agree with Simon B. If investors want to hire a lawyer and you can find one on a genuine ‘no win-no fee’ basis then go for it. If you make it clear in a letter exactly what you are asking the lawyer to do and the terms of his/her remuneration, emphasising that you have NO LIABILITY to pay anything for the service, then you have nothing to lose by taking the legal route.

     With regards to larger national newspapers taking up the story, journalists are lazy. Investigative journalists want a juicy story that justifies spending time and money on it. Bar Works is too small. There are probably thousands of these scams going on all the time. We got lucky with TRD because they are a NYC real estate newspaper and Bar Works just happened to be based in their neighbourhood.

     @Jared says he has the firepower to shoot down Vomit Squadron so let’s see it in action. Three simple questions asked – three simple answers required.

126. Hello,
     We are a group of Swedish investors that have invested in Barworks through a Swedish agent.
     We will contact our agent and Barworks and try to cancel the contract.
     Not hoping for much but it is worth a shoot.
     Will follow this forum and keep you posted of any progress (or lack of)…

127. Hi,
     Sorry I was busy for the past few days.
     Referring to my earlier post I was paid April payment on 25 April and got reply by email only informing me about the payment, nothing about my request to speak to the management or CEO.

     @Scotty – I am based in Saudi Arabia,
     I dealt directly with BarWors, I got the information and Ad’s from internet and contacted three agents in the UK, after I decided to become an agent … after I became agent I decided to by myself and check them before promoting I bought 4 workspaces and paid $85,000 and got $100,000 ($15,000 was the commission)
     I invested in the Tribeca project.
     I receive returns in US$ from the USA.

     I was not happy from the start, immediately after I transferred funds I was trying to reach them for receipt (confirmation) …

     After the 3 months (payments) I had to follow up on payments some time, and some payment where made on the 2nd week of the month (I was informed payment are transferred on 1st week of month), then payments received missing 10$ and you know about April payment delay.

     I was informed that sale in not possible because the buyback is not before 2 years.
     Also, I am still waiting for official statement from Barworks about what’s going … but nothing up to date.
     I have received up to now 11 payment (months).

128. @ Salam – very quick question. Do you have a contract to act as an agent and they pay you 15% commission?

     Very good/brave of you to try before advising others to do so.

129. @ Scotty I do have expired contract to act as an agent and they pay you 15% commission.

     Thanks.

130. @ Monta – thank you for confirming your location and further proof that this net has been cast far and wide.

     Can I ask how long ago you invested and how many of you there are?

131. Hi guys,

     I have been following this page for a few days and been looking at all the links available.

     I purchased some units last year, I visited the 2 sites in New York myself last year, had a look around, the second location on 44th street had only just opened at the time.

     I purchased my units via a UK agent who I have used for other investments as well, after visiting the sites everything seemed good. There were some small questions but generally things seemed ok especially when the barworks site was right behind WeWorks who they are trying to copy.

     I dident actually meet anyone senior from barworks there at the time but had an appointment with a someone who was supposed to be the main sales person.

     I have been paid up until April (last payment was late), last payment 25th April, however when there was a delay I came across this page. Generally before April my payments have been on time, I did stay on top of them though.

     My agent from UK is in constant contact and is being helpful. I am just looking at all the options at the moment, obviously it is very stressful.

     I think a forum should be created, whoever wants to set it up, the person setting it up should show proof of their lease and any new member should be allowed to join the group after showing their lease.

     Also I think if anyone is in USA or better New York they should visit one of the sites and at least maybe upload images etc showing if they still exist or try to meet someone there.

     UK police advice is when you have been stung then various people may also approach you to help but actually try to screw you over, so it is understandable how all investors are a bit edgy with giving away information.

     http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/fraud_protection/ponzi_schemes

     The best thing Barworks can do now is to be honest and tell investors what’s going on otherwise investors will assume the worst and will not be forgiving. I am sure Franklin & co must be reading this, hopefully the will get the message.

132. @ Salam – Thank you

     About 6 weeks ago I posted to show the extortionate ‘costs’ with this scheme and given what Salam has just told all of you, I was close but not exact.

     If you invest $100,000, $15,000 goes to the agent (not bad for making a few calls and sending some emails to spread Haddow’s word).
     You can guarantee that Haddow is not paying his agents more than himself so take another $15,000 off your $100,000.

     $70,000 is only going in to the project.

     They are giving you for example $15,000 back each year (15% of $100,000) but if it were real, $15,000 of $70,000 is actually more than 21% return each year. From a desk???? And that’s with haddow doing it for free!

     Buyback which as we know doesn’t actually exist but if it did it offers you I believe 125% of your $100,000? I.e. $125,000. So in 2 years your ‘ desk’ needs to grow from $70,000 to $125,000.
     That’s a 78.6% return folks!!!! To make it possible!!!

     If ever any of you genuine investors on here needed proof that this is Ponziesque……..

133. Send the boys in blue to 47 7th Ave S, New York, NY 10014. Probably get a few answers there.

134. Thanks @Salam, very interesting points.
     1. Can you see if the April payment was made from the same account as the other payments ? It would be good to know if they have changed banks like they said they were going to do. If the money came from the same account it would signify that their original bank account is not frozen
     2. If the account is different is it in the name of Bar Works Inc or another company/person ?
     I think you are lucky that you are an agent as well as an investor. As an agent they would want to look after you. I wonder if ordinary investors have also now received their April payment.
     3. This point is important – there is nothing to stop them refunding your money. You are not asking them to buyback. You were tricked into investing because the CEO does not exist and another director was using a false name to hide the fact that she is the wife of Renwick Haddow. Keep trying to get your money back. Tell them very clearly that this is not a buyback. It is a full refund you are asking for due to the false information they gave you.
     4. The 15% commission is standard for Haddow projects. BUT if he is following his usual pattern this will not be the total commission. When he was running Capital Alternatives in the UK he was paying 15% to agents like you and 30% to his sales team in the office. Typical deductions from investors money was 45% so I expect it is very similar for Bar Works. However, it didn’t stop there. He was then entitled to his own separate ‘consultancy fee’ which he deducted from the investor’s money.

     Still Salam, it is very good news that you have had a payment and i hope the same is true for other investors.

135. My experience with Barworks is exactly the same as @gogsuk. I have hit a wall of silence now after asking for a refund in writing. I’m going back to them today to confirm my request and set a deadline otherwise I am taking legal action. I have it in writing from Barworks that I can cash in my investment at any point. Anyone on here want to team up?

136. @scotty
     Hi, we are about 10 investors that I know of.
     We will talk to our agent today and then contact BarWorks.

     I will also send an e-mail to Chris Lang that it is ok for him to share my contact details to others that are active in this thread in case there’s information that you do not what to share here.

     Stay tuned…

137. @Scotty
     My contract is dated in October.

138. Got this e-mail today. What do you think?

     Official update from Bar Works CEO,
     Franklin Kinard

     Good day. I’m Frank Kinard, managing director of Bar Works. I apologize for the inexcusable breakdown in communication between Bar Works and our leaseholders.

     Yes, regrettably, rents to leaseholders have been delayed. This is due to necessary, productive restructuring that will be explained in greater detail in the next few days. As well, we will lay out a structure for leaseholders to ensure they are not disadvantaged. None of this is unusual. All ventures go through realignments, with good news and bad news along the way. At every stage, however, our stakeholders deserve to be informed. Our leaseholder relations apparatus failed at that task. I won’t let this happen again.

     What restructuring? For instance, Bar Works corrected severe problems with our construction process. That’s crucial because construction is at the heart of our company. After all, we provide space for commerce. Unfortunately, an ineffective general contractor was initially hired to develop Bar Works locations. As a result, several Bar Works sites were far behind schedule, or raw spaces sat idle due to the general contractor’s mishandling of permits and other protocols.

     A new team fixed this. That’s why our Miami venue opened only a month after we secured the building. That’s why our landmark building in Hollywood, California is launching in just a few weeks. These new procedures also rescued exciting locations in San Francisco and New York.

     Right away, we are creating a better information pipeline for leaseholders. For the rest of this week, you can email [email protected]. Starting Monday, the permanent representative for investors will be in place. She’s Nancy Rodriguez, and she can be called at 646 829 1564, or emailed at [email protected]. If you don’t reach someone instantly, we guarantee a response within hours.

     Thank you. More updates are coming your way.

     Frank Kinard

     Managing Director

     Bar Works

139. I understand your wish to discuss this privately – how about setting up a Facebook group? If it’s a secret group, no one outside the group will know who is in the group.

     I’m suggesting this partly because I am now inundated with requests to share email addresses. I spent hours yesterday trying to work out who might be a genuine invester and who is posing as an investor but is actually from Bar Works. Some people in this discussion are happy to share their emails, others aren’t. Some only want their emails shared with certain people, but not with others. It’s impossible for me to manage this, I’m afraid (unless I were to hire a fraud expert to work full time on it). Sorry!

     In the meantime, if you are in the UK or were persuaded to invest in Bar Works by a UK company, I recommend contacting Action Fraud (0300 123 2040). As @sara points out, Action Fraud has information about what to do if you’re the victim of a Ponzi scheme.

     A few years ago, I wrote a post with a list of things to do if you had been scammed into buying carbon credits as investments. While Bar Works isn’t selling carbon credits, I think it’s worth working through that list – in addition to the various suggestions in the comments above.

140. @darren yes I will team up.

     I set up a gmail account .

     I think either we invite those with concerns to send an email here or someone sets up a facebook group.

     For those who send an email and state they are a genuine investor and show some evidence they get an invite to a facebook page.

     Thoughts?

141. @Sara, thanks for the information. I’m sure that this blog is being followed by Bar Works and we have to wonder why they aren’t coming out and shooting the doubters (like me) down in flames. They haven’t produced Jonathan Black, or commented on Mr & Mrs Haddow’s involvement, or explained who owns the company or how they spend investor’s money, or where their staff are based (because it isn’t at the address on their website), or how all the various companies are linked and who owns them, or why they kept avoiding the journalist at TRD.
     Even you didn’t visit their office or meet any of their management team. Bar Works could yet turn out to be a completely legitimate company but personally I very much doubt that. They don’t even have to come on this blog. They could invite the TRD journalist to their office, give an interview and provide evidence. He would then write a piece in his paper clearing up all the accusations and everything would go back to normal.
     I urge caution on both the forum and the position with your agent. Firstly, the forum will almost certainly be infiltrated. It is easy for BW to get a friendly person to join. Even when the whole Capital Alternatives scam was coming to light there were investors who believed they were innocent and were feeding information back to them from investor forum groups. Secondly, you should not regard your agent as your friend. He/she is a salesperson working on commission. Capital Alternatives, its’ management team AND agents were included in the FCA prosecution for jointly promoting a Collective Investment Scheme. If they are convicted at the trial in July they are facing jail terms. It is certainly possible that the Bar Works model is a CIS and may also come under the UK’s ‘Non Mainstream Pooled Investment’ legislation. This means that your agent could be held jointly liable by the FCA and, if proven, the personal assets of the people involved will be seized by the FCA and used to compensate investors. The protection of limited company status is completely removed in a case of CIS – the FCA go after the assets of the company AND the personal assets of the people involved in the promotion. Hence the reason Haddow has had himself declared bankrupt.
     My advice is to keep your relationship with your agent strictly on a business footing. There have been enough questions raised about Bar Works with no answers coming back that you should seriously consider insisting on a refund. If you trust the people involved and can afford to lose the money then stay invested. If you have doubts yourself, haven’t had clear and definitive answers to the question with supporting evidence provided, and you CAN’T afford to lose the money then, if it were me, I would be knocking on the agent’s door demanding a full refund. It isn’t worth the risk.
     I note that you haven’t given the agent’s name or details and I assume that is because you feel uncomfortable going public with it.
     If you don’t mind me asking what was the name of the main sales person you met in New York and was he American or British ? It’s always useful to know what the names are and where they come from (even though they have been known to use false names). After all, if the founder Zoia Kyselova (who we now believe is Zoia Haddow) is described in brochures as Zoe Miller why can’t the salespeople have fake names too….

142. @Monta
     I received this email yesterday as well, the good thing is they are feeling the pressure and know investors are kicking off and want answers as well as their money. Whether they will follow up and continue communication and respond to all investors is to be seen.

     @gogsuk
     I think a closed facebook group seems to be a good idea, however posting on here is also good as i’m sure barworks are probably reading this and this is probably quite effective in getting the message to them as well as all the other correspondence & agents contacting them.

     @marksie
     My recent payment was sent from a Barclays UK bank to me in my UK account. So they have changed the banks, maybe only for UK investors, i’m not sure. Also it mentioned on there the sending company as Barworks USA / UK Ltd, the director of which is Franklin Kinard. The address for this company is just a standard company formation place.

     https://companycheck.co.uk/company/10588480/BAR-WORKS-USAUK-LTD/companies-house-data

143. BTW I did contact fraud solicitor in NY that I found on Google. He did not know anything about BarWorks. His comment “If it truly is a “scam” a civil lawsuit won’t help as there would be little if anything to collect from a defunct company in the time it takes to perfect a lawsuit.”

     @gogsuk
     Sounds like a good idea. What kind of proof would be required to show to join the group?

144. Yes that sounds like a good plan. I will drop you a line on the email address you have set up.
     I have no problem sharing evidence of my investment, contracts, lease, chain of emails to all the individuals at Barworks.

145. A lot of people commenting on here now (which is good). May have to mentally shuffle some posts around because they may have been written before other posts showed up, but it is good that most people are trying to get to the truth.
     The Bar Works reshuffle will be interesting. There’s a lot of heat coming onto Bar Works now from a number of directions. Odd that they never mentioned delays at almost every site. Lots of press releases about how successful they are, but none informing anyone about delays. Until now…..sounds like an excuse for them saying that they won’t be able to meet the terms of the contract.
     @ Jared, will Franklin Conhard be answering those three questions anytime soon ?

146. For what it’s worth –

     I think a group is a good idea for genuine investors to share their experiences and documentation etc with each other however be VERY careful. It would be quite easy for someone from Barworks to fill out a lease in the name of say ‘Johnny White’ (Black is already being used I believe!) and enter your group under false pretenses.

     Don’t lose sight here – personally I don’t think there’s any doubt that they have bought or leased premises for this scheme and they are or will be or might be operational but this is a front to sidetrack you. It’s a shop window.

     The real issue is HOW they raised they funds, if it was legal, who owns the real estate if it goes belly up, the fraudulent signature or assumed identity of JB/RH and how they are generating the returns to you. If you can prove it’s a Ponzi then you can build a case and whilst low ‘members’ might point you to that assumption, it’s not enough.

     I’m sure that a company as ‘successful’ would by now have a large team of directors and support staff in a swanky office somewhere?

     I wouldn’t even be convinced that Kinnard knows the half of it or what has happened to date and they’ve passed him a right ticking time bomb.

     As for copying WeWorks……

147. None of these agents give a shit about their clients. They only sell these loss making investments in order to pick up that massive 15%-20% bonus and only the shittiest deals (made to look like very profitable ones) pay 15%+. Legitimate investments pay around 1%-3%.

     Go look at these agents websites, they’re full of these types of easy money deals paying a 20% yield in a world of zero rates. The agents all go on about ‘due diligence’ but the only due diligence they do is see how much commission the deals pay. If it’s high, they pimp it out. The agents aren’t stupid they know just what they’re doing although they’ll tell you they ‘feel your pain’ when things start to go wrong. Many of them will also say they invested in the deals themselves to make the clients feel better but as I said, they’re not stupid, they’re very mendacious, so they haven’t invested as they know a crap deal when they see one.

     The agents will also not tell their clients just how much money they’re being paid (by their clients). The clients pay the agents a fortune (the 15%-20% comes off the top of the clients original investment) hence it’s kept very quiet because the agents and the investment managers view the clients as sheep to be fleeced and the less they know about what goes on in the background the better.

     Sorry but the above is the reality. People must start to learn about how the unregulated investment world works. It works to transfer customer money to the people behind the deals as well as the agents. As for what they’re investing in, normally it’s a joke but by the time the investors have realised, the scammers have moved on. New company, new hot investment product offering you guessed it bumper yields in a world of zero rates. Same result for them (major money) same results for the clients (major losses).

     Just look at this website for an example. How many articles have been written about these unregulated investments? 20, 30 maybe more. And tell me how many times this website has been right or wrong? It’s always been right and never been wrong. Redd Monitor is therefore not wrong with Bar Works so expect more emails from the CEO explaining there are yet more ‘unforeseen problems’ due to (insert excuse). Clue, they won’t be sorted out, buying time is the sole goal. Anyway wasn’t Bar Works supposed to be a bullet proof business? Looks like the bullshit is already starting to unravel.

148. We don’t need @Jared any longer. We can go straight to Nancy Rodriguez.
     Here are the questions every investor should be asking Bar Works’ new customer representative. Feel free to add any more of your own.

     Dear Nancy,
     I have read a number of blogs about Bar Works Inc that have given me some concern. I am certain that you would want to put my mind at rest and be completely transparent with me. For that reason I would like you to answer the following questions:

     1. Who are the directors of Bar Works Inc ? The marketing material that made me want to invest says Jonathan Black, Zoe Miller and Robert Munden are directors.
     2. Please can you provide me with evidence that the co-founder Jonathan Black exists ?
     3. Please can you provide me with evidence that Zoe Miller is the real name of the co-founder ?
     4. What are the contact details for Robert Munden and was he formerly a director of a company involved with Capital Alternatives Ltd ?
     5. Who are the shareholders in Bar Works Inc ? Why is this not in the public domain like most bona-fide companies ?
     6. My contract for rental payments is with Bar Works Management Inc. Who are the directors of this company ?
     7. Who are the shareholders in Bar Works Management Inc ?
     8. How does Bar Works Management Inc generate the revenues to pay my rental payments ?
     9. Is Renwick Haddow or any member of his family still involved with Bar Works Inc or Bar Works Management Inc or any company which forms part of the Bar Works Group of companies ?
     10. Does Renwick Haddow or any member of his family or any company in which he or his family are involved receive any payments from Bar Works Inc or Bar Works Management Inc or any company which forms part of the Bar Works Group of companies ?
     11. Does Renwick Haddow or any member of his family or any company with which he is involved have any financial interest in any of the freehold properties involved in Bar Works operations ?
     12. Please provide a breakdown of who owns the freehold of the property in which I bought a workspace unit ?
     13. What is the percentage of commission, marketing, admin and consultancy fees that was deducted from my investment money when it was received by Bar Works Inc ?
     14. Which companies received those payments ?
     15. Where are your office staff based ?
     16. My representative would like to meet one of the directors. Please can you advise me who that will be and what time/date would be convenient ?
     17. Why has a member of the Bar Works management team not met with the journalist from TRD to answer his allegations ?
     18. If it turns out that the marketing material was not truthful will you refund my investment in full ? If not, why not ?

     Let’s see if the investor relations representative is as open and honest as she should be. Point 18 is the key one for concerned investors.

149. @H. Butterfield – I agree. The “agents” should be held responsible for pushing unregulated investments. Please contact the FCA to report what happened.

     I’ve written about one of the operations that sold investments in Bar Works – Heron Global Partners.

     Six and Flow, the company that ran Heron Global Partners’ marketing campaign, admitted that at least part of the marketing was “potentially misleading”.

     I’m interested in writing more about the other companies that promoted Bar Works. If anyone wants to talk to me about their “agent”, how they got involved with this investment, and some of the promises that the “agents” made, send me an email – [email protected]. Thanks! If you prefer to remain anonymous, that’s fine.

     REDD-Monitor’s posts about unregulated investments are collected here:

     http://redd-monitor.org/tag/boiler-room/

     The first one was written in May 2012. Since then I’ve added a further 180 posts (some are about the same company or group of companies).

150. How would those affected feel about emailing an attorney individually but as a group, attaching id and lease agreements?

     I may have a california based firm willing to look at it if they get enough numbers.

     Reply if hypothetically interested in this.. if yes id post email address and name of lawyer here. Those who want to get involved email lawyer direct. He verifies and creates a group and represents us….

     Thoughts?

151. Hello all,
     This information was apparently sent to investors at the beginning of the year. I didn’t get this info until today. A fellow investor shared it. Sorry for the formatting, it was originally a PDF…

     Bar Works Comment on the Real Deal Article
     There are only two ways to use investors’ money. . . wisely or foolishly. Bar Works management has wisely deployed resources from our backers. As a result, Bar Works is becoming a stronger enterprise each day. We learned from mistakes at our first two locations in Midtown, and we are relaunching those venues. Our
     third site– on 7th Ave South in New York’s Greenwich Village– is growing in popularity. And within weeks, we’ll have the formal openings of Bar Works in San Francisco, Miami and on Chambers St near New York’s City Hall.
     We have also refined our business model to include juice and coffee concessions, which will debut at Chambers Street in Manhattan.
     Along the way, we have dramatically improved our construction process, which allows our locations to produce revenue sooner. In addition, our marketing has become more scientific. And we have improved our internal operating systems. In short, Bar Works is a vibrant, disciplined enterprise. . . which is precisely what investors want.
     However, none of this was mentioned in a horribly flawed recent article. The story wrongly implied that Bar
     Works is effected by a totally unrelated civil matter in the United Kingdom, involving an independent Bar
     Works consultant. Further, the article inaccurately describes that consultant’s civil dispute.
     The consultant is Mr. Renwick Haddow, who has helped Bar Works in areas that greatly strengthened our
     operations and benefitted our investors. But Mr. Haddow’s civil challenge in the UK has nothing to do with his
     activities for Bar Works. The story about him appeared in a real estate publication called The Real Deal.
     Bar Works is led by Managing Director Frank Kinard. In a video posted on the Bar Works Web site, Mr. Kinard
     explains that he has launched an information initiative that will give investors a better understanding of the
     company’s performance. This will include periodic conference calls, where Mr. Kinard will take live questions
     from investors.
     Bar Works isn’t afraid of scrutiny because we believe in what we are building.
     Thank you. There’s much more good news coming.
     Frank Kinnard
     Managing Director
     Bar Works Inc.
     Bar Works Comment on the Real Deal Article

152. @gogsuk, see Monta’s post above of 5th May. It really isn’t worth taking the legal route. Very expensive and absolute waste of time. It is much better to ask the SEC in the USA, the FCA in the UK and the police to investigate.

153. @marksie i disagree. A usa lawyer engaged by a mass group of us can approach SEC on our behalf and can cause a whole heap of bother. Collectively it wont be as much as you think… lets see

154. Now here’s a funny thing. In February 2017, when Franklin Kinnard signed Bar Works’ response to The Real Deal article, here’s what his signature looked like:

     

     By April 2017, when he told investors that Bar Works was having difficulties with its bank, his signature had changed to this:

     

155. @Monta, thanks for that. It is a laughable reply by Kinard. It says that it is a response to the article in TRD but it isn’t at all. It doesn’t answer any of the questions raised by that article i.e who is Jonathan Black ? Who is Zoia Lysekova/Zoai Haddow/Zoe Miller and so on….. Every time they avoid answering those questions it reinforces the view that TRD was absolutely bang on the money. Black doesn’t exist. Haddow’s wife is fronting Bar Works for him and Munden is a dumb puppet that Haddow has used before in a previous scam.
     Come on Kinard, you must be reading this. Answer those questions for your investors !

156. @gogsuk, fair point. I wouldn’t want to stop any group from taking legal action if they felt it could give them a result. If you band together to get a lawyer to take the case to the SEC then that is a much better option than trying to prosecute it yourselves. A lot of information has come out in the past few days. I need to think about it. The change of bank account payments from Bar Works Inc to Bar Works USA/UK Ltd may appear a small irrelevance, but it could be highly significant.
     The SEC only gets involved if a fraud involves one or more of the following:
     US investors are involved;
     The transaction went through a US bank;
     The transaction was made in US$.
     For most investors so far I am assuming that the second two rules apply.
     It may be that a new version of the Wealth Builder program will be launched through a UK bank and will not involve US$. We shall have to wait and see.
     Lots of information to digest.

157. Hello all,

     I might be a bit naîve but what is the danger with sharing ones identity in these forums? Or sharing the name of the agents? Not sure why everybody is so cautious…

     @gogsuk regarding getting a joint lawyer, it is not so much the cost but the potential reward that does not make it worth it. By the time we could take BarWorks to court, there wouldn’t be any money to claim back.

158. @Darren, can you please write email to @Chris Lang at [email protected] to forward your email address to me? I want to team up!

159. @ H Butterfield – 2 words

     SPOT ON !!!!!

160. @Stephanie – Please read this comment. I cannot manage the various email requests. Please don’t ask me to share your email address or ask others to write to me to ask for your email address. I’m sorry, but it’s becoming a full-time job. Why don’t you set up a Facebook group?

     @Darren (and everyone else) – Please don’t send me an email asking me to forward your email address to @Stephanie (or anyone else). Thanks!

161. @ Chris – re. signature, brilliant! I was only the other day trying to find something similar.
     Do you have anything signed by Black Haddow to compare?

     Picking up some traction now on here which is good news for the investors.

     Build a group
     Do loads of research
     Collate your findings
     Align your ducks
     Load your weapons
     Squeeze the trigger

     Metaphorically speaking of course.

162. @ Monta – some of us on here are investors who may not want to reveal themselves because if their agent or barworks are following they will worry their returns will stop.
     Some of us on here have been ‘hit’ before by these types of con artists but wish to remain anonymous.
     Some of us on here will be agents, competitors or managers seeing where the thread is going and trying to preempt the outcome or prep for the next phase.
     And some, who go into detail and give specific views and fact about this scheme and the industry as a whole might just be fed up with seeing the same old routine, with the same old people making millions illegally whilst others try and do an honest job legally.

     There have been so many of these ‘types’ of projects over the last 10 years or so. Penny share scams, iPo’s, carbon credits, rare earth metals, diamonds, alternative fuel, so called green investments, bamboo, trading platforms, social housing in Brazil, land pre planning, coworking office spaces……. it is endless.

     One question I will throw out there – reading ‘Fu’ Kinnards email reply about and mentioning Haddows name and admitting he was involved etc is an obvious ‘if we name him it looks like we aren’t hiding anything’ BUT ask yourself this – IF you were sitting on this bomb proof business model, even with Trump in power, would you honestly want anything to do with a man wanted in several countries for previous scams??? Of course not, unless said man started it up and then moved it on to someone else who then has to release a statement saying ‘oh he has previous but it’s nothing to do with this and he’s brilliant at what he does and this will only make you, the investor, so much better off’.

     The way they get around the obvious ‘collective scheme’ is to ‘sell’ the investors a license individually.

163. Yes am behind this, forward details of your attorney so I and others can make contact.
     I am willing to start raising a complaint with the FCA

164. @Monta, very great and thank you very much for your informative posts. Keep us update!

     @gogsuk @Monta @Darren @Scotty I don’t agree in facebook, it has all our private information – our photos, posts, activity, etc. You can’t guarantee that the group is clear from Bar Works staffs. Proof like lease agreement can be edited/photoshoped.

     So, does anyone of you know or can find a lawyer who wants to be rich? HELP US IN BULK!
     Each investors pay 10% of their investment amount to lawyer. Some investors invest $25,000 / $50,000 / $100,000. I believe dozens of investors are reading this and agree to team up. We team up together and if the total amount is $2 million, we pay 10%, then the lawyer gets $200,000 at least, the lawyer just need to win one case. Any lawyer wants to take this opportunity?

     Just ask your friend or relative, do they know any lawyer want to take this opportunity? The lawyer then create a mailing-list or forwarding email account for all of us who are willing to team up as a bulk.
     TERM AND CONDITION: NO WIN NO FEE. YOU WIN YOU GET RICH!!

     @marksie Zoe Miller is not the real name for sure that we have already known, she is Zoia Kyselova, her facebook is https://www.facebook.com/zoya.kiselova. Take the screen capture before it is deleted!
     Bar Works staffs are all using fake name, Zoe Miller = Zoia Kyselova, Jonathan Black = Renwick Haddow, Tahyira Cordner = Tahyira Savanna, Franklin Kinard = ?????, Nancy Rodriguez = ?????

     @marksie @Scotty I am aware two of you are the most concern, are you guys also investors? If not, why are you so concern?

165. It looks like you ‘guys’ are moving this forward with some great ideas, looking to team up etc and approach a lawyer (needs to be US based as that’s where the crime has occurred or the money trail goes to) however as @Sara mentioned if they are now using UK accounts, UK clients approach the FCA, someone get on to the SEC in the USA. Would also make contact with Serious Fraud or the NCA for uk clients.
     You need to go hard at this and spread your investigations.

     @ Stephanie – I obviously do not know how Marksie will reply to you but I have personally asked you where you are based? Which agent you dealt with and where that agent is etc but you’ve refused to reply.
     If that is because you are only willing to talk to investors, of which I have already said I am not, then I understand however my input on this forum has been purely to try and give investors some background on how the industry works so you can piece things together. I cannot tell you how I know my information or where it comes from so please don’t ask but if you want someone to give you an insight into what these people are capable of and their general aim in life or how they operate, feel free to ask but only if it will help.

     The best example I can give you is this – imagine walking into your favorite designer store (let’s use Gucci as these boys like their bling) and the shop window looks amazing.
     You walk in and choose to buy, let’s say a $25,000 item.
     You can then choose to take the one off the shelf which you know is authentic or the salesman offers you one from ‘out the back’ with an offer to buy it back for $35,000 in 2 years. It’s only when you get home that you realise the one you chose from ‘out the back’ is a cheap copy. You go back the next day and the shop is now Ralph Lauren and the salesman has gone.

     One thing for the future to remember all investors on here is this – buy backs are generally rubbish unless you have a stated monetary amount in your contract and it’s based around realistic market value of the asset backing the contract and not just a piece of paper like barworks.

     Example – if you ever deal in the real alternative market like antiques, collectible cars or genuine art, a dealer will NEVER give you a buy back clause. The investor though is buying to hopefully make the return over a period of time but nothing is definite.

     Fixed returns are also dubious unless the ‘thing’ is up and running and creating that return.
     Developers of Student apartments went mad on this several years ago to ‘beat’ the buy to let market but if the property is off plan or not tenanted, the ‘guaranteed return’ is built in to the price you pay.

     As I’m not an investor if people wish me to leave, just let me know.

     I hope you all get the justice you deserve through the courts or via a government authority etc.

     Remember Jim Moore is now being held for a $150m ‘deal’ he was involved in years ago.

     It might be a long run guys but you owe it to yourself to finally put this man away although the FCA may do that this year anyway. You just want to get some money out of him first.

     And remember there are no guarantees with any investment!

166. People the company is total scam, walk in to Bar Works 47 7th Ave S, New York, NY 10014. Ask for Franklin Kinard or someone in Administration. They all sit the basement there. Stop the madness and do it.

167. @Scotty, nobody has to leave. This is a public blog open to all. @ Stephanie, see previous posts for your answer.

168. @stephanie

     @everyone

     I am in touch with a top lawyer in Northern California specializing in investment fraud and ponzi schemes. He has asked me for info which I will send to him on Monday.

     He says he would be theoretically interested in a collective approach. I said I would post his details on here and have anyone concerned or interested to email him direct. He can verify everyone and this means nobody has to worry about sharing identity and getting involved on facebook or other social accounts. It can all be done direct with the lawyer and he can review copy of each investor passport and contract etc.

     I think if he can represent enough of us it then becomes worth it for them in terms of $$ that could be obtained.

     Watch this space

169. @Scotty I will not answer your question here, I have asked @Chris Lang to share your email account you but he refused.

     May be you can send email to @gogsuk at and ask him to forward it to me. Thanks.

170. I was wondering where I would find the chatter heating up on Bar Works. I invested in one work space @ $25k. I live in the UK and am a US citizen. The latest email from Frank K received on Friday only adds fuel to the fire. Bar Works is now processing payments via CFX which is London based and also regulated by the FCA. This may be the trigger to get the FCA involved. When I purchased my lease a year ago, the alarm bells should have been ringing. I bought through Clinch Property listed in an earlier post. I’ve had a number of emails back and forth between Jessica Mayo, Brian Cohen, Tanya ??, Yuna??. No missed payments yet, but I’m being hit for a new $20 routing fee due to the change in money transfer agents to CFX. Based on the mail ‘investors’ received on Friday, there is high risk that future payments will not be forthcoming at all.

171. This is a repost as I can’t see my original. What a trail of similar experiences and feelings. I am an ‘investor’ having purchased one lease last June. All was going well until this March when for some reason, I was paid double the amount. This raised flags. I queried it and was told I was paid for March and April. BW’s is now using CFX in London for payments and I also had a $20 routing fee taken out of the total. Not good. I challenged this and have been going back and forth. I was paid in April for some reason as I was paid for April in March. I have been dealing with Yuna, Jessica Mayo, Brian Cohen, Tahyira Cordner at various times. Perhaps as CFX is London based and regulated by the FCA, reporting this to the FCA might be an option. I’m based in the UK and am a dual US/UK citizen.

     Friday’s email from Frank K did not exactly fill me with confidence. Posted below, the blame game has started. I wonder what the leaseholder relations apparatus is? Does Nancy Rodriguez even exist? Will calls be returned in a matter of hours?

     The case continues.

     ==========================================================================

     Official update from Bar Works CEO,
     Franklin Kinard

     Good day. I’m Frank Kinard, managing director of Bar Works. I apologize for the inexcusable breakdown in communication between Bar Works and our leaseholders.

     Yes, regrettably, rents to leaseholders have been delayed. This is due to necessary, productive restructuring that will be explained in greater detail in the next few days. As well, we will lay out a structure for leaseholders to ensure they are not disadvantaged. None of this is unusual. All ventures go through realignments, with good news and bad news along the way. At every stage, however, our stakeholders deserve to be informed. Our leaseholder relations apparatus failed at that task. I won’t let this happen again.

     What restructuring? For instance, Bar Works corrected severe problems with our construction process. That’s crucial because construction is at the heart of our company. After all, we provide space for commerce. Unfortunately, an ineffective general contractor was initially hired to develop Bar Works locations. As a result, several Bar Works sites were far behind schedule, or raw spaces sat idle due to the general contractor’s mishandling of permits and other protocols.

     A new team fixed this. That’s why our Miami venue opened only a month after we secured the building. That’s why our landmark building in Hollywood, California is launching in just a few weeks. These new procedures also rescued exciting locations in San Francisco and New York.

     Right away, we are creating a better information pipeline for leaseholders. For the rest of this week, you can email [email protected]. Starting Monday, the permanent representative for investors will be in place. She’s Nancy Rodriguez, and she can be called at 646 829 1564, or emailed at [email protected]. If you don’t reach someone instantly, we guarantee a response within hours.

     Thank you. More updates are coming your way.

     Frank Kinard

     Managing Director

     Bar Works

172. Anyone seen this dated 1 month ago?

     https://youtu.be/0zAsqNfHg5Q

173. For those with a case to claim refund against Barworks? You dont have to send me details now, please can you advise how much you have invested please?

     From my side I can confirm – 25000 USD

     I want to give the lawyer I am talking to an indication of how much we have disputed here…

     Thanks

174. @salem

     I have invested too … Im from Saudi Arabia … can we get in touch on riy007 @ h o t m a il

175. 1) @ – $
     2) @ – $
     3) …….

176. @Stephanie – Just to clarify. You asked me to forward the email addresses of several people who have commented here. As I explained to you (more than once) obviously I cannot share email addresses without the permission of whoever’s email address it is.

     As I explained in this comment I simply cannot manage all the requests for other people’s email addresses. Sorry! That’s why I suggested setting up a Facebook group. Alternatively, you could leave your email address – or use , as you suggested.

177. @tim – funny you say CFX they used them 1 year ago with me… defo a case to report to FCA.

     @rashid – send email to tell me how much you have invested and if you want to get involved in legal action. Have a california based ponzi lawyer interested in a clasa action case

178. @rashid – Please be aware that leaving your email address on a public forum like this means that you could be contacted by people pretending to be investors, but who actually work for Bar Works.

179. $125000
     I have already contacted the FCA.

180. 1) @ – $
     2) @ – $
     3) someelse who contacted me privately – $
     4) and another – $

     Who else wants to add to the list?

181. @gogsuk 50 k

     @Chris Lang … thanks for the advice .. but i want to meet with the guy in person since we are in the same country and facing the same issue.

     apparently, they are starting to sell some units on chinese investors thru www. MIUHK .com

182. @Darren what FCA response?

183. Please add to the list below who wants to team up to take legal route as a group. Each investors will pay 10% of their investment amount to lawyer who win our case. That means 10% from the total amount of the list below.

     The lawyer just need to win one case and get the money.

     Terim and condition: NO WIN NO FEE. YOU WIN YOU GET THE MONEY.

     1) @ – $
     2) @ – $
     3) someelse who contacted me privately – $
     4) and another – $
     5) – $
     6) …..
     7) …..
     8) …..

     Please continue.

184. @stephanie – to clarify, that would be a good deal if a lawyer were to agree to that. I have sent him my full case and a heap of supporting info.

     Lets see what they say.

     Can anyone add their investment amount to this list?

     @monta – how many investors are you in touch with and how much?

185. 1) @ – $
     2) @ – $
     3) someelse who contacted me privately – $
     4) and another – $
     5) – $
     6) another approach –

     Thats

     Who else wants involved to sink these losers? Email me

186. Hi all,

     I have invested $25 000.
     About seven Swedish investors might join as well ($25 000 – $100 000 invested each).

187. 1) @ – $
     2) @ – $
     3) someelse who contacted me privately – $
     4) and another – $
     5) – $
     6) another
     7) + approx from 7 investors

     =

     Anyone else interested?!?!

188. @Gogsuk please add me to the group as well I invested 25,000$ for a space in NY and 10000$ for another in Istanbul with Barworks and I did it directly with Barworks NYC my account manager is Keith Simpson .

     I have asked for a refund through email since all their known phone numbers are either disconnected or goes to voice mail. No response yet from anyone.

     I have my allocation number for the two units.

189. http://asiacruisenews.com/news/Bar-Works:-The-return-of-Renwick-Haddow

190. @Stephanie’ @gogsuk. Add me to this list for $25,000. I will also get in touch with FCA complaints.

     See email contents below from CFX to Bar Works Jessica Mayo regarding my questioning the routing fee charges. The only reason I’m posting is this is to evidence that CFX is involved.

     ——– Beginning of forwarded message——–
     23.03.2017, 12:33, “Nick Burns” :
      
     Hi Jessica,
      
     I hope you are well.
      
     This will almost certainly be a routing charge. This is not a fee that either banking (mine or his) are applying, but a third party routing charge.
      
     All USD get routed through a third party bank in the US before routing to the beneficiary bank. Sometimes – and it is very difficult to predict when – that bank will help themselves to $20-25 (ish). There is very little we can do to avoid the fee.
      
     What I suggest you do, is encourage the client to receive one payment on a quarterly basis. That way we will only have one payment and one routing charge.
      
     Kind regards,
      
     Nick
      
      
      
     Nick Burns | Senior FX Dealer
      
     Central FX | 3 Lloyd’s Avenue | London EC3N 3DS
     Direct phone: +44 (0)207 265 7982 | Phone: +44 (0)207 265 7979 | Fax: +44 (0)207 265 7901
     Please visit our website at: http://www.centralfx.co.uk

191. I wonder how much @ Jared invested? Ha ha

     @ Stephanie – just trying to help you out, no worries if you don’t want to name and shame on here.

     If you get together and go through the lawyer suggested on a 10% turn, that’ll be a pretty penny for him/her but well worth it!

     Good work

     Next stage guess – you’ll get a return but won’t be the full amount and it will be accompanied with a lame excuse.

192. Or some bull suggesting the investors have their returns quarterly or 6 monthly…… putting the decision on the investor if they have issues with any charges etc. Clever psychology play!

     And guess what – the investor thinks I’ll just have it 6 monthly which gives BW more time and the investor doesn’t receive another penny/cent!

     I think you could get up to $1m on here fairly quickly and when you do, just another $49m ish to go!

     Your lawyer could be retired soon haha

193. As sent to gmail, yes I’m in @ $25k

194. I contacted FCA on Friday so will await their response and follow up this week. I am in touch with a specialist nyc Ponzi prosecution attorney. Also a uk based contract solicitor I use. Widens our scope and options once we know how many investors are onside

195. 1) @ – $
     2) @ – $
     3) someelse who contacted me privately – $
     4) and another – $
     5) – $
     6) another
     7) + approx from 7 investors
     8) from another
     9) from another
     10) from another

     = !!

     Note anyone contacting me privately i am not mentioning name.

     Anyone else interested?!?! Email Asap to

     Thanks

196. Please type the name specifically to avoid double amount input from the same investors.
     Make sure your name is already in the list for those who want to team up.

     1) @ – $
     2) @ – $
     3) someelse who contacted me privately – $ —-> who is this? one investor or two? split them
     4) and another – $ —> who is this? one investor or many? please split them in the list
     5) – $
     6) another —> is there lease?
     7) + approx from 7 investors —> please split this to each investor name and amount
     8) ….
     9) ….
     10) ….
     11) ….

     So it is easier for us and for lawyer to identify.
     Thanks.

197. @gogsuk if you not mentioning their name, you can use alias for them, because its easier for us and you in future, to ensure no double amount from the same investors, thank you.

198. For this forum I don’t think you need to split the exact amounts and names, it’s just to give everyone an idea of amounts etc. The individual detail can be given to the lawyer if required.
     You have to be very careful on here.

     There are loads of investors out there, you just need to find out how you reach them.

     Word has it one of the senior ‘brokers’ at UPI was earning $10-20,000 a month (!) in commissions so that’s a few investors you would like to talk to!

199. @stephanie

     Not to worry. I am tracking everyone so no duplications. I am not entering names as those have contacted me directly and have in some cases not been on the blog.

     We are gaining some momentum here. I hope that more investors wanting to join our group will come forward asap.

     Send emails to

     Thanks

200. @ Marksie – relating back to earlier posts – sounds like The Black Haddow Spider held back almost $half a million in commission to UPI. Enough of a reason for them to fall out and set up their own version?

     Would be interesting to hear if investors here invested in BW and were then approached to ‘load’ into Ourspace.

201. The office sector shows strong potential for 2017 according to Renwick Haddow, business development consultant at Bar Works.

     https://www.globalrealestateexperts.com/2017/01/focus-singapore-international-property-investment-2017/

     Tom Roberts must know how to reach Renwick Haddow, ask him!
     https://twitter.com/fjpinvestment
     https://www.facebook.com/fjpinvestment

202. 1) @ – $
     2) @ – $
     3) someelse who contacted me privately – $
     4) and another – $
     5) – $
     6) another
     7) + approx from 7 investors
     8) from another
     9) from another
     10) from another
     11) from one today

     = !!

     Note anyone contacting me privately i am not mentioning name.

     Anyone else interested?!?! Email Asap to

     Thanks

203. As sent by email. I’m in for $25K

204. 10% of $ is $, that is the amount the lawyer will earn by winning our case, no win no fee.

     We need to cut off adding investors to the list after deal with the lawyer.

     So, investors who are reading this, hurry make your decision.

205. @stephanie

     Agreed. Anyone else please come forward send email to

     Once lawyer agrees we cant accept anyone else.

206. Why cut off?? Keep building! No harm in telling the lawyer you are at almost $1m after 48 hours so he/age can expect more.

     You are approx 1/50 of the way there!

     Where are FJP investment based @ Stephanie?

207. Well over investors and + / when lawyer responds we will proceed. If you want in. Speak now. Thanks

208. @Scotty – FJP Investment was registered in the UK on 20 June 2013.

209. @gogsuk, any news? Have you talked to the lawyer? What he said?

     Meanwhile for anyone here, if you know other lawyers, please ask them whether they want to take this case, don’t depend only on one lawyer from @gogsuk.

     @Darren, how about the attorney you mentioned? Specialist NYC Ponzi prosecution attorney and UK based contract solicitor. Have you talked to them? Ask them whether they want to deal with this case?

     Lawyer who wins this case will retire soon.

210. @Tim – if you are a dual national you may also have a route in with the SEC?

     Just a thought

211. @Stephanie, you don’t need a specialist Ponzi Scheme lawyer. We all know it is a ponzi scheme but without having access to internal accounts from Bar Works we can’t prove it. It would take forever and a lot of money.
     I’ve seen the Lease Agreement and the Sub-Lease Agreement. They are riddled with errors.
     This is such an easy prosecution. The only issue will be that nobody has a contract with Bar Works Inc. Everyone has a Lease Contract with one of their subsidiary companies e.g Bar Works Tribeca Inc. It is an easy enough solution but a little bit time-consuming. Check your contract to see which company you contracted with. That is the one that you have to prosecute first.
     The contracts I have seen were all signed by Jonathan Black. We are 99% certain that he doesn’t exist so all the lawyer has to do is write to the company you contracted with giving them 14 days to produce evidence of JB’s existence. If they do not comply within the 14 days the lawyer will go to court to have the contract declared null and void (you can’t have a non-existent person signing a contract). At court the lawyer will ask for a judgement granting a full refund to the Claimant.
     Go through the group email to let @gogsuk know two things:
     1. What company did you contract with ?
     2. What jurisdiction does it say that disputes will be resolved in e.g does it say under the laws of New York or is it somewhere else ?

212. @ gogsuk – please expect email regarding 3 allocations to add to your list
     Thanks

213. Anyone been in contact with this one?
     https://www.ganalawfirm.com/ponzi-schemes.html

214. @stephanie

     I have 3 i am talking too. Darren has 2. We will pick the one that seems the best.

     Some may ask for a retainer. Even 50K is ok, and divided up as a weighted amount per investor and value of investment is low per person. We have circa over + now

215. @marksie

     Thank you. Please send me that info if you havent do so already.

     Thanks

216. Nice information from @Monta, someone in US, can try to call and ask:

     GANA Law Firm
     345 7th Ave 21st Floor
     New York, NY 10001
     Toll Free: 800-810-4262

     Has someone contacted Nancy Rodriguez as promised by Franklin Kinard?

217. I have found a declaimer in their correspondence with me … I would like to have your thoughts about it ..

     Disclaimer: This is an email from Bar works, Inc. It is confidential and intended solely for the use of the intended recipient. It (or any attachments to it) may contain legally privileged information which should not be disclosed to anyone else.

     This email and any attachments have been scanned for viruses, but it is the responsibility of recipients to conduct their own security measures. No responsibility is accepted by Bar Works, Inc. For loss or damage arising from the receipt or use of this email, nor for personal emails, or emails unconnected with the company’s business.

     Please note: The services offered by Bar Works, Inc. Are not designated investments for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 and as such are not subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority or the Securities Exchange Commission or any other regulatory body.

     We recommend that you carefully consider your decision before submitting an Application Form based on your own personal financial circumstances. The information provided by Bar Works, Inc. Is general information only and does not take into account your financial situation or needs and does not constitute financial advice. Bar works, Inc. is not licensed under the laws of the United Kingdom or the United States of America to provide financial advice and you should seek your own financial (legal and taxation) advice prior to making any decision.

     Bar Works, Inc. is a registered company in the U.S state of Delaware it’s Tax Identification Number is 47 – 4647049.
     Please Consider The Environment Before Printing This Email

218. OK, maybe I have to eat some humble pie here. @Tim has provided evidence that a US bank applied a $20 charge to a transfer of $250. You can understand why Bar Works would want to find a cheaper option so maybe the US authorities are not yet involved in the Bar Works operation. Which means business as usual for them. Once again this is still just guesswork.
     However, true to form, Bar Works doesn’t just do the simple thing i.e open an account in their name at Barclays in the UK.
     No – instead of doing that they form an entirely new UK company called Bar Works USA/UK Ltd with Kinard as director and it is that company that opens a new bank account.
     Why do that ? Well, call me a cynic but UK banks are getting very fussy about who they do business with. They want to know the names of company directors AND major shareholders before they will open a business account. Not only that, they want copies of driving licences/passports and proof of address. All of that is information that Bar Works Inc really doesn’t want to divulge!

219. @gogsuk great, the lower fee the better

220. @stephanie

     I am in touch with Gana Law. FYI.

     He may take our case on. Boutique firm.

     Will.share more info on whats app group.

221. @ Rashid – standard disclaimer used by these companies

222. @Rashid, don’t worry about the disclaimer. If the FCA or SEC look at the Bar Works model and deem it to be primarily an investment deal rather than a property deal the disclaimer will count for nothing.

     This post carries the following Disclaimer:
     Please note that this post is not regulated by the FCA or the SEC, nor does it constitute any form of financial advice. This poster is exempt from prosecution by any federal authority even if he uses false and misleading statements in brochures, lies about his company directors, hides the details of his shareholders, pays huge fees and commissions out of investors’ money to third parties, refuses to answer straightforward questions made by investors and ultimately illegally obtains money by deception. This poster does not give two hoots about his investors but does care very much about the environment so please think carefully before printing this post.

223. Hi! I have an investment of $50K with BW. I have sent an email and posting here now to indicate my willingness to team up with other investors to hire a Law firm to look into our situation.

224. Interested but The lawyer may win the case but how does that ensure that money will be refunded . These guys have probably spent / squandered most of the investment money . What’s the lawyers opinion on actually getting the investors funds back . Ponzi scheme operators often when caught have no assets to repay investors

225. @ Rashid, Marksie is right and if it is unearthed as a Ponzi, the SEC will shove his disclaimer where the sun can only begin to imagine shining.

     @ Marksie – You may want to add something along the lines of ‘a seasoned, professional,modern day conman who continues to defy the authorities and investors alike by practicing in the act of ripping investors off having had several if not hundreds of similar scam businesses previously’

     Just a thought ????????????

226. Gana Law are on the same street as barworks! He could walk to the place and make a fortune!

     Website and services looks ideal for this case.

227. Sometimes the actual ‘cash’ has been spent but if found guilty etc, they will seize all assets, freeze all bank accounts and confiscate anything else of value.

     You have to understand that this won’t be a quick process but you are doing the right thing by starting. Also, the money has to be an account somewhere that is paying you your returns right? As we all know they are not being generated from membership subscriptions.

     They also claimed to have bought the San Fran site so if that is the case, that would be sold and the proceeds used too for your refunds.

     The way I see it is this ; sit back do nothing and lose everything or engage with a lawyer and let them dig and unearth the truth and if they win, and monies paid back, that’s when they take their fee. Even if you get back half of your investment that’s better than losing everything unless of course investors on here can afford to lose what they put in?

228. Hi, I’m a BW investor. My first post on here, but I’m in touch with gogsuk on email.

     @stephanie, I wrote to Nancy Rodrigues posing Marksie’s 18 questions from his post a few days ago. I had this derisory response back from her ( if indeed she exists):

     Thank you for your email.

     Bar Works is undergoing a major restructuring which has delayed payments to investors as you already know. In the next few days you will receive futher details on this from Franklin Kinard via email.

     In the meantime, we understand this is extremely frustrating but please bear with us.

     Clearly this is a Ponzi scheme and Haddow and friends should go to jail, but is anyone currently receiving any rental income? My last one was in March.

229. Has anyone seen this?? http://www.barworksfraud.com

230. @Stanuk I believe Nancy Rodrigues is also fake, not exist. I also believe Bar Works staffs are watching this forum, including Renwick Haddow.

231. Hi this is my first post here iam an investor in Pod works ,UK which is under BW , i have the same problem of delayed payment ,my last payment was on March. is there anyone here a pod works investor ?

232. @gogsuk .. I think this website is developed by BW as well …

     Can anyone contact the reporter who rote the following article;

     https://therealdeal.com/2017/02/24/bar-works-scrubs-mystery-ceos-name-from-docs-continues-to-raise-money

     Konrad Putzier on [email protected] .. he might help ?

233. @ gogsuk – hadn’t seen that but good

     @ Stephanie – they are probably watching it but no idea why they wouldn’t answer investors questions.
     Don’t worry too much if they are as they don’t really have a leg to stand on

234. Hi, I have a number of clients who have purchased Bar Works and I’m now very worried about this. I have spoken with Franklin and Nancy but I’m still not convinced and feel I need to start taking action to protect my clients (if I can) Please let me know what I need to do join any private groups so I can disclose more information to you guys. I’m also very happy to pull my weight and help in any way I can in the process moving quickly.

235. @Dan, thank you for connecting on this blog and saying that you have concerns. My advice to both you and your clients is that the Bar Works model, despite being dressed up to look like a landlord/tenant transaction so that the FCA & SEC might think they have no jurisdiction, is in fact nothing of the sort. It is an investment offer which puts it firmly within their jurisdiction. Both authorities will look at this model and know that it is an investment proposition.

     Bar Works has, as Haddow has done in the past, gambled on the fact that it involves “property” and will claim that it falls outside FCA/SEC jurisdiction on the basis that property transactions are outside of their regulation. Haddow and 15 defendants took this approach in the UK and the Judge threw it out. Two appeals later and the Judges have still thrown it out. All appeals have been exhausted and they are now facing jail terms if convicted in July so I’m confident that Bar Works would also lose any similar prosecution.

     The problem you face Dan is that agents were also included in that prosecution. It is an offence under the FSMA regulations to PROMOTE an unregulated collective investment scheme (which is what Haddow’s schemes usually are and this Bar Works scheme definitely is).
     In the eyes of the law your company, AND YOU PERSONALLY, are equally as guilty as the people who devised the scheme. The FCA’s prime objective is to refund investors and if they can’t get refunds from Haddow, Bar Works, Kinard (yes, he is in the frame too even though he will claim innocence) and their subsidiaries, they are entitled to get it from your company, your personal possessions and your home. Kinard is in the same boat.

     In the UK some of those 15 defendants are trying to persuade the FCA that they were duped but it isn’t cutting the mustard. The FCA aren’t interested. They are on the side of investors and are applying the law as it stands. They know that companies like Bar Works cannot prosper without willing agents who will sell their proposition, so they are deliberately targeting the agents. If they come down hard on the agents then that puts a stop to all these schemes.
     You may well have been duped, but your innocence/guilt will be measured on how you respond from hereon. Your investors are entitled to be refunded from your assets. They might take a more lenient view if you help them to recover their money from the main perpetrators.

     The FCA are being assisted in their prosecution of the 16 defendants by agents who have inside knowledge and want to avoid being included in the prosecution. Alongside that, more than one of the defendants is actively collaborating with the FCA in order to reduce the final confiscation order placed upon their assets.

     The email supplied by @gogsuk is posted in this blog. Make contact and be advised that there is an expectation that you give full disclosure. Other agents have also made contact and they are being measured on whether or not they are providing useful information or just trying to protect themselves from prosecution. Nobody is trying to be vindictive in this process. If you are genuinely supportive you will not be a target.

     I felt the need to highlight some words in this post so that you understand the legal position. ALL of your own personal assets can be used to refund investors. Forget limited companies and limited liabilities. Seek legal advice. If your company promoted an illegal collective investment scheme then all of that protection is removed. YOU PERSONALLY are liable to repay investors.

     Kinard is not only inexperienced in running a company, he has no idea of the penalties he and his family are facing by covering up for Haddow. In my opinion he will end up in jail over this. Wake up Kinard – Haddow has you lined up as the patsy. He will disappear and you will end up facing the jail term. It simply isn’t worth it. Haddow is coming to the end. He has acted with arrogance for years but now they wolves are circling. This is his swansong so don’t let him disappear with Zoia and leave others, like you, to face the prosecution. You will just join the list, like the other 15 defendants in the UK, who are facing ruin as a result of working with Haddow.

     Where is Haddow now ? How much of investors’ money has he taken ? He’ll be doing a runner any day now and leaving his patsy behind. Come on Kinard, go to the authorities and tell them the truth. We know that you think this is the opportunity of a lifetime because you never expected to head a company, but you have been put there to take the bullet instead of Haddow. Seriously man, you need to wise up. You are going to go to jail if you don’t give Haddow up.

236. Just in case anyone had any doubts that Haddow was behind incrowdequity.com check out this link for Haddow which says “I run a crowd funding website, http://www.incrowdequity.co­m”
     https://www.meetup.com/New-York-Alternative-Investments-Meetup/members/182795934/
     Bar Works is simply becoming indefensible – it’s a Haddow scam.

237. Yet more wise words from @ Marksie.

     Even if they try and wriggle out of the ‘unregulated collective scheme’ (which it is), by stating they sold licenses or leases instead of property, it won’t stand up due to the fact of how exactly they have raised the funds and how they’ve used them for returns, i.e. the classic Ponzi model.

     Also remember the Black link, fraudulent signature on documents etc which should deem them null and void.

     As stated many posts ago now, use the legal route, but also get the FCA and SEC involved. The FCA I would have thought will welcome this with open arms as it will give further ammunition for their pending case against Haddow regarding previous scams they are trying to enforce.

238. Is there an investor or financial advisor on here that invested in either the US Tech Startup Fund or the Bar Works Private Placement ? If so, please make yourself known.

239. @gogsuk

     125K investment
     Broker in UK

     please send me an email and I will send you all my proof.

     Thanks
     JM

240. Just received an email from Barworks client services . They claim they are experiencing liquidity issues and monthly payments will resume in June . No mention of whether that will include the missed May payment .

     Has anyone on this forum visited any of the Barwork’s sites that are supposed to be in operation . Do these premises even exist or are they simply photo shopped images .

     I tried speaking to Nancy Rodriguez a few days ago . It was more of a shouting match than a conversation . Very unprofessional and certainly not someone I would place in charge of public relations or customer services

     I notice a number of sites that were offering the Barworks investment are no longer doing so . The scheme is likely at the stage where new money has dried to a trickle and the people behind it are getting ready to up and run

241. @gogsuk how do I send an email to you? I would like to join also…125K from 2 sites. AM located in Asia, Thailand.

242. Why are the numbers and email address pixelated?

243. Hello everybody.
     I have also invested in BW and would like to contact @gogsuk to team up with the rest of investors/ Nevertheless the email address appears to be erased or covered. Any reason for this?

244. Hello all, thanks for the informative comments. I invested around 205k of my retirement funds and got the same correspondence from Bar Works, and they haven’t made the May payment. I’m very nervous and would like to join forces with you folks and take legal action. I’m based out of Dallas but am currently in NY.

     If someone wants to meet up, we can discuss in person. Also, if someone knows any lawyers that have expertise in such cases, please share their names.

     Thanks again.
     Ashok Jain
     [email protected]

245. Does anyone know why Times Square location is deleted from http://www.barworks.us?

     41 West 46th Street
     btw Fifth & Sixth Avenue,
     New York

     Is it closed?

246. @Gogsuk am unable to email you as I don’t have your email. please email me back at mehta.jehangir @ y a h o o . c o m

     i have also invested in Barworks via a UK agent and will send you all my documents as well as wire transfer details if need be…

     Thanks
     JM

247. @gogsuk please email me mehta.jehangir “at”
     y
     a
     h o o

248. @Scotty – The email address and the numbers are pixelated because @gogsuk and @Stephanie asked me to do so.

249. @ Chris – Well as long as new investors to this forum can make contact with gogsuk then it’s not a problem although it would be good for all to know afar the running total is. Comfort in numbers and all that.
     There have also been a couple of posters on the other page you set up who hadn’t seen this page so maybe a pointer in the right direction from you would help?

250. If anyone has concerns about their investments. Post your email address here or a fake one if you want to set one up to protect identity. We will email you. Thanks. We removed our details before as we were getting bombarded before. Tks

251. Pls find my email. [email protected]

     As mentioned I have 125K invested.

     Thanks
     Jeh

252. @Jeh, and anyone else who leaves their email address here – Please be aware that leaving your email address on a public forum like this means that you could be contacted by people pretending to be investors, but who actually work for Bar Works.

253. Dear all,

     To confirm if you have concerns about your investment. Post a message stating the following:

     $$ invested
     Name of barworks signatory on your lease
     Your location
     Contact email address (can be a specially created one to protect your Id online)

     Someone may see your posting and email you. Thanks

254. It isn’t wise to keep updating people in public about the numbers involved in an investors’ group. This will only encourage your targets to take all the assets and run.
     I am not a fan of using a lawyer at this stage. A lawyer has to go through due process which means that the target is forewarned well in advance and has months in which to make plans. The first step is that your lawyer charges in with accusations and demands answers within 7 days. The target responds by instructing his own lawyer and then the two lawyers trade insults and argue over points of law for the next 2 or 3 months. Any action taken by your lawyer without evidence to back up that action will be rebuffed by their lawyers on the grounds that you haven’t provided the evidence. After a few months they might actually have moved on to some minor action which forces disclosure. The other party then stalls that action or appeals the disclosure notice etc etc. 6 months have passed and you are no further along.
     Rest assured that you will be inundated with lawyers telling you that you will win and it will only cost $XXX, but once the action gets underway the lawyer will keep coming back for more cash irrespective of whether or not this is No Win No Fee deal. The small print will give them a get-out.
     As I said before, if investors want to take the legal route and are confident of early success then there is nothing to lose, except more money, by taking that route.
     I’m sceptical that investors could even take action as one group because they might all have different contracts. That all needs to be sorted out.
     The key element at this stage is for investors to be patient, gather evidence, formulate a plan and then go in hard and fast when they are ready. I don’t think you are ready yet. Can anyone prove absolutely 100% for certain that Jonathan Black does not exist ? I’m the one who has said from the beginning that I’m 99% certain he doesn’t exist but 99% is not 100%. Bar Works isn’t just going to roll over the moment your lawyer’s letter arrives.
     @Dan, I gave you a hard time over your role as an agent because I wanted you to understand the legal position you are in. If you want to help us you, and anyone else who is interested in gathering evidence to build a strong case, can contact us on [email protected]

     Just so you know, we are not going to be appointing a lawyer at this stage. We are in contact with @gogsuk but can’t give all our information because we have not checked the investors in his group. We can only deal with people we have personally checked. Every person who responds to the above email address will remain confidential and will not be put in contact with any other investor unless they specifically request it. We are an information gathering group and have a lot more information than we have posted on this blog. We believe that people reading this blog also have information that maybe they don’t even realise is important, but which might be the key to unpicking the Bar Works mess.

255. @scotty @marksie @stephanie @erik @salam @jannovak @gogsuk

     Please add me to the list of investors I invested $125K in late April no rentals have been received so far.

256. I believe investors here got an update from Franklin Kinard yesterday and I also got forwarding email from other investor this morning (pasted below).

     Bar Works is indeed still in business, we hope Bar Works business grows better so they are able to continue the payment soon.

     ____________________________________________
     Cheers to Expansion!

     June 8- LA
     Stroll down Sunset Blvd. and explore the interior and exterior of our gorgeous Los Angeles location in West Hollywood.

     June 15- SF
     Welcome to “Crown & Acre at Jack’s” as our on-premise restaurant in #SF. Enjoy breakfast, lunch or happy hour and invite clients or fuel your own creative tank. Try the menu ahead of time at our launch.

     June 22- Chelsea (8th Ave)
     Located next to Google’s headquarters, this neighborhood provides a collaborative space along with an invitation to explore art galleries, Chelsea Marketplace or a stroll on the High Line.

     June 29- Chambers
     Head downtown for a boost of caffeine, juiced smoothie or morning workout in our fitness space. Come to Fi-Di to find private offices, sound proof telephone booths and large desktop space for those who work independently or collaborate with team members.

     ____________________________________________
     Partner Proud

     Two of a KIND: snacking and coworking go together

     KIND partners up with our New York City locations to provide members with their new flavored bars. KIND has chosen our spaces to serve as the place to host internal team meetings. Additionally, Bar Works is being showcased as a KIND community through promotional marketing via their social channels: Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and their newsletter emails.

     #DoItRight with Warsteiner
     Bar Works forges strong partnerships at the very center of the cultural and business world. OUr partnership with Warsteiner allows members to enjoy daily happy hours for team building efforts as well as an entertainment element for clients.

     ____________________________________________
     Challenge Your Potential: BTB

     Beyond the Bar, a cutting edge multi platform studio that will transform your body, mind and spirit is coming to Bar Works’ 95 Chambers Street location! Bringing a new concept in fitness, Beyond the Bar delivers motivation at your fingertips. Enjoy access to our studio classes in Tribeca and LIVE streaming and on demand coming this Summer. Know your Strength, Not Your Limits. http://www.beyondthebar.global

     ____________________________________________
     Pin Drop: #TheCityofAngels

     Mark your calendars for June 8th as Bar Work cuts the ribbon in Los Angeles. Celebrate in the Grand Opening Event of our newest space in West Hollywood. Spanning 11,000 square feet, this venue offers a variety of office spaces, a recording studio and the outdoor workspace that serves up ‘gram-able’ pics of the Hollywood sign. Stop by Sunset Blvd and snag your seat while it’s hot!

     ____________________________________________
     Bar Works ‘In The Spotlight’

     Shout out to Liquid Space for highlighting our Miami space on their blog. Read the inside scoop and interview piece from our Director of Sales, Brad Fiorillo here.

     Two members working from our Miami location.

     ____________________________________________
     Influencer Program
     #AmplifyInfluence at Bar Works. Our program offers a conducive workspace in exchange for social content. Introducing our newest influencers to the roster in Miami and San Francisco.

     Miki Nitin is strutting the streets of San Fran showing all the trends in style and lifestyle. Keep up on her blog http://www.blogtrendz.com or find her #inthebay

     Ashley and Emily aka Two Peas in a Prada are two best friends reporting on all that is fashionable, fabulous and fun in San Fran. Read up here: twopeasinaprada.com

     Lynnette Joselly is lighting up our MIA space. Check out her blog http://www.lynnettejoselly.com for all the latest and greatest fashion trends, personal #ootd ideas, events, celeb interviews, beauty tips & more!

     We’re Insta-Famous! Check us out: #barworks

     ____________________________________________
     #NationalCubicleDay
     On April 28th, Bar Works participated in National Cubicle Day. We celebrated all week by teaming up with the best brands who know office essentials: Papyrus, Ankit, Lifetherapy, Costa Farms and Lica Cole. Our influencers received care packages filled with goodies from our brand partners. Encouraged to ‘think outside the cube’, influencers posted within our Bar Works locations showcasing their personalities and creative desk space.

     See all our ‘do it for the gram’ coverage below:

     ____________________________________________
     Marie Claire Official
     Coming at you LIVE with Marie Claire’s ‘Fix’ with Brittney Hope and Design Expert, Kristy Wooden Harvey. Shot in our West Village location, they discussed quick fixes for small work spaces. as a part of our #NationalCubicleDay campaign.

     ____________________________________________
     Did you know our locations make the perfect space for your upcoming event?
     Photo shoots, film segments, office powwows, zen corner or event venue…we are here to assist with all the essentials and your planning needs.
     Inquiries? Email us here.

     ____________________________________________
     In Need Of A Right Hand?

     As a member of Bar Works, have you heard of our Executive Assistance Services? Our office support includes, but is not limited to, phone support, invoice preparation, travel booking, calendar management and organizational assistance. Furthermore, we offer individual office phone lines and can provide a customized script to field those inquiries. Drop us a line below for a price quote.
     Get Support

     ____________________________________________
     Mix It Up…Head to Midtown

     Members swing by to see our 39th Street revamp featuring our partnership with Sugar Hill Coffee. Open to the public or snag a day pass for a friend! Take time to enjoy all the benefits of being a member. Use this complimentary voucher and start your mornings right.

     ____________________________________________
     Current Locations

     Midtown Manhattan
     47 W 39th Street
     Off Fifth Avenue,
     New York

     West Village
     47 7th Avenue South,
     Near Bleeker Street
     New York

     San Francisco
     615 Sacramento Street,
     btw Kearny & Montgomery
     San Francisco

     Miami
     31 NW 23rd Street,
     Wynwood

     Opening Soon

     Los Angeles
     6526 Sunset Boulevard,
     Los Angeles

     Istanbul
     Turkey

     Chambers Street
     95 Chambers Street,
     New York

     Chelsea
     116 8th Avenue,
     New York

     In the Works

     White Street
     70 White Street,
     New York

     Williamsburg
     242 Metropolitan Avenue,
     Brooklyn, New York

257. I invested $50k – Vic

258. Dear Gogsuk, I have written to you, Many times but have not recd an email from you where I can forward all my information to you. Pls confirm you have me on the list so that I don’t keep writing to you. My investment is 125k with 2 contracts one Jonathan black signature and one with Kinnard. If you send me your email will forward you both my contracts. Thanks again. [email protected]

259. I just finished a new post about Bar Works:

     Renwick Haddow is Chief Executive Officer of Bar Works Inc. That’s bad news for investors

260. And it is excellent

261. The new post from Chris Lang http://redd-monitor.org/2017/05/12/renwick-haddow-is-chief-executive-officer-of-bar-works-inc-thats-bad-news-for-investors/ only goes to show that Franklin Kinard is a liar and a fraud. Everything that comes from him and Bar Works cannot be trusted. Here’s a reminder of what Kinard had to say in response to allegations in TRD that Renwick Haddow was behind Bar Works:

     “The story [in TRD] wrongly implied that Bar Works is effected by a totally unrelated civil matter in the United Kingdom, involving an independent Bar Works consultant. Further, the article inaccurately describes that consultant’s civil dispute.
     The consultant is Mr. Renwick Haddow, who has helped Bar Works in areas that greatly strengthened our operations and benefitted our investors.”

     So Haddow wasn’t a consultant after all. He was Chief Executive Officer. This was at the time that the fictitious Jonathan Black was supposed to be CEO. No wonder Kinard has avoided answering those questions about Black and Haddow.

     Alongside Renwick Haddow was the co-founder Zoe Miller who it transpires is actually Zoia Haddow. So it was as we thought all along – Mr & Mrs Haddow running Bar Works Inc under false names.

262. @marksie, your insights are compelling and highly knowledgable. But I for one would like to know what your true interest is in this case. you are addressing a bunch of people who have been badly duped by very reasonable sounding conmen, and who are determined to ‘not get fooled again’. Cut us some slack here, pull back the kimono, and let us understand more about you.

263. @Scotty – Thanks!

264. I am an investor from Abu Dhabi – UAE, Real Estate Consultant are the real crooks in this entire process (My consultant is Square Yards) who take a heavy portion in commission and let thier client to die…How can we expect them they will file a case against Developer and will be loyal to their client…

     The agents who miss leaded once, please dont trust them any more, make a group to teach them a lesson because :-

     “A real estate consultant plays an important role, On the one side consultants do proper analysis, & fusibility of the product to make sure the product is sound proof before they promote it behalf of developer, to avoid promoting any kind of fraud & ponzi leads (In ponzi leads developer pays a heavy % to consultants) and the other side they educate & convince the buyer that the product they are selling is a sound proof product, which gives buyer confidence to put their money in it”

     I am from UAE, and not the one…there are many in the chain…

     I have all the proofs i.e. agreements, email. comm. , call logs can be pulled on request…

     Just need a right guidance to move forward so that we can get our blood money back…

265. @ Stanuk – it’s difficult really because we aren’t trying to tell the investors they’ve made a mistake and were fools etc because as I said months ago it’s a slick operation and easily believed. What some of us are trying to do is show the investors how he works and for you to understand what his capacity is.
     Like others I will not disclose my identity or sources due to some of the remarks @Marksie makes. I can however tell you via verbal, but without actual proof, that RH is JB. Quite how you prove that to then get contracts made null and void I don’t know. Then there is the way you actually get your money or some of it back.
     These guys as I said before are ‘brilliant’ at what they do. Would be master chess players although they would run off with all the pieces after the game, and you have to unfortunately accept that you’ve been ‘done’ or the phrase these people use is not scammed but ‘spanked’, and take in all the supporting information, act like a sniper, go unseen but be ready to fire when needed.
     Honestly, there are few people who understand the process and what goes on behind the scenes of these companies but if you come across them or they try to offer help and advice, listen to them and help them to help you.
     I said right from the start, FCA, SEC, Serious Fraud/Crime etc. You have to take this to a higher level than just a lawyer.

     These people are evil with no morals and the only thing that drives them is greed and the thrill of taking your money for them to live their lifestyles which are extravagant.

     Word from Spain is the ourspace office has gone. Sorry to bring it up again but connect the dots. RH and JM, both crooks, in partnership with BW, they split, ourspace sets up as a complete copy of BW, JM arrested, agents drop BW and Ourspace thinking they will be safe……..only a matter of time people. Don’t get caught with your trousers down, bent over and ready for your second spanking!

266. Jordan Belfort took circa $200m and was sent to prison and they made two films based on him.
     RH has done far more. That’s the size and level of this individual.

267. @stanuk,

     You have no idea of the people Haddow is involved with, the amount of money involved and the lengths they will go to to protect themselves. We are talking hundreds of millions of dollars. I have been advised today that there are more than 2,000 investors in Bar Works. If every person paid $25,000 that means that Bar Works has taken in at least $50 million.

     Russian mafia involvement was suspected in Haddow’s African ventures. A director of one of Haddow’s companies was dead 6 weeks after the FCA began an investigation into the company – the official report says that he committed suicide by throwing himself under a train. Another key front man in a Haddow company was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for arranging the murder of a man. Death threats have been made against the families of people who stood up to Haddow and his accomplices. This is the reality of Haddow’s connections and relationships.

     There are a few of us who are active on-the-ground in the US following leads which have not even been mentioned on here. It is a sensible precaution not to give too much away because someone always blabs – “I just thought it was a good idea to tell my agent about you guys because he’s really upset by this and he just wants to help”. We have our reasons for wanting to get to the bottom of Bar Works and they are not going to be made public. We started this investigation rolling in December with the very first post which suggested a link between Haddow and Bar Works. TRD followed our December post with their own article in January and then Redd-Monitor started this blog.

     @stanuk and others, do you think we will ask you for money ? Relax, we don’t want your money. We’re trying to stop you losing all of your investment to these conmen and conwoman. If you don’t want our help then that’s fine by me. We don’t want your money and we don’t need hundreds of investors working with us. We just need a few from different parts of the world who can show us the investor side of things. We have a pretty good idea of what is going on already so thanks to those people who have already made contact on the email below.

     @Greg, please make contact on this email [email protected]. We don’t need to know who you are and you don’t need to know who we are, but you know things that others don’t. It is clear to us that your information could be very useful.

     I know one thing about Haddow. He doesn’t stand still. The moment he thinks he is in danger he will be off. Why do you think there is a Bar Works Services Inc registered in the Bahamas ? I have no doubt that is owned by Haddow and provides “services” to Bar Works Inc for which it charges a very large fee paid into an offshore account. Haddow will be gone with the money.

     The good news is that there is probably a little Rennie or Renatta on the scene now. That’ll slow him down a bit.

268. Agreed with @Stanuk

     Though there are more suspicious evidence against BW, we need to make sure this entire blog could be a group of proxy people acting against BW.

     I have already shared my identity & some of email communication, everyone added to this group must prove their identity first, we might need an IT expert who can advise us how to move forward.

     Who is Chrish Lang ? What is his identity ? Fake LinkedIn account can be created and snap of the same can be taken, which might be case above for Jonathan black, its a lil thing in modern world…

     It could be another trap of getting money for legal action n all that, we have already burnt our money once…

     Let me introduce my self, I am from UAE, invested in two contracts $150K, this is my saving of last 4 years, my blood money…

     All agents and consultants made lot of money out of BW to feed layers, but we people dont have anymore to fight a long way, we must need act. together in their own region…

     I urge all the GCC & UAE investor to please join me and email me on [email protected] or [email protected], and we together file a case against all the active agents in this region…they need to be stopped first or else they will keep making fool others…

     We need to act before this ship get sink…

     Agents must get held at first instance as :-
     ————————————————-

     “A real estate consultant plays an important role, On the one side consultants do proper analysis, & fusibility of the product to make sure the product is sound proof before they promote it behalf of developer, to avoid promoting any kind of fraud & ponzi leads (In ponzi leads developer pays a heavy % to consultants) and the other side they educate & convince the buyer that the product they are selling is a sound proof product, which gives buyer confidence to put their money in it”

     If we dont get from BW, Agents have to refund us…

     Investors has nothing to do with construction delay or wire transfer charges, when we start a startup we must think about it and not later…So this is also suspicious…

     I wish Bar Works clean all these charges on them and present them self a competitor of We-Works…

     But in any case, we all must act now, as the contracts are breached now, by not sharing rent on time…

269. @ Kams – I think with all due respect you need to read this entire thread.
     I will let Chris explain who he is!
     Investors will not get a penny back from their agents. The money doesn’t go to the agent. Yes they make a good commission but they will simply say ‘I just acted as a marketing company, your contract is with BW’.

     The only way you have a chance is to listen to a few people on here who are offering advice as to what’s has happened, who is behind it all and how you need to act in order to ‘maybe’ get some money back and put the personnel responsible behind bars.

     Get some representation in UAE if you can but I guarantee unless they are experts in US contract and investment advice law, it will go nowhere.

     You cannot simply ask agents or BW for money back, they will laugh in your face.

     As I said before, as a non investor, if anyone wishes me to leave, please simply say and I will but I would have thought that having people on here who could help you with information and the process etc might help!

270. In addition to any legal discussions taking place, here is the FCA’s definition of investment fraud. As they already have RH on their screen, they need to know of his involvement here. We can all report fraud to the FCA to get this on their books.

     Our situation will sound all to familiar to the FCA based on the information below:

     Investment fraud

     What it is
     When you get a cold call from a broker pretending to offer you the opportunity to invest in a variety of schemes or products that are either worthless or don’t even exist.
     It’s also known as share sale fraud, hedge fund fraud, land banking fraud or bond fraud.
     The majority of investment frauds are run out of offices known as boiler rooms.
     Protect yourself
     Never take up offers of investments on the spot from cold calls. To make safe investments, take a look at the Financial Conduct Authority’s ScamSmart warning list.
     Don’t give your bank account details or sensitive information.
     Boiler rooms tend to target people over 65. Talk to elder family members and vulnerable people you care for to make sure they know how to spot bogus investments.
     Take a look at our ‘Beat The Boiler Rooms’ campaign to find out more.
     Spot the signs
     You’re contacted out of the blue with the investment offer.
     You’re shown glossy brochures, professional-looking websites and certificates that make them look authentic.
     You’re pressured into making rushed decisions with no time to consider the nature of the investment.
     How it happens
     You’re called by a professional-sounding broker who offers you investment opportunities that offer incredible potential for making profit. They usually offer to sell you shares or bonds, but may also offer other investments such as precious metals such as gold, silver or diamond, or wine, art or energy.
     If you’re ever called offering to invest in any of these, tell us. There’s a good chance they’re worthless.#BeatTheBoilerRooms pic.twitter.com/wSsF2LWlpi
     — Action Fraud (@actionfrauduk) October 12, 2016
     You’re also promised free research reports, special discounts and ‘secret’ stock tips. They’ll tell you how your investment has progressed and give you the chance to invest in more of the same products or stock in using a variety of schemes to make the venture sound credible.
     They usually hire out prestigious city offices, offering websites and literatures and send you official-looking documents to make their enterprise look legitimate.
     In reality, the fraudsters are cold calling as many people as possible to pay for bogus investments. Once the fraudsters have made you invest as much money as possible, they quickly disappear just before you’d expect to get the extra money you made from your investment.
     The resources they offer don’t exist, or they haven’t told you that your investment is worthless. For example, they’ll sell land that has no potential for development, or rare stones that aren’t worth as much as they sound.
     You may be told to keep your investment secret to ensure you receive maximum returns, but really the boiler rooms want to prevent you from telling others to avoid being spotted.
     It could be your dad, grandfather, uncle or brother. Let’s help older and vulnerable people #BeatTheBoilerRooms: https://t.co/usEGNLF5xA pic.twitter.com/f3oBPfPKbk
     — Action Fraud (@actionfrauduk) October 10, 2016
     How to report it
     Boiler rooms have been known to harass victims who have reported them, so don’t feel like you’re at fault. Report it to us online or call 0300 123 2040.
     Tell your bank immediately if you’ve given the fraudsters your bank account details and keep any written contact from the boiler rooms.

271. @Scotty

     So what is the way forward ?
     I have shared email to internally everyone, no convincing revert so far.
     Delay in rents followed by excuses is enough to smell something wrong is cooking inside.
     Agents are equally responsible, they should know what they are selling, they got high commission in this case which could be a smelling point for them, usually commission is less than 10%, but in this case it was high, with lots of other commitments. But on top of it, they way agents presented this entire investment is fraud with investor…

     Anyways, I am going to take action alone locally, everyone should be behind the bar who promoted this…

     If we together can go , success chances will be more…

     What is the way forward…

272. @Kams,
     Really ? You think Chris Lang is working for Bar Works ? Boy, some of you guys take the biscuit and it’s starting to piss me off. I know you are worried about your investment but far too many people are biting the hand that feeds them and I’ve had enough of it. I’m off.

273. Marksie just ignore KAM. He’s just very upset with the situation and does not know where to lash out…. I have sent you all the info that I have did you get it by email today? Thanks jeh

274. @ Kams – I think you are fairly new to this particular forum so all I would say is read through the thread. Contact the appropriate people who are taking action in the US and try not to offend those trying to help you.
     You can talk all day about how responsible the agents or brokers or consultants should have been but it doesn’t mean jack and in some cases they probably didn’t even know who was the mastermind behind it all.

     Re. Marksie – look at the quality and quantity of the information and knowledge and take it as ‘free’ advice/help!

275. Guys

     Frankly speaking i am not finding a way forward out of this discussion.

     At least i am not using disrespectful words for others in chain, what you @Mark@Scotty have done below so far…

     I was expecting your support, I did nothing except asking few questions over identity…and you guys are all aggressively defending it like anything…

     @gogsuk
     What is your email ID so that i can send you snaps of my documents.

     @Ashok@Jehangir : I will be in touch with you over email…

     Team, What is the way forward ? Who is going to lead the here ?

     Thanks for the needful…

     Regards
     Kams

276. Apologies I didn’t realise I had been disrespectful or used words of aggression in my posts, just suggestions for free

     I think you’ll find that gogsuk is leading the action group.

     Good luck all, I think I’m done too. Can’t add much more than all the hints I’ve dropped so far so hopefully will read about the case one day in the newspaper or watch a film!

277. Please stop talking about things that are not true on this forum. Contact Nancy in our office, she can update you all. Otherwise, email me direct – [email protected]

     Business is going very well, we are opening new locations soon. Rent will be paid soon. Keep calm.

     If you have any questions about Renwick Haddow and his wife Zoya Kiselova, please feel free to email me and I will answer any questions you may have.

     Frank

278. @Frank Kinard – How come you and @gogsuk share the same IP address?

279. What’s the location Chris?

280. @chris – oh my! maybe I am Frank Kinard in disguise, wouldn’t that be strange.

     Worried investors better email Mr Kinard direct at:

     [email protected]

     Thanks

     Frank

     https://youtu.be/O-3cZdjI7Fg

281. @gogsuk – I think an apology would make more sense than this. You pretended to be Franklin Kinard. That just confuses anyone who isn’t in on the “joke”, including me. I agree that worried investors should contact Franklin Kinnard.

     I think they should also contact the SEC and the Department of Justice. If they were persuaded to invest in Bar Works by a firm in the UK, they should also contact Action Fraud, the FCA, the Serious Fraud Office, and the City of London Police.

282. Very sensible advice Chris. Thanks for letting everyone know to make contact via the correct channels.

283. Hi guys,
     i am an Italian investor on BarWorks, fortunately i have only invest 25.000$ as it seemed kind of strange to have such a profit, but still i wanted to try since i saw the investment on a trusted agency (i thought).
     So i subscribed on this at the end of January 2017 , i received the first payment on february and after that nothing. I tried to ask why to the italian agency that advertised the investment and they said they are haveing problems with bank etc, like the barWorks email said as well. they keep telling me to wait and that other investors don’t have any problem with monthly payment.

     so i would also like to know if there is an investor here with the same problem, i think maybe @Stephanie?

     thank you guys (sorry for my english)

284. Can anyone tell me what the hell the last couple of posts have been about??

285. Add me to the list. I’m into it for $75K I have received $2000 in payments, but none for May. My original contact was Emily Saunders. I have also communicated with Peter Jones and Nancy Rodriguez. They have not responded to my recent inquiries.

     I have a question for all: Were you asked to sign an Accredited Investor form? I was AFTER they had my money. I did not qualify for this investment. I ask them to explain why they didn’t refund my money. No response.

     Has anyone tried to contact the Manhattan DA or NY State Attorney about this operation? Bar Works is a registered NY Corp and must fall under some state local laws.

     Please add me to any investor group you have going. I can be reach at [email protected]

     Rich

286. Team;

     I am ready to file a case through UAE government against local agents & Bar Works.

     UAE government is very supportive and provide free layers for such scams. I would appreciate if a crossed agreement copy can be shared on [email protected], so that i can attach the same along with my applicable. the more agreements i will have , stronger will be the case.

     No money, No Paid Layer, this is just an initiative so that others can be protected.

     Thanks Chris, I need to your contact detail if you can email me, so that investigation team can contact you, i hope you wont mind it…

     I am losing hope every passing day that i can get something out of it, But if i could do something to protect others, thats enough for me…

     Kams…

287. @Kams – The investigation can contact me on [email protected].

288. Chris

     Issue have been reported to SAI – UAE, I am expecting an interview soon. UAE government is very helpful and aggressive on such incidents reviewing the past incidents on web., i am expecting a rapid action from them on it…

     Delay in rents, breach of agreement, no response on email, and disclosure & URL link of your thread is highlighted and shall be discussed during the discussion…

     Team;

     Awaiting your cross agreements…

     Regards
     Kams

289. @ Kama – Don’t forget the fact that contracts etc have been signed fraudulently by Black who doesn’t exist but Haddow most definitely does.

     Good luck

290. I now have the proof I needed that Renwick Haddow is Jonathan Black. It has taken a while but it will stand up in court.

     I almost have the full picture but would like to fill in any gaps before the next step. If there are any investors in the following sites please contact the group at [email protected]. I would like to see these brochures. Some may not have had a brochure produced yet, but if they have I need to see it.

     Only new investors who have invested at one of these sites needs to respond. We are keeping the group tight knit at this stage. ‘Loose lips sink ships’ philosophy.

     47W 39th St – described by Bar Works as ‘Midtown Manhattan’. This site was allegedly the first site that opened in Oct 2015.

     41W 46th St – described by Bar Works as ‘Times Square’. It was allegedly the second site that opened in March 2016. We know it was operational because someone I know went there last year, but it has been removed from the Bar Works website and a ‘walk-by’ this week reported that the site has closed down.

     95 Chambers Street, New York

     Lower Soho – New York

     Los Angeles – 6526 Sunset Boulevard

     Las Vegas – 1205 South Main Street

     Thanks

     P.S. Remember – your agent is NOT on your side unless they have refunded you their commission on the sale. Their interests are aligned with Bar Works, not with you. They have both had your money and really don’t want to give it back.

291. @ Marksie – GREAT WORK
     The Jigsaw Champion!
     Awesome news

292. Today I submitted to the New York County District Attorney’s Financial Fraud Bureau a request to investigate Bar Works NYC. I laid out the facts as I know them, but also told them of this blog site which contains more information. I didn’t give them the name of this site but said I would should they request. I don’t know the NY DA will do anything, but it’s worth a shot. I’ll be sending the same request to the DA offices in Miami, SF and LV. Maybe we can get some law enforcement organization involved. Won’t help international investors much

293. SEC in the USA
     FCA in the UK
     National Crime Agency in UK
     Serious Fraud in the UK

     Any organization or department in any jurisdiction that deals in ORGANIZED CRIME or investment/securities fraud.

     You HAVE to go big on this or they will swat you like a fly.

294. Ironic – Address for this consultant is for Wework in London, ha

     http://www.gateway2enterprise.co.uk/bar-works.html

     He’s got quite a cv hasn’t he – land, oil, hotel rooms, airport parking, diamonds, carbon credits…. etc etc etc

     https://www.pissedconsumer.com/company/capital-alternatives/si-20130618420625.html

295. Thanks everyone. The only brochures missing now are:
     Lower Soho – New York
     Los Angeles – 6526 Sunset Boulevard
     Las Vegas – 1205 South Main Street
     but I think these haven’t been produced yet anyway. I’ll get them when they come out.

     Anyone who has invested at 95 Chambers Street (the latest investment from Bar Works) please contact me urgently on [email protected]. I really don’t like the look of the paperwork. There’s a twist that isn’t in the other investments. I think you can act straightaway on this one and then we’ll update this blog with the action that was taken.

296. Hi again guys,
     so, as far as i understand each investor has to take action in his own country? why if this is a US company? if in the US they convict BarWorks to pay back investor would it be only the US investors? sounds strange to me.
     still, if there are some italian investor here let me know.
     Thank you

     Francesco

297. @Francesco, no you don’t have to take action in your own country. The contracts say that the legal jurisdiction is New York. That is where legal action should take place and it doesn’t matter what nationality you are. Everyone is treated the same.

     Good to hear from some ‘95 Chambers’ investors. An update on this soon.

     Grab a cup of coffee. This is going to be a long post.

     I’ve had some correspondence with people who are clearly very nice people but a little bit naïve. They think that Bar Works might just be having the usual teething problems that all new businesses face and that if the rental payments resume then everything in the garden is rosy and they don’t have to worry. OK, if that’s what they want to believe that’s up to them.

     Let’s go back to the Bar Works Istanbul site. That site, along with 95 Chambers, is the latest to be offered to investors. I covered some of this in an earlier post but a Turkish colleague has been doing a bit of digging.

     Let’s recap. The brochure contains the following statement “Bar Works™ Inc. is pleased to announce another freehold purchase….” OK, sounds straightforward enough. Bar Works Inc owns the freehold. But then it says “Freehold Company Name: Bar Works Consulting and Office Leasing Services Ltd” (“BWCOLS”). Well, even this is not a problem because it is often the case that one company is a 100% owned subsidiary of another company so it is fair to assume that Bar Works Inc owns 100% of the shares of BWCOLS. So technically it is OK to say that Bar Works Inc owns the freehold of the building. Hold that thought in your memory for later.

     The brochure says that BWCOLS lease the property out to Bar Works Istanbul LLC (“BWLLC”). BWLLC then sub-leases to the investor. The investor then sub-sub leases his/her workspace to Bar Works Management Inc in return for a rental payment (remember me querying why BWLLC was installed in this chain because if BWCOLS owns the freehold why don’t they just lease direct to investors)?

     Here’s where it gets nasty. Two very, very seriously dangerous points for investors.

     1. For the first time in any of the investments the brochure contains these words
     “How to Apply: You are required to complete the Application Form. In addition you will also be sent two agreements that will require signing once there are cleared funds”.
     ONCE THERE ARE CLEARED FUNDS ! Investors are expected to send their money to Turkiye Garanti Bankasi, a Turkish bank, BEFORE they are even allowed to view the contracts ! It’s madness. Please guys, don’t anyone say that they sent their money to Turkey without seeing the contracts.

     Now why change their model ? What’s the reason ? My guess (and it is a guess) is that THEY DON’T OWN THE FREEHOLD. My guess is that they have an option to buy the freehold within a fixed timeframe. This means that they need money as fast as possible. Maybe they even need the money really quickly so they can start resuming rental payments to existing investors and get everyone off their back ? Investors in Istanbul wouldn’t know that the company doesn’t own the freehold because they would be getting their rental payments (paid out of their own money) so they would think that BWCOLS does indeed own the freehold.

     Let’s go back to who would actually own the freehold if it turned out that BWCOLS does own the freehold. We expect Bar Works Inc to own the shares of BWCOLS. Well….. they don’t. BWCOLS is a Turkish registered company. The shares are owned as follows: 51% by Faruk Baysal (I’m letting the side down here because I don’t know this guy at the moment – but I will find out….) and 49% by Nathalie Kent (aaaahh, the reappearance of an old friend).
     So the records show that Bar Works Inc doesn’t own any shares. The records also show that only one signature is required to withdraw money and it can be either Faruk or Nathalie (what’s the betting that Nathalie is going to control the money and I have a feeling I know who is ultimately going to be receiving a lot of it). The information is on this link if you can navigate around it. It is in Turkish http://www.ito.org.tr/wps/portal/!ut/p/c5/hY7LCoMwFEQ_6V6sNrqMRY1gfMYasxHBIkp9LMRSv75ZdNOFdIZZHWYYUKA9t_vQt9uwzO0TJKhrg2lOLJ8ZmHBGMAwiH1FkGFCiea35iSj-aVcg0WyK0V75e5PRcdvFeGRGLLgRH6EOR76xtLvnpUtpL73qojvqZzXwHAdDtN3CTBwUhfXl559itkwPqEGR02_cAgE1g3Uq95W98AM7RkQE/

     Who is Nathalie Kent ? Well it’s going to get a bit complicated so stick with it. Nathalie Kent was a director of a UK company called ‘Alternative Pension Plan Trustees Ltd’ (“APPTL”) which has now closed down. APPTL used to take people’s pension money in the UK and “invest” it into Renwick Haddow’s illegal schemes in return for high commissions (the schemes that he has been prosecuted for and is now facing additional charges of providing false and misleading statements to investors). So Nathalie’s company targeted people in or approaching retirement – nice lady.

     Alongside her as a fellow director of APPTL was Mr Robert Ross White. Now, Robert Ross White has cropped up on Redd-Monitor before. He was a colleague of Haddows way back in the past when Haddow was found guilty of falsifying financial records and misleading investors. But he reappeared again years later when he was installed as a director of Agri Firma Capital Ltd (“AFCL”) alongside an existing director, a man called Richard Henstock. AFCL was one of the projects that Haddow’s company offered to investors. It was set up in a very similar fashion to Bar Works i.e instead of leasing a workspace from Bar Works and then renting it back to a Bar Works subsidiary, the investors leased a plot of land from AFCL and then leased it back to an AFCL subsidiary. Almost identical.

     It was suspected that Henstock was nothing more than a patsy front man and didn’t have a clue what was going on. AFCL was really controlled by Haddow. Henstock was the only director of AFCL and Haddow knew that Henstock wouldn’t be able to answer any of the difficult questions from the UK authorities so when they started looking closely at the company he installed Robert Ross White to frustrate the enquiries and bury the evidence. Perhaps a bit like the job Franklin Kinard might have been installed to do at Bar Works.

     Fast forward to today. AFCL is in liquidation and investors lost their money. Robert Ross White was accused by the Official Receiver of deliberately blocking every attempt to find out where the money went. As a result, in February this year, Robert Ross White was disqualified from being a company director for a period of 8 years. The Official Receiver stated that the company was controlled by a third director who was not shown on the public record and who was in fact acting illegally because he was already a disqualified director. The Official Receiver report states that they are taking action against this person. There is a post somewhere on Redd-Monitor in which someone asked the Official Receiver who that third party was, and was informed it was RENWICK HADDOW. You can read the summary of the disqualification here https://www.gov.uk/government/news/australian-wheat-investment-scam-directors-reap-lengthy-disqualifications

     You will see that Henstock was also disqualified as a director for his part in AFCL. He also happens to be one of the 15 defendants facing trial in the UK in July alongside his colleague Renwick Haddow.

     And here’s another worrying link. Robert Ross White was also a director of a company called Plantation Asset Management Ltd (“PAM”). PAM was one of Haddow’s projects involving palm oil plantations in Sierra Leone. Same model – leasing land to investors and then leasing it back in return for a rental payment. That company is now in liquidation leaving investors with nothing. When the fresh money stopped coming in the project collapsed. Who was the other director of that company ? None other than Robert Munden – one of the three alleged directors of Bar Works Inc. Everywhere you look with Bar Works there are people who have worked with Haddow before in collapsed firms where investors have lost all their money.

     If anyone still believes that Bar Works Inc is just a startup having teething problems they need their head examined. Rental payments might even restart but it will be a stalling tactic to buy time to cover their tracks, pack their bags and make a quick exit.

298. It has come to my attention that investors are being sent ‘accredited investor’ forms to sign AFTER they have made their investment. You must not sign these forms.
     This shows quite clearly that Bar Works is very worried that they might have breached FCA and SEC rules about promoting these investments to ordinary members of the public.
     Investments such as this can only be promoted to ‘accredited investors’. If you have NOT signed one of these forms the FCA and SEC can go after the assets of agents, Bar Works and the Bar Works management team to get you a refund.
     If you do sign one of these forms you are effectively signing away that right.
     DO NOT SIGN THE FORMS.

299. http://www.moneyobserver.com/our-analysis/are-you-sophisticated-investor

300. More genius stuff from Marksie, well done Sir.

     Correct me if I’m wrong @ Marksie, but if one uses Google and taps in ‘Nathalie Brown, investments’ on the first page you come across a link to Companies House:

     https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/BMCZb9nOV9qtkYR-rI1n1EiC_rQ/appointments

     Would this be the same woman you mention? And the company name rings a bell, Room to Invest. Again correct me if wrong but was that not one of Mr. Haddow’s multiple scam set ups a while ago?
     And the registered address of said company if the above is correct leads you to this article:

     https://www.gov.uk/government/news/high-court-orders-six-more-bogus-multi-million-pound-companies-into-liquidation

     Now, it could all be coincidence and unrelated but ‘leopards and spots’ and ‘smoke and fire’ spring to mind.

     Again, all this does, is show the investors who the people involved on the inside of Barworks are. What the investors here have to do now is realise that it is no different a scheme to those previously run by these people. It’s a (forgive the pun) carbon ‘credit’ copy!

     It is a common tactic especially when organizing a Ponzi style scheme to ‘ask’ for a delay whilst raising other/new funds (from a new project maybe? In Istanbul maybe?) to then cover up and make the investors believe all is ok.

     Did I also read that you get your 1st return a couple of weeks after investing? If that is true…….SERIOUSLY!!!!!

     Think about it guys, PULEEEEEZE….. IF this was so bomb proof and IF they were so busy, the money would be flowing through in rentals etc and you’d all be happy. The fact that A). Their figures are IMPOSSIBLE and B). you have all raised concerns means you are worried. Don’t now start to think that if your payments restart all is good again. THIS & NOW is your chance to stop this nonsense. Miss this and you might never get another chance.

     CARPE DIEM!

301. Today, I filed a complaint with the SEC. It is an online form you can file online, mail or fax. Since I do not qualify as an “Accredited Investor” and didn’t sign the form, I only addressed that asking for a refund.

     I didn’t get into the non-payment of our rents and the obvious Ponzi scheme background of Bar Works founders. If the SEC contacts me, I will give them the full story.

     My complaint will be sent to Franklin Kinard with a demand for a response within 30 days. He’ll probably be on some beach in Jamaica by then.

302. I wrote a new post yesterday – featuring Franklin Kinard’s ridiculous excuses for Bar Works’ “bomb-proof business model” actually not being bomb-proof at all:

     An update from Bar Works’ Franklin Kinard: “I want this fixed as desperately as all of you”

303. I received an acknowledgement of my filed SEC complaint. It said an agent would be contacting me. If there are other investors who do not qualify as an “Accredited Investor” then I suggest you file a complaint on the SEC website.

     BTW, to be an Accredited Investor you must have a $1M net worth or a $200K annual income. If not, then you are not an Accredited Investor.

304. @Scotty, you are dead right. The link you gave was for a lady called ‘Nathalie Kent-Browne’. Very close to Nathalie Kent so we can assume it is the same person. NK-Bv is a director of Room To Invest Marrakech Ltd.
     Room To Invest Ltd was one of Haddow’s projects in the old days. It was found to be an illegal scheme so, to avoid prosecution, he gave the investors the option to transfer into a new, wonderful, bullet-proof scheme with guaranteed buy-backs and excellent annual returns. That was the African Land rice farm in Sierra Leone which, several years later, turned out to be an illegal scheme and which is now non-operational and all investors have lost their money. The sum invested in that scheme was around £10 million.

     The directors of that firm are in the dock alongside Haddow in the High Court in July.

305. Can you post here the SEC website? Can i do it as an italian?

306. Can you pls share the link please? Also can you let me know if I invested through a broker in U.K. Can I also write to the SEC?

     Thanks
     Jeh

307. @Rich If we file complaint to SEC, do you think SEC will get our money back from Bar Works? I think SEC goal is to catch RH, seize assets or put him into jail. But your goal is to get your money back.

     Correct me if I’m wrong.

308. Please can the following investors make contact on [email protected].

     1. If you are a UK citizen who invested in any Bar Works project; or
     2. If you are any nationality and your sales agent was a UK company; or
     3. If you are any nationality and you purchased a PodWorks investment through Pod Works Workspaces Ltd;

     Please put the title of the email as follows: [The number above which applies to you] e.g 1,2, or 3. If more than one number applies please include that e.g 12 or 23, followed by your name. So the title should look something like ‘13 Phil Brown’.

     In the email message itself I need the following information:

     1. Your name.
     2. Your email address.
     3. Your nationality.
     4. The country in which you live.

     5. A breakdown of the investment i.e the amount(s) you invested, when you invested each time, and the site(s) you invested in.

     6. The name of the agent (if you are categories 1 or 2 above).
     7. The names of all the people you spoke to or had email communications with (whether in the sales agent company, or at Bar Works, or at Central FX) and the contact details for each of these people (if you know the websites, email addresses and telephone numbers).

     Please get all of this information together for the one email. I don’t want to receive it in dribs and drabs. Please finish the email with the following phrase

     “I consent to these details being released to the police, financial regulators and any group prosecution lawyers that may wish to contact me about the Bar Works investment.
     I [ DO / DO NOT ] consent to my name and email address being supplied to other investors who invested in the same product.
     I DO NOT consent to it being released to any other party without my written permission”.

     If you have any other information that you believe could be important please send in a separate email titled: [Your Name] – “Important Information”.

     Apologies to those people who do not fit into those categories above, but I’m confident your time will come. Be patient. One step at a time.

     I will confirm receipt of your email but cannot enter into email chats. I had around 130 emails on the [email protected] email address in one 24 hour period so you can understand why there can be no response to general enquiries. The numbers are just too great. I will post on redd-monitor when there is public news and will write to individuals separately when there is private news that could affect them personally and should not be made public.

     You are being asked to send this information on trust because I cannot comment at this time. The worst that could happen is that I sell your email addresses to a marketing firm and you get a lot of emails offering you the next great investment. But you’re going to get those anyway. When the Bar Works salesmen think you’re not going to increase your investment they’ll sell your details to another firm and make a little bit of money. That’s how these guys work.

309. Please can anyone who invested through Duxton Partners operating out of Singapore make contact on [email protected]. I will put you in contact with others who have invested through this company.

310. To Stephanie, Francesco, Jeh…et al The SEC website is https://www.sec.gov/oiea/Complaint.html

     Stephanie-my goal is to recoup my investment. I think that is the main goal of the SEC, but if they can fine or jail someone, I’m sure the will.

     Francesco – I’m not an attorney, so I can’t answer your question. One would think if your contract is with Bar Works NYC and the jurisdiction is the State of New York, then the US SEC would accept your complaint as they would a US resident. Look at your Bar Works contract and see where the jurisdiction is falls.

     Let me be clear, I am pursuing the fact that Bar Works failed to obtain a signed “Accredited Investor” form. They only asked for one after the contract was signed and had my money. I contend that should have been presented prior to the contract and a determination made if I was qualified to invest. The qualifications for individuals is $1M net worth or $200K annual income, If you do not meet either one of those requirements, than you’re not an Accredited Investor.

     In my complaint I did not say anything about non-payment and the possible Ponzi scheme they are running. Since they will be sending a copy of my complaint to Franklin Kinard, I didn’t want to overplay my hand and spook Bar Works personnel to skip out if they think criminal actions are possible. I would suggest you keep your complaint simple and play up their failure to properly qualify you as an investor before taking your money. That only works if you are not qualified and haven’t signed the form. Have any of you signed the form or was it sent to you?

311. This is a general question for all on the blog. Who are US residents? Who was your agent that handled your investment? Do you have their phone numbers and email addresses? Have you tried to reach them? If so, are they responding? Are you in or do you know anyone in the NYC area. I would like to have someone walk into the BW offices and see if there is any activity or if it locked up. Do we have any investors in Miami or San Francisco areas? Same thing here…go take a look.

     Are there other blog sites of US Bar Works investors?

312. @ Marksie – re. 2). Does it matter if the agent is registered as a uk company but operating from overseas? I.e. Does that affect anything or not?
     Pretty sure a lot of agents might have a uk ‘address’ but are actually working from outside the uk.

313. @Rich, I have someone who is doing a great job of visiting the sites in NYC. Another person will be doing the same very soon. The sites that have been visited were very quiet.

     Times Sq – closed (but taken off their website and shows as closed on wikipedia)

     West Village – verified as open and with members there. No sign of the management as suggested by @Greg in an earlier post.

     Midtown – verified as open with only a handful of members there and a lady named Angel who refuses to deal with existing investor/management communication but seems to be happy to give tours to potential new investors. She insisted she was a freelancer and denies any connection to the company if you start talking about existing investments.

     @Scotty, it doesn’t matter where the agents base themselves. If it is a company registered in the UK then that is what is important.

314. This post is not meant to offend anyone but merely act as an education so that you are aware and prepared the next time you enquire to invest. The following has been compiled after piecing together various bits of information.

     The ‘Hook’
     It’s all happened to us, you wake up to a bunch of emails thinking who’s this lot from? You sift through them and your eye catches the graphics on one in particular and the title header something along the lines of ‘Earn 15% in just 12 months from investing just $25.000’. You’re intrigued, your bank gives your cash nowhere near that, the property you bought to let out is empty or only yielding about 4%, the place you reserved overseas is still only part built and years behind schedule……so you open it, you get some brief details along the lines of ‘bomb proof, huge demand, low supply, industry leading experts……to find out more, enter your contact details and receive your free brochure’………

     The ‘Catch’
     As soon as you enter your details and click ‘send’, you are classed as a ‘lead’. If you leave a message ‘please send urgently’, you are classed as a HOT ‘lead’. Your details were filled in on a ‘landing page’ which are then sent to the lead generation company who sent you the email. They then send to the agent promoting the project, who then contact you either by calling first or emailing first.

     Hole in my net
     The thing is this, several years ago, ‘people’ used to cold call from the yellow pages, literally, then they moved on to buying lists of data, then they were trading these ‘lists’ between themselves and now due to cold calling restrictions and ‘no cold call’ lists, they have loopholed it to send an email, text, whatsapp. As soon as you click, you have ‘opted in’ to receive information (and a call if you leave your number) and they have swerved the cold call approach.

     Fishing rod v Trawling
     And don’t think for one minute that your details will only be sent to the agent who’s marketing the project that caught your eye. In reality, these lead generation guys collect data ongoing and are so good at what they do, they know how many ‘clicks’ they will get and charge upfront for say 300 leads rather than invoicing per lead. Some even work on a commission from sales basis.

     Big Brother
     A lot of the agents have sophisticated crm systems and databases and can tell not only when you’ve opened their emails, but how many times, if you’ve forwarded it on, the amount of times, if any attachments have been opened etc etc. So the next time you get their email after registering your details and you get that ‘courtesy call’ to ask ‘if’ you’ve received it and you say no because you don’t want the sales call, just remember they are starting to gauge you from that minute.

     From fluffing to closing
     First call is normally the fluff call made by the ‘Opener’, they make you feel good that you’ve enquired and you get to ‘like’ the person on the end of the phone, second call is more of a closing you down call and to overcome any objections/answer questions (might be same person or a dedicated ‘Closer’) and thereafter it will get more and more aggressive. And after you’ve invested guess what, a lot of these companies have another person whose sole aim is to get you to invest more (the ‘Loader’). And if it all goes pear shaped or sorry when it does, miraculously a company might open which specializes in getting you out of the pear shaped project and switching you into a far better one, at a cost…. your savior, your real friend or ‘The Mopper’.

     Now I’m not saying every single agent acts like this but the majority do. Some will even distribute the ‘leads’ i.e. YOUR DETAILS to who they think will build rapport and close you quicker.

     This is sales but not as you think you know it. Some of these people work under huge pressure from line managers, are threatened with the sack daily if they don’t make ‘x’ amount of calls/write business and many are on commission only. Is $10,000-$20,000 a month earnings enough to put up with all that? I’m not saying they are all innocent or to have pity because a normal human being should know right from wrong and I only tell you this so you can try to begin to imagine the kind of person on the other end of the phone you are dealing with. Your money is the only thing driving them.

     Many of them will never have heard of Haddow let alone know of his past. Many of the owners of these companies won’t even have heard of him either but I guarantee one thing, all of them will be familiar with the name, Jonathan Black.

315. I have had quite a few people contact me asking whether it is worth instructing a solicitor to prosecute in the US. I don’t know the answer to that question, but these are the things I would consider before embarking on that course of action.
     Is it clear which company(ies) are going to be prosecuted ?
     Do those companies have any cash or assets ? If assets, are they free of debt e.g does a bank come before me ? If I don’t know this am I prepared to spend my money on having a lawyer find out ?
     The Bar Works machine employs a lot of people on high commissions. It is almost certain that 40% or more is taken out at the start and then they have had running costs to cover (with very few actual members signing up). The fact that the company has stopped making rental payments gives me a strong clue as to their current financial position.
     I have identified 25 separate Bar Works subsidiaries (possibly), with question marks against another 4. If I go after some of these companies can they transfer cash or assets to another company as payment for services rendered ? Then I would be into having to start again to go after that other company. Am I in the financial position to do that ?
     Are these companies really subsidiaries ? As I have pointed out for Istanbul I might think that a company is a subsidiary because it has Bar Works in the name but when I look at the shareholders they are independent people. What would happen if they transferred the remaining cash to the Bahamas company or to the Turkey company ? Would I be able to get the money back ? How much would that cost me in legal fees ? Is that an easy process ?
     Do I actually have any information on who owns what and am I confident that my lawyer will get that information ? The companies are incorporated in some very secretive locations e.g Delaware and the Bahamas. I read an article where the IRS believed it was owed $81m by a Delaware company. They abandoned trying to collect it because after two years they still hadn’t been able to make any progress. The Bahamas will be the same. This could turn out to be a very long and expensive process only to find out there is nothing there at the end of it. Do I have the desire and the funds to keep the battle alive ?
     Could my lawyer freeze the bank accounts and assets of Bar Works and a dozen or more other companies ? I’m not confident that he could. I don’t know who the shareholders are in those other companies. They could claim to be independent and no Judge would freeze the assets of a company that is independent without very strong evidence. Do I have that evidence ?
     Does ‘freezing’ mean that nothing moves ? I’m not sure it does. Doing that would force any company into closure and at this stage the case hasn’t gone to trial. No substantial wrongdoing has been proven and without that proof the Judge has to presume innocence. I have to look at the case of the FCA against all of Haddow’s previous companies to give me a clue. The FCA had full disclosure and confiscation rights because of their powers. It took them 10 months of going through the accounts and files before they were ready to go to court to freeze assets. The accounts were frozen, but the Judge allowed the companies involved to withdraw funds to keep their operations going. The people involved were also allowed to withdraw funds to maintain their lifestyles (remember they are innocent until proven guilty). One guy was allowed to withdraw $50,000 per month. It wasn’t long before the accounts were emptied – all quite legal. Do I think the same would happen in the US ? How much do I think Bar Works needs to run its operations ? Would they be able to empty the accounts ? Also, and this is important, the Judge cannot freeze accounts in such a way that it starves the companies of enough funds to be able to defend the charges against it. He/she has to allow the companies to finance their defence. Do I think Bar Works will employ a fairly-priced middle of the range attorney or is it likely to be the largest, most influential and most expensive law firm in NYC (assuming that they have the cash in the Bar Works account) ?
     Some people have already reported this to the SEC. If the SEC come in will they recognise my legal expense and take that into consideration ? I already know the answer to that. No – they won’t. The SEC will control all the cash and assets and when the whole thing is done in a few years they will share the proceeds pro-rata with all investors that they can identify. They will disregard any payments I made to my lawyer because that was my risk and nothing to do with them.

     Sorry if you think I’m on Bar Works’ side here. I’ve already had a couple of people suggest that I am employed by them. There are some stupid people around. I’m just pointing out the issues as I see them so people understand the risks they will be taking. So, to those people who asked me and the new people who also ask me the same question I say – if you want to go ahead and give it a try, go for it, but I wouldn’t. Not until I had a lot more information. In my opinion some people actually have a much better chance of recovering their funds than others. I think paying a private investigator to gather information would be a better way to spend money (if you want to spend money) than instructing a lawyer.

316. Duxton Partners Pte Ltd is a company incorporated in Singapore. Until recently it operated a website offering investments in Bar Works. The website is now down.
     The directors and shareholders of this company are Jarret Carl Beaumont, Brian Edward Cohen and Wesley Barber (all good English names).
     Barber is married to a Singaporean celebrity and has an address in Singapore so we’ll put him to one side. Others will deal with him.
     Beaumont registered his address as Bradford in the UK. Cohen is registered to an address in Golders Green, UK.
     Beaumont’s address is a small terraced house valued at around £120k. Cohen’s is a 4-bed detached house valued at around £1.2 million. Unlikely bedfellows – I wonder how they hooked up together.

     Anyone reading about Bar Works, Haddow etc might think that the UK disqualifies directors for the most minor reasons. Actually it doesn’t. More than 10 million companies have been formed in the UK and in 2015/2016 only 1,210 directors were disqualified. It is quite rare.
     That is why I think Bar Works must include the following terms in its recruitment process “Applicants must have no scruples whatsoever and be prepared to steal from their own grandmother. Preference will be given to candidates with a UK director disqualification”.

     Brian Edward Cohen is not only a disqualified director in the UK and one of the owners of Duxton Partners Pte Ltd, he is, according to someone called Dessi who commented at the bottom of the TRD article https://therealdeal.com/2017/01/13/alleged-ponzi-scheme-mastermind-looks-to-be-driving-force-behind-nyc-co-working-startup-bar-works/, the Global Business Development Manager for Bar Works Inc.

317. Confused state does not have any other name than this ! Its seem we are at the mercy of barworks and whoever is behind it now ….the law in the US is so lenient on scammers it seems, even after what maddof had done to several investors it is hard to believe that such things could still be allowed to go on under the “regulators” nose. This is so bad.

318. Haddow last address was in Hong Kong : https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/2591667. Unlike United Kingdom of Crooks the authorities in far east investigate scams and are responsive. They are also feed up of the British unregulated swindlers. You may consider a complaint to sfc : http://www.sfc.hk/web/EN/lodge-a-complaint/

319. @Enough, you can ignore the Hong Kong address. He gave it to the firm that forced him into bankruptcy to put them off the scent. He was in New York at the time.

320. Hi Chris, Hi Everyone, what a shame I just joined in this forum…My friend and I have invested in BW up to 100K and we based in Asia…I involved in this through a local agent who has refused to respond to me now…I think I must take action right away…but idk what should I do now? the last payments happened in March…until now I didn’t receive any payments.

321. I am an investor based in Sweden. Are there any updates?

     I am willing to be a part of any group hiring a lawyer to help us with this for 10%. But it is hard to get in touch with other investors if they are not willing to pass on their contact details. Catch 22.

     Any info you need from me, I would be happy to share.

     My situation is like @ogsuks . Dealt directly with Robert Delaware after a tip from an agent or website (cant really remember). Then Peter Jones. Now the payments have stopped completely.

     What can I do?

322. Do we know if BW is still marketing US locations? Thought I might make an inquiry on their website and see if anyone contacts me and listen to their story. Might get some insight. Just a thought. Also, members of this site have talked about hiring a lawyer. Why don’t we hire a collector from the Gambino family? They’re in NYC and I understand have very affective methods.

323. Hello Joe,

     We are a few people from Sweden that have invested but we invested through a Swedish agent. Post a fake e-mail address here and hopefully @ogsuks will contact you.

     The situation really sucks…

324. Dear everyone, today I receive a letter again from Frank Kinard as following:

     Bar Works is moving forward with new leadership

     I was retained to execute a difficult restructuring at Bar Works. I had two objectives: (1) End the construction and government compliance issues that kept Bar Works locations from opening; and (2) Launch a succession of newly-formatted Bar Works that have multiple revenue streams, instead of relying solely on membership fees. Achieving those two goals would improve liquidity, thus enabling Bar Works to resume payments. I have completed my reorganization, and I am leaving the company. Immediately, Bar Works shifts to management that will focus on producing income from the revised company footprint.
     There’s nothing disruptive here. A few months ago, I was put in charge of Bar Works USA to fix how locations are built in the U.S., because that was by far the company’s biggest weakness. Always, the plan was to activate a more robust sales agenda once construction systems were repaired. In other words, the transfer of leadership to our current sales director is expected, healthy and essential.
     I projected before those payments could resume after all the new Bar Works locations are operational in June. My assessment hasn’t changed. Now that expensive construction is ending, the company will have sharply reduced expenses at the same time it sees new revenue from the juice bars, coffee bars, and restaurant that are paying to be in Bar Works locations.
     The precise timetable for payments will be set by Bar Works’ new management.
     In the course of my restructuring, some Bar Works locations have been closed or abandoned. But stakeholders in those sites will be shifted to locations that have stronger revenue foundations.
     I am proud of how I solved serious operational problems at Bar Works. I’m optimistic that the new team leading Bar Works will take the company even further.
     If you have further questions please email [email protected] or call 646 829 1564.t

     It is terrible… Frank just promised us to operate it well but then quit the job quickly…

     @gogsuk, @Darren, @Stephanie, @Erik, @Enough, @Salam, @Marksie, @Scotty, @Jan Novak, @Monta and others…… I think we must hire a lawyer to apply the court to freeze the assets including the properties or facilities or cash…and then hire a financial consultant to investigate Bar Works at once.As investors, we have the right to audit and look into the operation. we should consider how to recover our investment rather than suing them and winning the case( I am afraid they will transfer all of assets and disappear then)……I agree with gogsuk, Marksie and Scotty and others, we should gather the investors information at the first place, and consult the lawyer about the steps and procedure……I have contact some other investors via email…they are willing to join us.I believe most of the investors are willing to pay for the lawyer or other fees if we can recover our investment.

     I will send my email to Chris, hope Chris can send my email to others or others’email to me. Thanks

325. Fake email address?

     Can we get in touch somehow? Would be nice to discuss this with someone else from Sweden.

326. @Monta – I can’t believe I missed this until this morning. Too many things to think about I suppose taking me off in different directions.
     I have a Swedish connection that I picked up a few weeks ago and it didn’t register in my mind until I saw your post this morning. You should check it out. It isn’t sensible for me to post it in public. If you find out more info on the names I will give you just let me know – quid pro quo.

     Contact me on [email protected]. Use a fake email address if you want. I don’t want you to join our group. We’re not following any Swedish angles at the moment because our focus is on other matters. This is free information so take advantage – we don’t give it out very often.

327. Latest letter from Frank Kinard (who is out of here). From my point of view interesting that they finally realised that you could not just close (and/or abandon, as they put it) some Bar Works and expect people not to notice:

     “Bar Works is moving forward with new leadership.

     I was retained to execute a difficult restructuring at Bar Works. I had two objectives: (1) End the construction and government compliance issues that kept Bar Works locations from opening; and (2) Launch a succession of newly-formatted Bar Works that have multiple revenue streams, instead of relying solely on membership fees. Achieving those two goals would improve liquidity, thus enabling Bar Works to resume payments. I have completed my reorganization, and I am leaving the company. Immediately, Bar Works shifts to management that will focus on producing income from the revised company footprint.

     There’s nothing disruptive here. A few months ago, I was put in charge of Bar Works USA to fix how locations are built in the U.S., because that was by far the company’s biggest weakness. Always, the plan was to activate a more robust sales agenda once construction systems were repaired. In other words, the transfer of leadership to our current sales director is expected, healthy and essential.

     I projected before those payments could resume after all the new Bar Works locations are operational in June. My assessment hasn’t changed. Now that expensive construction is ending, the company will have sharply reduced expenses at the same time it sees new revenue from the juice bars, coffee bars, and restaurant that are paying to be in Bar Works locations.

     The precise timetable for payments will be set by Bar Works’ new management.

     In the course of my restructuring, some Bar Works locations have been closed or abandoned. But stakeholders in those sites will be shifted to locations that have stronger revenue foundations.

     I am proud of how I solved serious operational problems at Bar Works. I’m optimistic that the new team leading Bar Works will take the company even further.

     If you have further questions please email [email protected] or call 646 829 1564.

     Thank you.”

328. @Joe – I think what @Monta meant by “fake email address” was that you could set up a gmail account under another name. You don’t have to use your usual email if you don’t want to give away your identity.

329. OK, got it. I have set up an email address:

     Contact me at: jt.mgm(at)mail.com

330. @alex c and @mirabelle – Thanks! I wrote a new post featuring the latest nonsense from Kinard today:

     Franklin Kinard leaves Bar Works: “I have completed my reorganization, and I am leaving the company”

331. @mirabelle – The best way to get in touch with other investors is to leave an email address in a comment (set up a gmail account using a pseudonym if you want to protect your privacy). There are too many people for me to pass on the various emails. Sorry!

     I did suggest setting up a Facebook group a while ago. I still think that might be a good idea.

     Just be aware that leaving your email address on a public forum like this means that you could be contacted by people pretending to be investors, but who actually work for Bar Works.

332. @ Rich – Great idea. You know what to look out for now anyway. Don’t ask too many questions but enough.

     Kinard’s letter is ‘frankly’ laughable. We all know why he’s upping and leaving and ‘frankly’ who can fu kinard blame him!

333. Yes guys , i think it s better to set up a facebook page or blog where we can join all toghether from all over the world so we can take actions as a unit. What do you think?

334. Guys another update: The NYC Tribeca space at 95 Chambers Street was reported as being ready to open:

     http://tribecacitizen.com/2017/05/24/seen-heard-langolo-might-open-tonight/

     But it’s only been two days and it looks as though it’s not happening now, and it’s no longer mentioned on the website:

     http://tribecacitizen.com/2017/05/26/seen-heard-witches-knickers/comment-page-1/

335. *Regarding that last comment, it looks as though they are setting up to open on Chambers St. in Tribeca, but have removed information on the White Street location from the website. However you can see here:

     http://tribecacitizen.com/2016/05/18/coworking-and-codrinking/

     (also read the comments)

     That it appears there was some confusion about White Street – no application for a liquor license was found, and it isn’t clear if the location ever actually opened.

336. Hi Everyone. We are investors based in Hong Kong and bought 3 units at a cost of 75,000$. It’s a relief to find this site, as the last two months have been very stressful dealing with the web of deceit from Barworks. We would be happy to contribute any information needed to create a lawsuit against Barworks. Please respond here and I can share my email with anyone who is working with a lawyer.

337. @ Everyone – re. Barworks opening or delaying or not opening sites, this is not the issue but adds to the concerns.

     Of course, if you have invested into a particular site and it doesn’t open or is delayed, you will be worried but the fact and issues are:

     • HOW they have raised funds?

     • HOW they are making returns?

     • HOW they are using your money?

     1. They’ve raised funds via multiple marketing agents globally who have used marketing material and arranged contracts signed off by Jonathan Black who is not actually Jonathan Black, so they’ve fraudulently contracted investors.

     2. They are giving you your returns from YOUR OWN money as it is blatantly obvious they cannot and are not generating them from revenue as promised.

     3. They are using YOUR money to buy or arrange leases and carry out refurbishment on property that they then hold in their name or related companies.

     I will say this for the last time, you are up against a ‘master’ of the long con. He has ‘previous’ and knows how to protect himself on many levels.

     Act smart and be ready to go the distance to get YOUR hard earned money back, whatever it takes.

338. @dickiewt, there are quite a few issues to overcome in mounting an effective legal challenge. I listed some of them in an earlier post. Unfortunately I believe the likelihood of you ever receiving back even 10% of your investment is pretty slim and the legal process you might employ will not be either simple or cheap if you leave it to an attorney. There are several reasons why I believe this is unlikely to be successful.

     1. Bar Works Inc may have nothing of value in its own name. I would expect this to be the case;
     2. The bank account of Bar Works Inc is likely to be almost empty. If it isn’t now, then it will be by the time you lodge papers;
     3. Other creditors will come before you. It is much easier for a building contractor or a landlord to obtain a court judgement for unpaid debt than it is for a group of workspace owners to make a claim of fraud;
     4. Bar Works’ liabilities may exceed its income / assets. If it doesn’t already it will become so very soon as there is no management team in place. At the moment nobody is answering the phones or replying to emails. Nobody is running this business;
     5. Almost every company with ‘Bar Works’ in its name may turn out to be owned by different people who appear to have no connection to Bar Works Inc or they may be incorporated in Delaware which has strong secrecy laws;
     6. Freeholds are unlikely to be genuine freeholds free of debt. The claims of ownership are likely to be false or, if a property is owned, it may be heavily mortgaged and there is likely to be a ‘cut-out’ company sitting between Bar Works Inc and the property(ies). Anyone who has ever been involved in court action will know that what at first appears to be a simple case can be argued about by lawyers for months on end with bills racking up;
     7. You will find very few people you can actually prosecute. A lot of the people at Bar Works are using false names. Many of the agents, especially those in Spain and Dubai, also use false names;
     8. In most jurisdictions the agents have no ‘duty of care’ to investors. They will claim that they were just promoters and they would win that argument because they took no part in Bar Works’ operations. However, this BW investment may be classified as an investment that should not have been promoted to the general public in which case you do have the potential for a claim against them. You would have to take action against the agents in the country in which they are based e.g everyone who bought through an agent based in the UK could join to fight a UK case. The FCA might take that on for you. The same in other countires.
     9. As for the main protagonist Renwick Haddow, he will go to Russia or a jurisdiction which doesn’t respect judgements made in US courts. He will have a decent slice of the money, but you won’t get it. If he bothers to respond at all to any legal action (which I think he will just ignore), he will simply claim that he earnt that money for consulting services and it no longer belongs to Bar Works. You will struggle to prove that he didn’t because you don’t have any credible senior person in Bar Works Inc who is able to provide evidence to counter that claim. Even Kinard won’t be enough because his credibility is shot. He defended Haddow as an independent consultant so he can hardly come out now and say that he wasn’t an independent consultant;
     10. Haddow’s money will be in a secure location with organisations that do not co-operate with enquiries. It will be held in a jurisdiction where client secrecy is paramount and enshrined in the national law. It is very unlikely that a lawyer or policing group will be able to force disclosure;
     11. Any money that is found to be owned by Haddow is unlikely to be returned to you because there is a long list of creditors which have already proven their case against Haddow in court and are at the front of the queue in respect of confiscating any available cash or assets.

     This is not going to be a cheap process and you could easily pay out more than you can ever get back.

     Nobody wants to see Haddow, Kinard etc get away with it, but people like Haddow aren’t worried about being prosecuted. He’s not worried about attempts to recover money. For him this was always expected and he will have ensured that the money is out of reach even if a case is proven. The FCA were supposed to have frozen Haddow’s assets and he was declared bankrupt, but he still came up with enough to rent an apartment in Manhattan, set up InCrowd Equity in an office in New York, bring staff over from the UK, establish the Bar Works network of companies, produce websites, promotional material, investment brochures and the like.

     The SEC is the best course of action for most investors because they have powers that attorneys do not and they are free. The downsides are that they don’t act very quickly and they don’t give preference on payouts. All investors are treated the same. That doesn’t really matter because the big money has already been taken offshore and you will need the SEC fighting your case to stand any chance of recovering that.

     Attorneys will turn this into a huge undertaking across multiple jurisdictions which it does not have to be. There are small battles that can be won by a small group of investors (not all investors unfortunately but you can have some kind of a profit share deal if the small group is successful). It will get things moving and those other investors can join in later. I’m not going to post those actions on here. We have been following a number of leads but we keep the information close to our chests because it always gets out when a large group is involved.

339. Another update: the Bar Works Partners website is now closed: http://www.barworkspartners.com/

340. CLASS ACTION (please don’t hide the email address I wrote in my comment)

     Dear BW investors, I’m a US resident and I invested a solid amount of money in Bar Works. Therefore, I decided to appoint a US law firm 2 weeks ago to protect my interests.
     We are about to file a Class Action lawsuit very soon.
     I don’t want to share too many details on here.
     However, we have strength in numbers: the more of us there are, the better it will be.
     This is an anonymous email address that I use: [email protected]
     Again: c o m b e d c o n s u l t i n g AT g m a i l . c o m
     Please contact me to this email if you are interested in joining.
     I won’t ask any personal information nor give my own (except my name). I will just give the name of the US Law Firm that I appointed and whoever is interested will be in the position to contact them, verify his own situation and decide whether or not to join.
     Again: WE HAVE STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
     Thanks
     L

341. @Combed, in the past two weeks have your attorneys identified any assets (cash, properties or anything else) that you can legitimately seize ? Please say that they have.

     You are dealing with an experienced fraudster who is at the very top of the food chain – the very top. Yes, he makes small mistakes but he’s not an idiot or an amateur.

     In the UK it goes The Fraud Office (frauds up to £1 million that are based in the UK – all Action Fraud reports go to them), the Serious Fraud Office (frauds exceeding £1 million up to £20 million that involve an overseas element), and then the National Crime Agency (serious, complex frauds involving offshore accounts over £20 million). Haddow has gone through all of them.
     He also has HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs – collector of taxes), the Official Receiver (responsible for director conduct and bankruptcies), and the Financial Conduct Authority (equivalent to the SEC) after him. They have court judgements, which are recognised internationally, for a claim over his assets wherever they are in the world. You are not going to be able to fight these organisations for a share of his assets. This is well beyond a group of investors trying to recover their investment. You will be fighting goverment institutions who will forcefully pursue their claim that Haddow’s assets belong to them. Your money is gone.

     I really didn’t want to post this next information online, but I have to because investors are fooling themselves into thinking that they can recover money that just doesn’t exist. I have kept this quiet for quite a while because it is like rubbing salt into the wound of decent people who have lost a lot of money, but it genuinely shows just what you are up against.
     In July the FCA will present their case that Haddow and others provided “false and misleading claims” in their marketing material. They have done exactly the same in Bar Works.
     I will be at the trial as will many other investors who invested in Haddow schemes. Haddow will not turn up. During the trial I expect the FCA to produce the same kind of documents that have been sent to me by people inside his organisation.

     I have recently been sent the management accounts of the company that collected the money for most of Haddow’s schemes. It shows a total of 85% paid out in consultancy fees, commissions and fundraising costs.

     85%.

     85% taken out and it is perfectly legal.

     Now, we all know that this is totally unacceptable and utterly indefensible for any honest, genuine company, but there is no law that caps commissions or “consultancy fees”. I can’t see any reason why Haddow would have changed a model that has worked for him in the past.

     I seriously urge you to make sure that you are absolutely certain that you know what is available to recover before you embark on this course of action. Attorneys love this kind of case because they can claim it has turned out to be much more difficult than they imagined and therefore they need to spread the net wider and their costs have increased.

     I’m being completely upfront here. I HATE attorneys. They are liars and will take your money without delivering any results in much the same way as Haddow. I’ve seen it with others, I’ve been there myself and I’m telling you they will just take your money. They are not so different to Haddow and when they look at themselves in the mirror they know it too. They know that the likelihood of a successful outcome was very low but they still entice you in.

     OK, that has to be it for me. I’m sure people are fed up reading my negative comments about how legal action is a complete waste of money. I’ve tried my hardest to lay the facts out for people and now it really is time to retire. I brought this to your attention at the start but too many people just don’t get it – there never was any money in Bar Works. That’s why the sites never opened. Too much was stolen at the start.

     I’ll continue to work with my group in a slightly less subtle way which we believe is more likely to yield results – we will be going after the key players in a much more direct route. it won’t cost so much and it will be a lot more satisfying.

     @combed, please let us know if in the past two weeks your attorneys have identified any cash or assets you can seize. i would have thought that would be the top thing on their agenda. You need to look offshore.

342. I have invested 30K on barworks please add me to the investor profile.

343. Dear All,

     There have been a few of us on here trying to be as open as we can to explain to investors the predicament you are in, give you the bigger picture of this Haddow character and the way these people and the industry works.

     It was mentioned by myself and others some time ago that you HAVE to be prepared to take this to the top, SEC, Serious Fraud etc etc. It’s very difficult to tell you or describe to you the reality of this situation or the people you are dealing with.

     If any of you do not believe what @Marksie has said about the commission or fee level of 85%, consider this. If you dealt through an agent at the start of this ‘opportunity’, the likelihood is that they received up to 35% as a commission! Recently this has decreased to just the 20%.
     Two questions –
     • why would they have decreased the commission level if things were going great?
     • work out 35% of the amount you invested and deduct it from your invested. These agents have made a fortune but will sit behind the phrase ‘we were only a marketing agent and received no money directly’ so whilst you can go after them for a refund based on bad advice etc, your chances are slim.

     They will argue that you requested details or replied to an ‘invite’ (their marketing email). If it was me personally and I knew the agent in person and had visited them or even knew where their ACTUAL office is, I would be at least visiting the office and demanding the commission amount they received back. For this to happen though you will need to know where they are based because as mentioned before, some may appear to be in for example the uk but are actually in other countries.

     Just to give you an example, if you were dealing with a real scheme or investment, the normal commission rate is between 2-5% maximum.

344. We had heard a lot in past 30 days, hats off to REDD & Real Deal for all their support. Its no more a hidden thing now, this is one of the main source of info for the groups forming against bar works.

     Its time to act now together strongly! Since REDD & Real Deal has expertise in disclosing such scam they might be knowing the better way forward & course of action than investors like us…

     I agree with marksie comments BarWorks might have left with very little with them as they might have spend on higher commission to agents, employee salary, promotional activities etc. But agents still has more than 20%??? which can be proved from their audit if we file a civil suit case against them…

     Both BarWorks & Greedy consultants are equally responsible in this scam and shall deserve a lot more than we can describe in words…

     So being from UAE, I urge all local investor who invested through agents in UAE and we can target all of them together.

     We all should log complaints at below now :

     UAE Complaint Links / Contacts :

     http://ejustice.gov.ae/portal/page/portal/eJustice%20MOJ%20Portal/services
     https://www.adjd.gov.ae/EN
     [email protected]
     [email protected]
     http://saiuae.gov.ae/en/Pages/Report-Fraud.aspx
     [email protected]
     https://www.dubaipolice.gov.ae/smartphoneservices/fightcrime/en/informcrime.html
     Gulf News : [email protected] / SMS 6361

     USA against BarWorks :

     https://www.google.ae/#q=new+york+state+attorney+general+office+complaints
     https://denebleo.sec.gov/TCRExternal/questionaire.xhtml

     Lets act , highlight & expose this together…or else BarWorks will born again…Agents cant move their infrastructure over the night, they have made this mistake and must pay for this…

     Lets get united and report it immediately…

     There is no communication, Franklin left after showing lot of confidence, RH is the man behind it, This link REDD Chris Lang / Real Deal will support us…

     Its now or never, lets hit it together, will share the email ID shortly so that local investor can act together…will get in touch with lawyer to take advise and act fast soon…

     We have not donated it, its been taken away through scam, we must stand for the money for which spend years…

345. @ UAE investor – I commend you for your drive, focus and passion to bring these criminals to justice.

     If you have the ability in the UAE to file and reclaim against the agents, then do so. Whatever you can recoup is better than nothing!

     Visit them in person, take a group of you if possible. Play them at their own game. Force the issue. Tell them you can’t get hold of anyone at BW so you hold them accountable. Try it. You might just get something. Not saying you definitely will but trying is bette than nothing.

     Even if you were directed to BW to ‘close the deal’, your initial agent will have received commissions.

     Keep going and keep that mindset. Don’t ever give up!

346. @UAE-Investor is quite right. Small local groups will be much more effective. This isn’t just about Bar Works Inc. I keep saying there are other avenues that give you the potential for a partial refund but you have to do some of the legwork yourself. It is no good saying we will fight them and let’s scatter our effort all over the place. Let’s get people from all over the globe who all invested different amounts in different things using different agents and let’s file lawsuits in different jurisdictions and see what happens..….

     I have a communication channel with some authorities that is not available to many. All I can say is that there is interest and activity relating to this case. I have been warning people that there is a risk of loss of monies paid in private actions attempting to secure the assets of Bar Works Inc and Renwick Haddow on the basis of a fraud having been committed. I tried not to give too much away but maybe my hints have not been clear enough. The interest may well lead to a positive outcome for investors in a number of sites without them having to pay anything. More on that in private, but it won’t be quick unfortunately.

     However, in my opinion, investors in the next three sites do not need to join with investors in any other sites and they do not need an attorney to begin law suits in multiple jurisdictions. These sites are:

     1. Brooklyn (sometimes described as Metropolitan or Williamsburg) at 242 Metropolitan Avenue;
     2. Chelsea (sometimes described as 8th Avenue) at 8th Avenue & West Street;
     3. 95 Chambers Street.

     Unfortunately we are forced to reveal our hand early due to recent events and before all checks are complete, but we are sure of our facts thus far and believe that Bar Works Inc would not be able to refute a letter from an investor in these sites requesting a full and immediate refund of their money (please note that we recommend you ask for the money you paid less the “partial refunds” you have received. Bar Works describes them as rental payments but you will describe them as partial refunds). You need to be seen to be fair.

     Investors in Brooklyn and Chelsea paid their money direct to Bar Works Inc account at JP Morgan Chase Bank. Investors in 95 Chambers Street paid their money into an account which was then transferred to Bar Works Inc. Therefore, all money ended up in the account of Bar Works Inc and not the accounts of the companies that investors contracted with, so it is Bar Works Inc that you have to claim your refunds from.

     The reason these three sites are special is because investors in these sites do not have a legal contract. It is as simple as that. They signed contracts and sent their money, but they signed contracts with companies that we believe do not exist.
     It is not possible for anyone to have a legal contract with a company that does not exist and which has also been signed by a person who does not exist. That’s the law. You don’t have to prove the companies exist. They do.

     1. Brooklyn – contract signed with Bar Works Metropolitan LLC. We believe this company does not exist. Bar Works Metropolitan Inc does exist, but it is a separate legal entity. An ‘Inc’ is a separate company to a ‘LLC’. I told you he makes mistakes.
     2. Chelsea – contract signed with Bar Works 8th Avenue LLC. We believe this company does not exist. Bar Works Eighth Avenue Inc exists, but that is not the company in the contract, same reason as Brooklyn.
     3. 95 Chambers Street – contract signed with Bar Works Chambers LLC. We believe this company does not exist. Open Corporates shows Barworks Chambers St, Inc exists, but it doesn’t show up on a search on the Delaware website ??! Bit strange. In any case, we have been unable to find Bar Works Chambers LLC on searches in Open Corporates, New York, Delaware, Miami, San Francisco and Nevada where the other BW companies have been incorporated.

     We suggest that investors write to Bar Works Inc to demand their refund for the reason that neither the company nor the signatory exists and the contract is therefore null and void according to law. As the money was deposited with Bar Works Inc you would like it returned. If it is not returned within 7 days you will appoint a debt collector to seize assets on your behalf. Bar Works will have to prove that the companies actually exist and if they do, then fine. At least you know.

     Look, we don’t propose that you all appoint separate debt collectors and then have a sprint for the line with the first person who gets there grabbing whatever assets he can before anyone else. The reality is that if someone wants to own 200 desks go ahead, but it would be much better to join as one group, appoint one debt collection specialist and go for the bank accounts and any properties. This is going to be much cheaper than an attorney who is trying to prove fraud which is notoriously difficult to prove. We have some investors in the US who could lead the debt collection group.

     Investors in other sites do not have to worry that these guys have a quicker and stronger case. They might find that there aren’t any assets available. In fact I’m not expecting them to find very much at all, but they won’t have to spend a lot to find out.

     There are other avenues available which do not cost very much and should also yield results, but one huge group that tries to make a claim together when there are so many different permutations is going to really struggle and is going to end up paying a lot more than they thought. They need their attorney to focus on one or two key areas that can yield results.

     For the past few weeks we have been calling in favours from the US. This includes an organisation that has an in-house legal team and they have a longstanding interest in Renwick Haddow. The last message I got from them was that they are looking into this. They are very good at investigations too. I’ve sold it to them on the grounds that the PR from exposing this would be good for their organisation. I’m not sure if they will be prepared to see this through or if they will have to decline, but if they do help it will be free. I like free. I’m waiting for their decision.

347. @ marksie
     I personally have the same negative feeling.
     As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t have started a Class Action Lawsuit VS Bar Works alone. But I already spoke with some other investors and, as I said, numbers matter: the SHARED costs are much more affordable and they would justify even the recovery of a partial amount
     On the other side lawyers, that also pay part of the costs for a lawsuit, are motivated to succeed otherwise they don’t get anything in return for their efforts.
     So, as I said, I don’t want to share further details, whoever is interested can send me an email to the address i already mentioned.
     L

348. @ gogsuk how do we get in touch with you, i am an investor and put all the hard earned money

349. For our second line of attack we need an investor who lives close to London and has invested in any of the following sites:

     1. Tribeca – 70 White Street;
     2. Wynwood, Arts District, Miami;
     3. 95 Chambers Street;

     You need to be willing to act as a co-ordinator for investors who invested in those three sites. We just don’t have the time to deal with all the enquiries from investors and need to break people down into smaller groups.
     Any investors in the above three sites have an angle of attack which other sites do not have. We will hand on the details of the investors who have already contacted us about those sites and this group will take things forward.

     For our third line of attack we need a co-ordinator based in the UK who invested through a UK agent. This group will deal with all investors who used a UK agent in their purchase process. They will have a different approach to refunds.

     Some people may fall into more than one category and that is good for them. The more categories you fall into the greater the chance of recovering some money.

     People willing to act as co-ordinators should contact me on [email protected] so we can get things moving.

350. So far complaints have been made to SEC, General Attorney, FBI (USA) and locally everyone is on the web to log it online…

     Many bloggers in above chain doing a fab. job…

     Marksie :

     Appreciate your support… we are expecting some quick remedial action against Barworks, Counting on you accelerate it…

     Chris Lang :

     I have no words to appreciate what you have done exposing this, and now there are many who are following http://redd-monitor.org/ for all other news…

     You are good in your job and you have the circle who can help all of us, you know the bottom line…

     There is no communications from Barworks, payments are stopped, their sites are closing one after another…

     Whole world is reading your blogs , any authority in any country will only take action when they realize the panic situation…and this can only be done by “Spreading this in Media”…

     My experience is that neither local authorities (UAE) nor USA authorities looking into it very seriously , it has to be highlighted now before its too late…

     discussing on private whatsup group wont work, every group is thinking they are ahead of others and can get something if they try first & by filing a law suit against BW with private attorney…(God bless them they have still money to cont. fight – best of luck )

     But is there anyone thinking about those, who left with nothing ? who cant manage to fund this long battle with money eater lawyers ? Who are trying every possible way to complaint & get some positive feedback ?

     Again i would request UAE local investor (and all other globally) , go together and file a complaint…

     Wish you all best of luck…

     Regards
     UAE Investor

351. @gogsuk @marksie @scotty

     Can we do a mass twitter and Facebook review and shame them this can potentially attract news channels and may be that will put some pressure on SEC

352. @SBS – You could definitely get something trending on Twitter as there will be hundreds more investors who are not aware of this forum but you may have 2 issues.
     1. People using their own identity.
     2. You are up against Mr.Trump who seems to be Mr. Twitter at present!

     Anyone know mainstream news reporter/tv journalists?

     Really depends how you want to approach it SBS. I would listen to what Marksie has to say as he appears to have good knowledge, advice and experience of not only Haddow but his links and the way he operates.

353. Saumya and all from UAE, Can you please email me your mob. no. and copy of agreement to be added as verified investor on [email protected]

     There is no restriction, anyone who invested can email (we will use them as ref. to put more pressure)

     Once we have a good head count, 10-15, we will go and complaint together, Any authority will listen us when will visit them personally…this is to target all the UAE agents

     @Chris Lang@gogsuk @marksie @scotty@SBS

     This is not illegal, our contract have been breached by Barworks – We have right to do anything to defame / expose everyone who belongs to BarWorks…So please go ahead and expose them…

354. @scotty @chris @stephanie

     I can’t believe this is happening. I Invested 25K 3 weeks ago. Once the money been transferred, I never heard back form them, they don’t answer phones / emails, nothing.
     The property I invested in is in Soho NYC.
     I’m baffled and don’t know what to do.

     Are you guys getting together to peruse legal action? I want to join. I live in NYC.

     [email protected]

355. @UAE investor

     I am in US is it ok if I send the US contact

356. @Scotty, @marksie @UAE

     I have contacted NPR CNN and am posting this link everywhere on twitter and on barworks Facebook page

     I would appreciate if every investor can do this and retweet them

     Does anyone has contacts with journalists or media so we can tap into?

357. @UAE-Investor – Just to state the obvious, you don’t have the right to say absolutely anything. Defamation is still defamation, even if the person you are talking about conned you out of your money.

358. Anybody invested through square yards ?

359. @ UAE Investor – my fear is that the agents will not simply roll over and allow you to tickle their bellies, in UAE or anywhere as they will plead innocence to knowing anything about the set up of Barworks, who is behind it and how everything was tied together. No doubt they have had about 2 years worth of your rentals from your money paid to them a week or so after you sent your money but I doubt many if any will turn around, as they should, to normal human beings, and say ‘we are so sorry, of course we will give you back what we were paid’.

     The reason for this is simple. If the agent has for example several ‘phone monkeys’ who are making the calls to the investors who ‘enquired’, and ‘closed’ those clients, then they will have been paid out too from the circa 30% commission. And who knows where they are now or if they will agree to pay you back (I very much doubt it as these phone monkeys have their own bills to pay and will have drunk or snorted the rest of their commission).

     So imagine, you invested $100,000, a week later the ‘agent’ gets $30,000 and a week or two after that, the broker (monkey) gets paid $5,000 by the agent. Barworks put $15,000 on one side to cover your ‘returns’ for a year and Haddow pockets the rest ($55,000) to do with, what he likes. Maybe pay some staff, costs, other investors who are into their second year of returns, marketing etc etc.

     So trying to get anything ‘liquid’ from them will be hard, unless of course your agent or broker has just bought a new Bentley and is willing to trade that in return for you not taking action of whatever kind.

     Can you see how difficult it is to get your hands back on your hard earned money?

     BUT, there is nothing wrong in trying anything frankly.

     Simple rule of thumb which I guarantee not one ‘broker’ asked any of the investors on this forum is this:
     Only invest what you would not miss if everything goes wrong and NEVER EVER invest your entire liquid funds into one project even if you are running/building it yourself!

     Unfortunately in this food chain, the investors are taken advantage of by the brokers, the brokers are taken advantage of by the agents, the agents are taken advantage of by Barworks and every single person or entity is taken advantage of by a man who has assumed a different identity when signing your contracts.

     As Chris rightly mentions, defamation is defamation but in my opinion and for what it’s worth, I would (asap) be following and investigating the agent, find out where they live, what car they drive, where they eat out, get to know other clients of theirs and then approach them in person, request a meeting with the owner with your portfolio of information about them and the fraudulent contracts, non payment of returns etc, lay it out on the boardroom desk (next to your pistol) explain everything, ask to see their contract with Barworks (which will state their commission level) and tell him/her that they 48 hours to cash you in or you will be going to the authorities who will at the very least close them down or lock them up and if they don’t, you will be back with a larger weapon!

     I hate to say it to all of you but you need to get tough. There are two sayings that spring to mind ‘fight fire with Fire’ and ‘the best form of defense is attack’. Some Agents hate being threatened or their precious name being tarnished so attack their weaknesses.

     This post is not meant to be negative but hopefully it might have given you more insight and you can work out what the best action is for you.

360. @judy

     I am in New Jersey and in the same position

361. All investors should state on here the agent they dealt through, even if you then spoke to someone at barworks.

362. @Scotty – Just to state the obvious, once again, under some jurisdictions pointing a gun at someone, whether loaded or not, counts as criminal assault. “An assault is typically defined as intentional conduct that is meant to place another person in reasonable apprehension or fear of harmful contact.” So don’t put your piston on the boardroom desk, and don’t threaten to come back with a larger weapon.

363. @SBS there are many who invested through square yards, i am also one of them… they will get the real taste of high commission soon…send me ur cont. No. On ID left above with ur contract…

364. Apologies, I forgot to add ‘metaphorically speaking’ of course, whether taking a piston or pistol or larger weapon

365. @Scotty – Thanks for this. Piston… I was waiting for Trump’s announcement about leaving the Paris Agreement, so maybe I wasn’t fully concentrating!)

366. @UAE investor: I am from US is that ok ? I am not from UAE

367. @Judy, very sorry to hear that you invested in Bar Works only 3 weeks ago. Franklin Kinard wrote recently that one of his challenges when he took the position was to address Bar Works’ compliance issues. We assume that this was because Bar Works should only have sold this investment to ‘accredited investors’. Did you sign an accredited investor form prior to investing ? If not, then you should have. This would mean two things – one is that you have a case against them for mis-selling if you did not sign. The second is that Kinard was lying and they continued with business as usual, selling this investment to non-accredited investors.

     @Judy, please can you send a copy of the Lower Soho brochure to [email protected]
     I am very concerned that the address of the Lower Soho site is 70 White Street. This site was previously marketed and sold to a lot of investors more than a year ago as ‘Bar Works Tribeca’.

368. Interesting that there are now some US investors on here.

     I was under the impression that the US clients would not be able to participate due to your laws reinfirced by the SEC regarding fixed return/securities etc which is why agents normally avoid promoting to US citizens

     Have you reported this to the SEC?

369. @ Chris – you poor chap. Haddow on here and Trump on the other forum!!!

370. @marksie I am in Nj but invested in SFO I can send the brochures too

371. Hello All, I am an investor from Singapore through Square Yards,,Anyone here for help please…I invested at 95 Chambers St

372. I have complained to SEC and NY DA I am not sure if it means anything at this point.

373. I don’t know what to do now. Just hope barworks will resume their monthly payment in June. I think their business activity is on going, barworks is just startup company.

     So I think what I can do is to just wait and patience, nothing I can do. I think and rethink again that no point by going the legal route, too expensive and complicated.

     @marksie is correct, he commented:

     – If I go after some of these companies can they transfer cash or assets to another company as payment for services rendered ? Then I would be into having to start again to go after that other company. Am I in the financial position to do that ?

     – Would I be able to get the money back ? How much would that cost me in legal fees ? Is that an easy process ?

     – This could turn out to be a very long and expensive process only to find out there is nothing there at the end of it. Do I have the desire and the funds to keep the battle alive ?

     I am so depressed in my life now, that money I invested is my hard earned and blood money, I need to save money for 5 years to have $25,000 amount.

     I am so regret invest in bar works. Hope that bar works will resume the payment or refund my money. I am okay if the money refunded to me not 100%.

374. @SBS, the more people who make a complaint to the SEC the better. None of us will know if there is an investigation because they make a point of never telling anyone.
     I have all the brochures and contracts except Lower Soho so thank you for the offer.
     It’s shameful that Bar Works has still been taking money from new investors whilst not being able to make rental payments to existing investors. This has all the signs of one last greedy push to steal as much money as possible and run off with it.
     @SBS, as you are close to NYC can you check out an address for us ? Make contact on [email protected] if you are up for it.

375. @Marksie – Completely agree.
     Shameful, disgraceful, a sure sign of ‘Robbing Peter to pay Paul’ (although not even paying Paul!) but completely expected.

376. Shocking News – Square Yards is more than an agent – a partner with Barworks

     http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/square-yards-partners-us-based-barworks-inc-investus-property/articleshow/53722644.cms

     To Complaint Against UAE Real Estate Consultants:

     Call 800 555 (consumer protection)
     Dubai Police : 800-4-353
     http://ejustice.gov.ae/portal/page/portal/eJustice%20MOJ%20Portal/services
     http://www.consumerrights.ae/en/Pages/default.aspx
     http://saiuae.gov.ae/en/Pages/Report-Fraud.aspx
     https://www.adjd.gov.ae/EN
     [email protected] ( Consumer Protection )
     [email protected] ( Consumer Protection )
     http://saiuae.gov.ae/en/Pages/Report-Fraud.aspx
     [email protected]
     https://www.dubaipolice.gov.ae/smartphoneservices/fightcrime/en/informcrime.html
     Gulf News : [email protected] / SMS 6361

     To Complaint Against BarWorks Inc USA :

     https://www.google.ae/#q=new+york+state+attorney+general+office+complaints

     Attorney General NYC USA
     https://forms.ag.ny.gov/CIS/consumer-complaints.jsp

     Security Exchange Commission – USA
     https://denebleo.sec.gov/TCRExternal/questionaire.xhtml

     FBI White Collar Crime
     https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/white-collar-crime

     India URL link for those who invested through Indian agent :
     https://india.gov.in/official-website-serious-fraud-investigation-office

     Disclaimer :
     Above links have been shared to complaint, Spread awareness and help respective authorities in order to initiate investigation to protect investors rights, as there is no communication from Barworks & Agents, investors returns have been stopped for the past two months…

377. I would suggest you read ‘partner’ as master agent for that part of the world maybe but UPI were the overall master agent initially. When they say partner, they only mean agent but it sounds more professional.

378. Bar works still seem to be advertising on their Facebook page
     https://blog.getcroissant.com/blog/bar-works-los-angeles-brad-fiorillo

     Anybody received the June payment ?

379. Good spot @SBS. So….. according to Kinard’s resignation letter the Sales Director is going to take over. Now we know who he is – it’s Brad Fiorilla.
     Even better news is that he is “a Luminary”.
     I wasn’t really sure what ‘a Luminary’ actually is so I looked it up in the dictionary. It is:
     1. – a celestial body, as the sun or moon.
     2. – a body, object, etc., that gives light.
     3. – a person who has attained eminence in his or her field or is an inspiration to others.

     I assume that the author of the article must think Brad is number 3. Perhaps this luminary could ‘inspire’ his staff to answer the phones and respond to emails.

     He says “my focus has always been to connect people to information and culture”. Except when it comes to investors. He is such an inspiration to others that he has taken over at Bar Works and hasn’t bothered to tell any of them.

380. @marksie lol , I have used your comment on the Facebook page.

     Any investor from LA who could go to LA and can as question them on connecting with investors too

381. Couldn’t let ‘the Luminary’ get away with all that propaganda without adding a little comment of my own https://blog.getcroissant.com/blog/bar-works-los-angeles-brad-fiorillo.
     I used a fake name. See if you can spot which one I used.
     It will probably be taken off by the morning but hopefully a few people will have seen it.

382. Main Entry: luminary
     Part of Speech: noun
     Definition: very important person
     Synonyms: VIP, big name, celeb, celebrity, dignitary, eminence, leader, lion*, name, notability, notable, personage, personality, somebody, star, superstar, worthy

     High praise indeed!

     Let’s hope Brad is THIS good and not just Sales Director of Coffee & other Wet Sales!

383. @marksie, @SBS, @Scotty – Sorry to disappoint you, but “The Luminary” appears at the top of all the posts on blog.getcroissant.com – it’s a funny name for a blog, isn’t it?

     

     Croissant, Inc is a Delaware registered company that set up an app for finding co-working spaces in several cities in the US. The getcroissant.com address was registered anonymously, in May 2015.

     By the way, Brad Fiorillo also featured on Liquidspace’s blog, on 11 April 2017.

     Liquidspace, Inc was registered in Delaware in November 2010. Website registered in February 2011 – not anonymously.

384. The lady didn’t like my comment that people should read the TRD article and this blog.

385. Ahhhh

     ????????????

386. Hello everybody,
     Any idea if this Brad Fiorillo is a real person? I could not find any information about him on LinkedIn and just found a not so convincing profile on Facebook.
     On the other hand, checking old emails that I received from Bar Works I found someone called Howard Green who had contacted me in 2016 using the title Sales Director.
     (I was not able to find any information on the social networks about him either)

387. Square Yards – catching REDD bloggers to identify the investors discussing on this blog.——–

     “Dear Investor,
     We received your email id from redd-monitor.com I understand that you have invested in Barworks through us. We have also become aware of the Barworks situation for a few weeks now and have been monitoring the various online forums to gather useful information for our investors. We are also quite worried and are talking to various law firms in US to find the way forward to safeguard the interest of our investors.
     I would request you to identify yourself or contact to you sales representative so that we can apprise you of our approach against Barworks. In the meantime, please keep us updated if you receive any communication from Barworks.
     Thanks and regards,
     Sri Lasya Gade
     Manager – Financial Analysis
     Squareyards”

     My Reply :———————-

     “Hi Sri;

     Its not only me, there are 1000s like me, and square yards knew it, as you represent more than 10 countries now. In place of responding me you should have responded back to your clients on their official email ID, as they need this reply, that may help you. yes i am one of them.

     Let me tell you this that people are grouping in hundreds and Square Yards investors volume is huge. And they are doing this because Square Yards did not responded back to them…

     Media, Mass reporting are under discussion, This will realize you that your management should have handled investors concerns in a better way.

     May i know why you have not replied back to your clients ?
     What is your contract with BarWorks? We have it from few other agents, need to see yours ?
     Have you done proper diligence ?
     Did Jonathan black exist ?
     Have you protected your investors investments through some insurance, there are many available in the market. How you are going to help them. will you refund them commission received from Barworks , as investment advised to investor seems to be Ponzi in nature ?

     I would look forward to hear from you on above

     Regards”

     Square Yards Reply——————–

     “Dear Investor,

     We understand your concern. We have always tried our best to respond our clients. We are happy to discuss the details with you if you share your identity with us.

     Thanks and regards,
     Sri Lasya Gade
     Manager – Financial Analysis
     Squareyards”

     1. The point is why they are not responding back their investor ?
     2. Why & what they want to discuss with a blogger ?
     3. They might give greed to some of investors, to disclose detail of bloggers, so please stay away from them….so StandUnitedAgainstDScam

     I am in touch with UAE investor who has left gmail ID to get united, Please join us ASAP, So far i have made complaint against BarWorks & Agent :-

     Call 800 555 (consumer protection)
     Dubai Police : 800-4-353
     http://ejustice.gov.ae/portal/page/portal/eJustice%20MOJ%20Portal/services
     http://www.consumerrights.ae/en/Pages/default.aspx
     http://saiuae.gov.ae/en/Pages/Report-Fraud.aspx
     https://www.adjd.gov.ae/EN
     [email protected] ( Consumer Protection )
     [email protected] ( Consumer Protection )
     http://saiuae.gov.ae/en/Pages/Report-Fraud.aspx
     [email protected]
     https://www.dubaipolice.gov.ae/smartphoneservices/fightcrime/en/informcrime.html
     Gulf News : [email protected] / SMS 6361

     Attorney General NYC USA
     https://forms.ag.ny.gov/CIS/consumer-complaints.jsp

     Security Exchange Commission – USA
     https://denebleo.sec.gov/TCRExternal/questionaire.xhtml

     FBI White Collar Crime
     https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/white-collar-crime

     India URL link for those who invested through Indian agent :
     https://india.gov.in/official-website-serious-fraud-investigation-office

     I know Square Yards wont revert anything, they did not revert any of the email i have marked them, but some of their employee disclosed some confidential detail with in past two weeks , which will be shared only with varified investors…

     So please StandUnitedAgainstDScam

     @Marksie@Gogsuk@Chris Lang – What you think ? Square Yard will stand for their investor or its just to calm down the bubbling anger of investor against them ? I would appreciate If you can investigate and share more info regarding SY also like you did for BarWorks…

388. @StandUnitedAgainstDScam what is your email address?

389. They have removed the post from Facebook now

390. Today I recieve a new letter from an agent “best oversea property investment”, which promote a new property, its model is same as bar works……I doubt that the founders are the same people and it is another scam as well….the new company name is “WorkSpace Commerce Limited”…….I can’t copy or attach the brochure here…. you can learn more details through the following website: http://bestoverseaspropertyinvestments.com/list/UK_Buy_to_Let/773-New_Co-Working_office_space_investment_in_London_Provides_up_to_16%25_annual_returns%2A_Immediate_returns_Entry_level_investment_20%2C000_GBP_.html

391. @Stephanie
     [email protected]

392. @George, looks like Brad Fiorillo used to be a Gym Manager. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/sweet-famed-baker-opens-shop-b-klyn-article-1.952541 That fits.
     Haddow fancies himself as a bit of a boxer and tried to set up a gym. You can watch him prancing around the ring on youtube with Zoia cheering him on from the sidelines.

     Haddow is also listed in official documents as the owner/manager of the new gym company that is supposed to be at 95 Chambers Street.

     Brad must have been a bit of a boxer himself because only someone who has been punched in the head a lot of times would agree to cover for Haddow now. That’s assuming that Brad is the new MD of Bar Works because he hasn’t actually confirmed it himself.

     I think you are right @George. Howard Green would have been a false name.

     I’m wondering if Brad will choose a new name for himself – Bart Flamenco or Bryn Flotilla perhaps

393. @marksie, you commented “You can watch him prancing around the ring on youtube with Zoia cheering him on from the sidelines.”

     What is the youtube link? I can’t find it.

     I know one guy who had talked with him, the guy was told by Nancy Rodriguez that Brad is new MD, but when the guy met Brad, Brad told he is just a location manager and only work at the ground level.

394. Surely Brett Gorilla is simply just a ‘Sales Manager’ looking after La La Land (appropriate nickname) and it’s memberships etc???

395. @Stephanie – here it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNxeq_l-0Ug

396. Shame it wasn’t George Foreman in there with him

397. Guys everyone who invested in BW through UAE agents or Direct can join me tomorrow approx.10 am, I am going to log an official report in Abu Dhabi Police HQ, this time visiting personally.

     Send me your contacts no. to meet & go together on [email protected] , i have a few joining me so far…

     I was waiting for a reply from my agent as they promised they will support…and today they said “best of luck”…which means i can do anything in my limits…

     I was begging in front of them for the past 20 days…but they are heartless, they have misleaded investor & advocated BarWorks just for high commission…in My case its Square Yards, the biggest fund provider to BW…their pending commission is INR 12 Cr. ($2.3M, Just imagine they might have got millions in so far ), and this is only 20%…and real values might be very high…

     Real deal Konrad calls CEO, and and he says they are not promoting it since Jan2017…he lied him , they sold me Istanbul in March2017…

     So Dear Tanuj, We are discussing here how to protect our money & spreading awareness and its not that wrong what you have done with us, so stop your employee contacting each and every member of the this blog and giving them greed to disclose their identity…

     Wish me luck…

398. GOOD LUCK TO ALL ????

     If their commission you mention is ‘pending’ and they are yet to receive the full amount, they might get burnt too by BW. Typical MO.

     Just think, if that is the case they might join you one day too taking action!

399. @Scotty
     That was the feedback from Square Yards GCC VP – it may or may not be true.
     And yes they may be on the same page with such a huge pending commission and this is what Tanuj – CEO of Square Yards share with me (but just imagine the real numbers BW might have got from SY)

     The only thing i was expecting from him that he StandUnitedAgainstDScam…But there was no formal communication on any of the email i requested him…

400. I should think there’s about $10-$15 MILLION worth of agents commission (investors money) kicking about globally

401. @Scotty@Chris@Gogsuk@Marksie@SBS

     There is a proposal from Tanuj CEO – Square Yards to join the fight against the barworks …,and he wanted to StandUnitedAgainstDScam , he is evaluating law suit options in USA against Barworks…

     Just imagine if he joins the hands with us, Barworks will be in deep trouble as he can fight the battle till end…

     Guys i am not taking side of Square Yards – Please dont consider me wrong…Crime is a crime whether its done with intentions or without, So i consider agents equally guilty…

     But just in case he is equally burnt like us, Square Yards can help all of us…and for them also it will be good as they can improve their spoiled image in market…

     If you advise, i can talk to them one last time tomorrow before stepping into Abu Dhabi Police HQ…

     This is sensitive time, so far i have only complaint against Barworks, this is the first time i am marking Square Yards officially…and after this there is no come back…

     And if all agreed, we will add him to the group against Barworks – he will be leading the law suit…

     Your advise shall be highly appreciated…

402. @StandUnited, good luck with your meeting this week – I wish you every success.
     I understand your concern about Square Yards. I have some concerns about them too.
     I came across SY at the end of February when I saw the same article as another person on this blog http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/square-yards-partners-us-based-barworks-inc-investus-property/articleshow/53722644.cms

     SY have just finished a major fundraising to take their brand into new markets. If I were the investment company that has just backed them with a lot of money I would be concerned at their level of due diligence and their poor communication with investors.

     Another investor has stated that SY claim to be owed $2.3m by Bar Works. I don’t know if that will turn out to be true or not. It surprises me that an agent would allow such a huge sum to go uncollected. Companies like Bar Works need agents. They are their lifeblood and they normally pay up very quickly to keep the agent on their side. Happy agents mean more sales. I cannot see Bar Works delaying payments to their best agent company. That would not make any sense. I think either the SY man in Dubai is not telling the truth or Bar Works is in a far worse financial situation than we even thought possible. Bar Works should be swimming in cash. It hasn’t had to buy any properties and it has been bringing in millions of dollars each month from workspace sales. Instead we are told that agents are owed millions and rental payments have stopped. The only way that could possibly happen is if people are taking out large sums of cash whenever an investor pays over their money.

     You are absolutely right that SY have not handled this in a good way. They have not communicated with their investors at all. I think that if they are talking with lawyers in the US it may not be on behalf of investors. It could be to get their commission and to protect themselves. They could, and should, have written to all investors when the rental payments stopped.

     I am pleased that SY is following this blog because there are lessons they can learn.

     Do I think that SY is part of the scam ? No – I don’t. I could be wrong but I think that they are a relatively new company and have been too focused on the commission levels and what they can earn instead of doing more thorough due diligence on the companies that want to partner with them.

     When I read that article I thought it was a coincidence that it was announced that TWO US-based companies had partnered with Square Yards. I don’t like coincidences. I took a look at the other company – InvestUS Property based in Chicago. I found a website claiming it was a scam (website now gone – it was called http://www.jamesjervis.info). There was another coincidence – James Jervis was British and was the director of InvestUS Property. A check on his background revealed that he had registered companies in the UK at the same address as Haddow’s old company, Capital Alternatives. I just had a nagging feeling that Jervis and Haddow, who were both British, now in the US, and just happened to do a deal with Square Yards at the same time, must have known each other.

     I contacted someone in the US and we had a look at Jervis but couldn’t find a connection to Haddow. By then the Bar Works blog was hotting up so we moved on.

     It appears to me that Square Yards has more than one rogue company it is having to deal with. Investors in InvestUS Property may also be in a very bad position. I think SY needs to look at that too.

     Chris, you might like to take a look at James Jervis in a separate blog. He was doing something with carbon credits and was based in Spain (that is never a good sign – Spain is always a red flag to me). See https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/usxiDGqa2yfVX2vfI803HR9cKjk/appointments

     I understand why companies may not want to respond on a blog. It is a bit like washing their dirty linen in public. If SY would like a confidential chat about the actions they are taking in the US they can contact me on [email protected]. I will not make the information public and I will not reveal the names of any of the SY investors who are in the group, but I may be able to reassure investors that the actions that are being considered by SY are for the benefit of investors themselves and not to try to recover $2.3m in unpaid commissions.

403. My last post was written before the post by @S, @Scotty and @StandUnited appeared so I didn’t have a chance to see them. In my opinion @StandUnited you should hear what Square Yards has to say before you report them. A few days delay will not make any difference.

     I stand by my comments though i.e that they were too focused on commissions and not on due diligence, and that their interests might not be on investors but on recovering their own commission. Let’s hear what they have to say before anyone makes an important decision.

     Personally, I am not here to target genuinely innocent parties. I am here to recover what I can for investors and to see Haddow and his accomplices brought to justice.

404. @Standagainst: at this point I am not sure I trust square yards if they had known about barworks for past 3-6 weeks what have they not responded anything to their investors? How would we know that they are working in the interest of investors and more importantly how do we know that they would not ask $$ amount from investors to purse legally.

405. I might be completely wrong but I tend to agree with Marksie. I don’t think they knew the ins and outs of the scheme and I find it odd that SY built up that much of an outstanding commission as these types of schemes tend to pay out quickly which is one of the ‘perks’ for the agent together with the amount % wise. Two obvious red flags to most of us (quick payout and anything above 5% commission) but if an agent is ploughing in $10-30,000 a month to get leads, pay wages, phones, rent, commissions etc they need the quick payout to keep them rolling. BUT, I do think they maybe looked at it with greed and naivety rather than extensive DD. They can’t have ‘got into bed’ with two US companies who are connected surely?

     The US seems to be high on the agenda for several companies by the looks of it. $USD, no tax or currency risk from Middle East especially I guess makes it attractive but just so risky in my opinion. And that’s without taking into account The Trump Factor!

     One of the other agents mentioned a few times on here were behind with commissions too but not to the extent mentioned by SY.

     My best guess re. SY – this was for about 3 months commission and they were blagged off by BW/JB/RH that commissions were ‘on their way, but keep doing the business and we’ll increase your %’ or that they did do a huge amount of business and BW just couldn’t resist saying ‘Thanks very much and ran’.

     My opinion on him joining you – it’s not usual for an agent to be this loyal to their investors but he might have hundreds of clients involved so if he is choosing to do the right thing and stand together with you, then why not but be careful he is not only in it to get his outstanding commissions and IS fighting this WITH you.
     One question I would ask him is this – for his agency contract and commission agreement, did he deal with Renwick Haddow or Jonathan Black and see what he says??? Be interesting to know who so let us know on here.

     Or if they are watching, maybe they could add comment and really show they are on the investors side…

     Carbon credits, US deals, Spain……we’ve been here before me thinks. It’s like a cycle; it just goes round and round and round and….. (you get the gist).

     Good luck with the meeting. I have a good feeling about it for all of you……well the investors on here that is! ????????

406. @Scotty@Marksie@SBS

     Thanks for your remark…

     @Marksie, You can get in touch with Tanuj (CEO-SY) and i appreciate if we can have a con-call.

     This is a global crime, If agents are used as a weapon to kill clients by BarWorks, I urge all the agents should StandUnitedAgainstDScam…

     @Scotty, The reason why agents are hesitating, because they might have NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) with Barworks…

     If So, All the agents globally there is NO NDA applicable any more, investors agreement is breached and so yours…

     Square Yards is the one who came with this proposal not others, i would request all to StandUnitedAgainstDScam

     UAE has more than 5 agents participated in this investment deal…

     I know you all agents globally reading this blog, please dont standby BarWorks anymore, This global investment crime might end up going in international court of justice, and than there will no place to hid for any agent…

     All agents must contact either [email protected] or [email protected] to form a global group so that we all can StandUnitedAgainstDScam

     What is expected from agents :
     —————————————–

     – This exercise can bring back the spoiled image of all advisory firms who participated in this scam for high commission.
     – Putting Brad back on driving seat, Barworks may run the machine for sometime, but we all know the the bottom line going to be…So investors should use this opportunity to protect investors money.
     – I understand paying back 100% our of 20% wont be possible, So agent must use this opportunity to go for the “Investor Indemnity Insurance” to pay back to clients in case of any uncertainty.
     – You should forget about ur commission and try to support investors who trusted you.
     – For agents BarWorks is one of the their clients, for investors its their life saving.
     – Agents must disclose their agreement with BarWorks among investors, and compensate investors by returning back it to investors in the proportion of their investment if this turned out to be a scam end of the day.
     – All agents must come on common platform and file a lawsuit against the BarWorks.

     If agents refuse to do this, it means they are supporting BarWorks which means they also support Ponzi scheme, this is final opportunity for all the investor, to bring back the peace in everyone life.

     Being silent against the crime is also crime, So if just for your commission you are feel no one will come and knock your doors…you are doing a big mistake…

     again I would urge all the agents to united to deal with this managed investment crime conducted by BarWorks…

     @Chris@Konrad@Marksie

     I am sorry, you have a bigger responsibility now, You all will be in good books in history when it comes to supporting investors…

     I see REDD Monitor can be a good investment deal :)

     May God Bless All Of Us…
     #StandUnitedAgainstDScam

407. To all investors of BW who have invested through SY

     This is an official communication from SY to everyone on this blog to present our position.

     We are aware of the concern and pain of our clients and trying and ready to try everything within our capacity to help them recover their hard earned monies. We have been communicating directly with each one of our clients who have approached us and this communication is going all the way up from the CEO personally and directly. We are standing with our clients and not shying away at all. There will not be a single client of ours who have approached us in this regards and have not been apprised in a direct and transparent way. However we have not reached out to any client who has invested in BW but haven’t approached us yet, since we DO NOT have a concrete way forward to offer to them. We are evaluating all possible options at our disposal and will communicate and consolidate all our investors as soon as we have something concrete.

     While here we would like to clarify a few points:

     1. We were first approached by BW in early 2016, but we did not agree to market their product at that point in time since, they did not have any operational site and the whole thing seemed more at an ideation stage and hence we felt it was a risky proposition to offer our clients.
     2. However we were approached again towards late 2016 through a master agent we have been working with him in the past for “high yield” investment products. By this time, they had few sites operational and were claiming to be expanding fast to create a viable and valuable business like Weworks. We conducted diligence and found that the sites were operational and they were expanding fast and the Weworks model seemed to be attracting serious interest and valuations. Hence we decided to onboard the product and started marketing. In hindsight though we understand we should have done better diligence.
     3. We also started getting worried about the investors when the payouts were delayed and tried communicating with the team at BW. Having not received any communication from them, we started looking for alternative solutions and ways to take care of our investors interest.
     4. We are working on multiple strategies and I hope the group would understand the we cannot disclose those in public forum.
     5. We have been communicating with all our investors and will continue to do so. Any of our clients can get in touch with their sales person or write to us directly at [email protected]
     6. We are committed to our clients and will fight this battle. To clarify, we are not in the fight for only our brokerages, rather the main aim is to help our clients recover their investments.

     We have been monitoring this group for sometime now and it has helped us immensely to focus our strategies against BW. We have not been responding on the group as it is difficult to know who all are reading it. However we felt it was important to clarify our position more importantly for the sake of our clients. We owe it to them.

     This is going to be our only official communication on the group and we will not be posting anymore here. But we will continue to monitor this forum to get further help and directions.

     @marksie we are really grateful to you for your contribution on the group which has given us some clear directions. We will connect with you on the published email id.

     We know we have erred but we would reiterate, our commitment is towards our clients and we will not shy away from doing what is right for their interests.

408. If that is a genuine comment from SY, then I salute you.

     It’s a shame you did not mention the master agent you dealt through or if you have agreements or communications from Renwick Haddow or Jonathan Black though. This could be very important in helping clear your name and proving your innocence.

409. @Belle. We have invested in workspace through SY we have contacted SY on this and asked them to pull the money out. We are in a waiting mode at this point

     Any investors on workspace commerce?

410. Genuine, positive and honest comments from Square Yards. Well done to them for coming out and making a clear statement.

     There will be people on here who will be tempted to ask questions of SY. Please don’t do that because they have said that they don’t want to use this platform to answer questions. If you do ask questions and then SY don’t respond you will eventually accuse them of hiding or covering up. I’ve seen that happen many times before.

     This forum is fantastic for getting information out to people, but there are some things that have to be done in private to ensure that investors have the best chance of success and the targets are not fore-warned.

411. @Scotty true that

412. @Belle – Thanks for this. I don’t know whether “Best Overseas Property Investments” is linked to Haddow in any way, but it certainly looks a bit fishy.

     The website was registered anonymously in April 2010.

     The company Best Overseas Property Investments was registered in the UK in February 2011. The company’s sole director was Simon Peck.

     In 2015, Tony Hetherington mentioned Best Overseas Property Investments briefly, because of their involvement in promoting an investment in a company called North Dakota Developments that turned out to be a Ponzi scheme:

     In Cornwall, Best Overseas Property Investments received about £165,000 in commission, according to bank records in the US. Director Simon Peck said: ‘We have been finding out as much as we can and are liaising with investors. If there has been a major misappropriation by the developers, we are as shocked as everyone else.’

     The investors in the North Dakota Developments Ponzi scheme set up a Facebook page – shortly after the North Dakota Securities Department issued a Cease and Desist Order. And there’s a website about the SEC case against NDD here. The investors got some money back, but not much.

     Best Overseas Property Investment dissolved in April 2017.

     We know from the “Contact Us” page of the Best Overseas Property Investment website that the real name of the company is Investment Showcase Limited, which was registered in the UK in December 2016. The company’s sole director is Simon Peck.

     I’d suggest reporting Best Overseas Property Investments to Action Fraud and the FCA.

413. @SBS, I was told about Workspace Commerce yesterday and requested the brochure. I haven’t received it yet.
     I told the person who brought it to my attention that it is a con. Please send me the brochure if you have it – thanks.
     The website uses Bar Works phrases but it might just be them being lazy. It is obviously a copy of Bar Works and/or OurSpace – I don’t think it is one of their products though. I think this is a separate operation.
     I haven’t got around to looking at OurSpace yet, but I’m sure it will turn out to be much the same as Bar Works.

414. @ Marksie – it seems to have all the hallmarks of a copy doesn’t it. I notice one of the directors was appointed and resigned the same day… is that usual?

     I think to be honest when you look into the Ourspace (spin off) BW connection, you will find that all roads lead back to a certain Jim Moore (of Inside Track ‘fame’), UPI (the master agent who switched allegiance from BW to Ourspace and have now since Moores arrest moved on again) and of course a certain Haddow character.

     From my investigations, I would suggest that Haddow was not or is not involved in Ourspace but more that Ourspace was borne out of a break of trust/holding back of commissions/confrontation between UPI and BW….. sound familiar????!!?

     This company mentioned could be a spin off of both, one of or neither I guess.

     Happy hunting! Metaphorically speaking Chris, of course

415. @SY-Official

     Thanks for your explanation, much appreciated. We would appreciate if you can accelerate the legal process, as you know your investor are losing patience with every passing day.

     You must share your contract with BarWorks to your investors, there is nothing wrong in that. you have accepted above that there was lack of diligence in this investment, and you will rectify this error. We dont want you to share it here, But please share it with your investors on their email id, and propose them remedial measures whats you have assure above.

     I would advise you to look for some kind of investment protection insurance, we can share the premium for the same, and there wont be any pressure on you later on paying back to your investors.

     I wont be complaining against you now after this stand, but cant commit if some other groups if they have already initiated legal suit…So we would request you to move fast on legal action against barworks and protect your investors to prove your innocence…

     I would request all the real estate consultant to come & join us here, and take stand for your investors, what Square has done above…

     @Marksie & All
     Thanks for sharing valuable info…

     This just starting, raise the voice against BarWorks loudly than only it will reach to authorities responsible…

     I have some very good knowledgeable guys in my whatsup group who share very useful information, the group is open for verified investors…so please email me ur agreement on [email protected] with contact no. and you will be added…

     Lets bring more agents on board…

     Regards
     Kams…

416. I am in contact with a WorkSpace agent. Contacted him through the Best Overseas Investment website. He sent me some brochures along with an email explaining the investment. Yes, the boilerplate is the same as BarWorks. So, it the same bunch of crooks or new crooks using their format. In this one they have added is a one year ‘Buy Back” guarantee. I have started a dialog with him asking a few questions and I’ll see how much inside information I can learn. The agent lists himself to be in Cornwell UK. One of the question I asked him was “is he an independent agent or does he work for the corporate entity that owns WorkSpace?” Also, asked him if the offices were operational and could I visit them? Waiting for a reply.

     If anyone wants a copy of the email and brochures I received, let me now and I’ll forward you a copy.

417. @ Rich – what % is on the buy back after Year 1??

418. Hi again, looks like i may send a complain too in UK even though i am italian and i ve been dealing with italian financial promoters but their companies is registered in UK, it is called Dream Homes Investments LTD.
     Am i right or wrong?
     Thank you

     Francesco

419. You are right Francesco.

420. @Scotty, yes it is quite usual for a director to resign after a short period, sometimes only one day. He would be the company formation agent. He forms the company on behalf of a client, appoints the client as a director and then resigns from the company. Nothing untoward about that.

     @Rich, I would like a copy of that brochure please to [email protected]
     .
     I think we should try to keep this blog focused on Bar Works and we may need a separate blog on Ourspace / Workspace Commerce unless/until a clear link is proven back to BW.

     I agree with @Scotty that BW and OS were probably working together at the beginning but we don’t have the evidence at the moment. It does look to be too much of a coincidence though i.e two major scam artists of the last decade both embarking on remarkably similar enterprises at virtually the same time.

     @Rich, the person you are dealing with in Cornwall is Simon Peck, irrespective of whatever name he uses in emails or phone calls. Chris has mentioned him in his post.

     Finally, I have written a few long posts but I don’t apologise for the next section. I didn’t write it. It is copied from the “Cease and Desist Order” imposed by the North Dakota Authorities mentioned in @Chris’ post above. It is for the North Dakota Oil investment sold by the UK agent that is selling Workspace Commerce, but it is so relevant to the Bar Works case that I copy it below (with my own comments in the square brackets).

     Investors in the fraudulent scheme were sold interests in six different housing developments……
     [replace with ’12 different workspace sites’]……

     The Securities Department’s Order alleges that North Dakota Developments LLC, Gavin and Hogan violated NDCC 10-04-15(2) by engaging in material misstatements of fact and material omissions of fact in selling securities to investors, and also engaged in misappropriation of investor funds and Ponzi like activity. NDD LLC, Gavin and Hogan also violated NDCC 10-04-04 and NDCC 10-04-10 in selling unregistered securities, acting as an unregistered broker-dealer and engaging in unregistered agent activity.
     [Replace North Dakota Developments LLC, Gavin and Hogan with “Bar Works Inc and 25 alleged subsidiary companies, Haddow, Kinard and the management team”].

     Among other alleged misrepresentations, investors were told to expect returns as high as 42% in the first year, and a guaranteed buy-back of their investment in 3 years. Among other alleged misappropriations, investor assets were used to make Ponzi like payments to earlier investors, to pay undisclosed sales commissions of up to 20% to NDD sales agents, were diverted to real estate projects beneficially owned by Gavin and Hogan, and used for personal expenses such as meals, alcohol and entertainment. [OK, the first year returns of 42% may not apply but everything else in this paragraph applies to Bar Works].

     “Oil development in Western North Dakota and our state’s economic growth story routinely make headlines – locally, nationally and internationally. It’s important to remember that con artists follow the headlines looking for their next exploitation opportunity.”
     [This explains why Haddow, Bar Works, OurSpace and Workspace Commerce focus on flexible workspaces which have received a lot of media attention as the future of business].

     Tyler cautioned. “Investors need to conduct extensive due diligence when pitched an investment represented to be a private transaction not subject to regulatory review and registration, especially when the pitch includes the promise of high returns, low risk and a guaranteed exit”.
     Red flags of fraud in this type of transaction include but are not limited to: promise of a high, guaranteed return; promise of a guaranteed investment buy-back; high pressure sales tactics; unsubstantiated claims by the promoter of extensive industry expertise, unsubstantiated claims of success in previous projects; resistance to providing offering documents, lack of substantive information in offering documents, and claims or warnings that there is no need for investors to contact regulators.
     [A neat summary of Bar Works’ offer to investors. They didn’t mention “use of false names for company directors and senior management team, company registrations in highly secretive jurisdictions, a web of alleged subsidiary companies to confuse investors, fake signatures on official documents, and failure to provide any information whatsoever on who owns any of these companies”. Perhaps they thought that their list was long enough, but Bar Works Inc / Haddow have taken fraud to a completely new level].

421. @Marksie – completely agree to keep this forum focused on Barworks and assist the investors as best everyone can.

422. 105%. The agent is telling me that you actually own the office suite. I asked if you recieve title/deed. He hasn’t responded to that. He invited me to visit the facility in London. Do we have someone on this blog who lives in London? Also can someone tell me how to check the corporate filings for officers’ names? It’s a English corp..

423. @Rich – You can look up UK companies’ filings at Companies House here: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/. Search for the name of the company (or its directors) first. When you find the company, click on the “Filing History” tab. WorkSpace Commerce Limited is here. WorkSpace Commerce Management Limited is here.

     See also this comment, for links to more information about Best Overseas Properties Limited.

     Please report WorkSpace to Action Fraud and the FCA.

424. @marksie I sent you the brochures for workspace commerce let me know if you need the contract too

425. @ Rich, thank you.

     Ok so they are saying you own the suite or desk/booth and you’ve rightly replied to ask if you get a title deed. Be interesting to hear what they say. Presume they will say ‘yes’ as others have stated this with things like care homes etc but the whole point is this, and this is where these ‘guaranteed buy backs’ really grate me.
     1st – NOTHING is guaranteed with any investment.
     2nd – Who is buying it back?
     3rd – Think about this, would would any company/developer offer to buy back something they have sold you after 12 months, 24 months or whenever at a profit to you and a loss for them? It just does not make any business sense for them at all. If you lease a car, you can return it after an amount of time but they won’t give you money back. It’s just another thing that companies have jumped on to try and make it more ‘saleable’ at the start of the process. It’s a sign, in my opinion of a ‘weak’ ‘product’ where they’ve had to add something in as it doesn’t stand up on its own two feet!

     First came the ‘guaranteed returns’ then came the ‘guaranteed buy back’. I wonder what will be next, maybe they will chip in 100% of the investment needed at the start, gift you ownership, guarantee your returns and then buy it back off you!?!!?!!

     Just insanity!

     And someone please tell me as I’m obviously being dim here but how does a desk appreciate in value over 12 months???

426. @SBS, I received the brochure and a separate disclaimer for Workspace Commerce.

     The brochure lists the CEO as John Ellis. He is allegedly very experienced in workspace projects and intends to open 6 new sites a year. The investment model is similar to Bar Works and OurSpace. There are some differences but it is basically the same model. No other team members are mentioned – John is the only person and he is the main man for this business. He is the one who is going to deliver the returns for investors.

     However, John Ellis is based in the UAE (according to LinkedIn). The company, Workspace Commerce Ltd, is in the UK. It has only one director and one shareholder and that person is not John Ellis. Nicholas Filis is the only director and he owns 100% of the shares in the company.

     Nicholas Filis is described on LinkedIn as ‘Construction Director and General Manager of Workspace Commerce Ltd’. Now that’s odd – surely he would be described as “Founder and Owner”, not General Manager. He is clearly keen to play down his role for some reason. Maybe someone can find out a bit more about him. I need to focus on Bar Works and can’t be too distracted by this company.

     Apparently Nicholas has been employed as General Manager since January 2015. That is quite an achievement considering the company was only formed in June 2016.

     John Ellis is listed as ‘Company Secretary’ for Workspace Commerce Ltd. For people who don’t know what this means, it is the person who does the filing !

     Workspace Commerce says it has an operational site in Shanghai. You can see it here http://www.fit-workspace.com . It probably doesn’t exist.

     I said that I thought this was probably an entirely separate company to BW and OS, but now I am not so sure. I can’t help but wonder if Haddow is behind this in some way. It was the single sentence in the brochure which described the Shanghai site as having a modern boxing gym. Haddow is a boxing fanatic.

     Whether Haddow is involved or not, Workspace Commerce Ltd has so many red flags that it has to be a scam. @Chris is correct. If you have invested go online and report it to Action Fraud and the FCA.

427. I have been sent some more brochures on Workspace Commerce Ltd. Just to confirm my suspicions about them, their ‘Head Quarters’ as they describe it, is 5 Chancery Lane, London. This is a virtual office address. This means that you can use it as a workspace for meetings, telephone answering services, postal address etc for less than £1,000 per year. They are using a workspace and do not have a fixed office at 5 Chancery Lane.

     Unlike the brochure, which only mentions John Ellis, the website http://www.workspacecommerce.co.uk, lists twelve members of the management team !
     It is a very nice looking website. I would be a bit unhappy if I were Nicholas Filis though. He is the only director of the company and he owns all the shares but he is down in seventh place on the website. Not only that, his name is spelt incorrectly (or maybe it is spelt correctly on the website and he misspelt it when he formed the company at Companies House). In any case it is definitely a cause for concern because he is Nicholas Filis on official documents and Nicolas Fillis on the website. Both his first name and surname are different.

     Something smells very wrong with this company.

428. Hi, everyone! I am an investor from Russia and made my investment at the end of December 2016. So far I have received several payments and my last one was on April 11 from Barclays, UK, a little less then should be. I am willing to participate in all possible teams against Bar works. Today I called this guy named Brad, director of sales. He sounded very annoyed and replied that he was only responsible for locations and said something about his pay of 700 dollars and that he knows nothing at all.
     Please include me into the team!!!!

429. Please let this forum be discuss only issues related to barworks , separate blogs can be initiated for similar other issues….

     Thanks for the needful in advance…

430. @standunited: what is the action plan at this point?

431. @Alfred, thanks for your post. It sounds as if Brad may be an innocent party caught up in this situation. Can you please send me his contact details. I’m on [email protected]. I have some people in NYC who would like to talk to him and possibly meet with him. He seems to be the only person in Bar Works who is willing to talk to anyone.

     To all investors who contacted me – a lady called Lucy will be contacting you in the next week or so. She is going to be following up a couple of the avenues for recovery of investment whilst I follow up on others.

432. @marksie thank you

     @alfred: how did you get in touch with Brad? I have been trying to call different numbers of barworks and nobody answers the call.

     There was one time a lady answered in SFO and when I asked her the questions she gave me the number of Nancy Rodriguez . I told her that I was going to complain SEC

     She asked me to do what makes me happy

433. @SBS you have Nancy Rodriguez number? Can you please share it?

434. @SRS, I called a guy (#1) who brought to me this investment opportunity here in Moscow. He in turn was a sub-distributor of another Moscow based investment company which had direct contact with BW. So, a guy from that Moscow based investment company (#2) purchased for himself 5 places with BW, he visited BW several times. Last time was in April. And guy #1 claims that #2 did meet JB and spoke to him. #2 also spoke to workers on sites and they claimed that BW paid on time and they had no questions to BW. #2 also visited Miami by the way.
     So I received this telephone number from #1 who in turn got it from #2 and #2 got this telephone number from JB when he was visiting BW.

435. @stephanie : +1 (646) 829-1564 that’s the Nancy Rodriguez number good luck if you can get in touch with her, I have tried this number several times and nobody answers the Call

436. Has anybody complained to SEC? Are there any teams formed that are lodging a claim with SEC? I want to contribute and participate! These crooks should be brought to justice and our money be returned. What are our next steps? We should all act!!!

437. @Alfred, I’m sorry to say that #2 was lying to you. JB does not exist. There are six good reasons why I know this. I will list five of them here:

     1. Do you honestly think Bar Works would have allowed this blog to carry on like this without responding ?
     2. Do you honestly think that Bar Works would have allowed the TRD article to remain online when all they had to do was ask JB to walk around the corner and introduce himself to the journalist ?
     3. Do you honestly think that Bar Works would not have answered all the questions from investors asking them to prove that JB exists ?
     4. Your man is lying. He should check his timeframes. JB was not there in April unless he was visiting to see his old buddies. He allegedly left the company in January (according to Bar Works itself).
     5. Why would JB give your friend Brad’s number for you to call Brad ? Why wouldn’t he have said “Hey, I’m JB, here’s my personal number, get Alfred to call me”.

     You’ve been fed a load of baloney.

438. @marksie, yes, you right, so you think that #1 and #2 and are all involved in this scam? If yes then I should file a criminal claim against them here in Moscow with the law enforcing bodies.

439. I have complained to SEC and NY DA. I am thinking of complaining to FBI as well

440. So we have 3 different teams working independently to file a case against barworks
     @gogsuk: did you discuss with attorneys and what is their recommendation

     @comed: were you able to hash the attorney and do you have an action plan

     @standunited: what is happening in UAE

441. Many investors not joining @gogsuk team and I don’t think he is going to proceed too. Attorney fee is expensive and not everyone agree to go with attorney. People just don’t want to lose good money after bad. I don’t see by going legal route with lawyer can get back our money from Bar Works. Renwick Haddow is too good, he is experience mastermind, he has prepared long before this, he knew this would happen, he knew everyone will file complaint to authorities or going legal with lawyer. Sad :(

442. @ Stephanie – I thought you were very positive about the legal route?

     I recall Marksie saying it would be expensive and difficult but you can’t just roll over and let him win.

     Which agent did you go through @ Stephanie? Can you use a route described by the other groups?

443. There will be a time for attorneys to be appointed and we are not too far away from that point. Investors need to think about what outcome they would realistically accept. Recovery of your full investment from Bar Works Inc is extremely unlikely. Action against agents is also not going to recover anything because most have been tricked the same as you have.

     There are other avenues but they take time to sort out. I have been inundated with emails from investors which shows just how global this investment has been. I do not want to give people false hope, but all is not lost. Not yet.

444. UPDATE – CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT

     Dear All, like everyone, I have a job so it’s not easy to be on top of this issue nor to act as collector, although I am trying my best to do so.
     I received a lot of emails and tried to reply to everyone.
     I have spoken to many US lawyers these days.
     My own lawyers were in contact with Bar Works, but their legal letters and threats of a lawsuit didn’t work.
     As already mentioned, the only solution is the Class Action Lawsuit.
     And only a BIG LAW FIRM can handle that, as the amount of work is huge.

     Even though I haven’t had the time to read all the new messages on this forum, I have read a lot of inaccuracies, especially about costs, SEC involvement, possibilities of success, chances to get the money (or part of the money) back, etc etc.
     Even if we are trying to share emotions, suggestions and doubts on here, I would suggest leaving the professionals to give the LEGAL ADVICE.

     So this is the update:
     We are almost set. The law firm in NY has already been selected and is ready to start.
     We are now about 150 investors (assuming that all of them will really join).
     Ideally, we will sign the formal appointment by the end of this week or beginning of next week.

     Please, don’t forget that lawyers have to study the case carefully and work on the best strategy to apply for the Class Action lawsuit.
     I will keep trying to reply to everyone. Please be patient if I don’t get back to you immediately.
     The more, the better as the legal costs will be very cheap ONLY if we are a big group.

     [email protected]

     C.

445. @Combed

     This is great , So if all are verified, lets be on whats up, email is one way communication and whats up is multiway…Lets move fast…

     Best Of Luck…

446. Hi community –

     I´ve invested 50k in BW for 2 work spaces. Have received 3 payments. April was the last one.

     I can not believe what’s going on. I’ve wrote marksie and combed. Would love to hear from you guys. I hope we get these thieves.

447. Barworks blocked me on their Facebook page and removed all my comments

448. @Combed, I know several parties who had an attorney write to Bar Works. All have had the same result i.e no response.

     Your line “Please, don’t forget that lawyers have to study the case carefully and work on the best strategy to apply for the Class Action lawsuit” suggests to me that you haven’t got any clear direction. You don’t know who to target and you haven’t thought this through. You are asking people who have lost money to spend more money taking a leap into the dark paying an attorney to “study the case carefully and work on the best strategy to apply for the Class Action lawsuit”.

     This isn’t 1,000 people who all bought the same car with the same design fault and you all want your money back. You don’t even know if a Class Action lawsuit is possible because the prosecution would involve different sites, different jurisdictions, different corporate structures, different terms, different parties, different payment methods, and so on. Coupled with that you have the threat of SEC action which you seem to think is unlikely whilst I take a contrary view in that I think it may have already started. I know dozens of investors who have reported to the SEC. I know third parties who have reported this to the SEC. I know some people have involved local politicians to approach the SEC and the FBI. I have no doubt that one of the US investigation authorities have made contact with Bar Works and that the SEC is either already involved or will be shortly. Why else would Kinard resign so suddenly with immediate effect, no notice period, no announcement of a successor and no structured handover ? He took off to protect his own skin.

     You are raising false hopes without having even checked that a Class action lawsuit is possible. If you are going to ask people to waste their money on a Class Action lawsuit you should have at least done some groundwork and presented what you have to an attorney so that he has already made a judgement.

     You are telling people outside of this blog that your attorney says nothing should be put in writing.It should all be verbal. That sounds like an attorney making sure he cannot be sued when he says that he has spent all the money and got nowhere. Also, I asked you in a previous post if your attorney had identified any assets that he could go after i.e cash in the bank, properties, anything. You didn’t reply. The answer is NO – he hasn’t. There are no assets of any significant value.

     You should spend your own money first on the attorney if you are confident that a Class action lawsuit can be established, before raising false hopes and stripping more cash from investors.

     Only when your attorney confirms that:
     A US citizen who lives in New York and has a contract with Bar Works Tribeca Inc for a site in New York; and
     An Indian citizen living in Dubai who has a contract with Bar Works Miami LLC for a site in Miami; and
     A European citizen who has a contract with Bar Works Consulting and Office Leasing Services Inc for a site in Turkey;
     and all the different nationalities who have sent their money to different accounts with different financial institutions, and have contracts with another 6 or 7 separate legal entities, can all join together in one single Class Action lawsuit should you ask people for money.

     This is not LEGAL ADVICE by the way. This is common sense.

449. Hi everyone!

     Is it really possible nowadays and especially in US to steal money from a GROUP of people (including US citizens as I now understand) and get dry out of the water and live decent and respectable life afterwards?

     So you got 50M on the account of the company and then what? You need to send somehow to somebody VIA US BANK this heap of money which in turn has anti money laundering polices. I may sound naïve but I have a good experience with Banks, though European, and it is not that easy as it seems. Banks should verify their clients. Through internet is a must and just the first step of verifying. And I see that first signs of possible fraud appeared in Feb-March.

450. @ Alfred, it’s a good and valid point however you need to remember that not all the money was ‘on account’. Some went to agents, some went back to investors and the rest has probably been siphoned off to various jurisdictions and accounts where it is more difficult to trace.
     You are dealing with an expert at criminal dealings.

451. Any possibility to state to any lawyer that I am willing to pay 10% of what I’m getting back? I do not want to ad good money to the bad and waste more, but if a lawyer gets me the full 75K back or only half, I’m willing to pay 10% of that.

452. I still cannot believe in this day and age anybody could do this and get away with it. Everthing is scrutinized using magnifying glass.

453. @Wim4aBW – I think this is the group and route that gogsuk and Stephanie etc are already trying/following. Question will obviously be the cost of the lawyer, as Marksie has mentioned multiple times, versus what you get back, if anything.

     Is there another of the groups you can join? For example, Is your agent UK based? Or overseas?

454. @Scotty, jurisdictions? like what? please give an example. I expect you will name for example Bermuda? or BVI? ok, then, will it be a Bank in Bermuda??? Or it will be a Bermuda company with an account in a US or European Bank? Or will it be a Bermuda company with an account in Bermuda Bank and then US Bank pays 20M (30M I reserved for your advisors and interest paid) to this black hole?
     Take it for for granted that nowadays even if you want to pay 0.5M to an unclear jurisdiction you will have to justify it to your Bank and Banks treat it seriously since it could be terrorism financing and they can get involved indirectly.
     You cant get even cash now to hide it. Also it is not that easy and simple if you could: one million in 100 dollar bills weighs 10 kilos!!! But it is hard to buy a car for cash in US and Europe. Somebody said Russia. They can hide in Russia since Russia doesn’t respect international law. Ok. I live in Russia and I tell you that not only international is not respected. Even internal law is of no importance for big money. And they won’t be safe here. A lot of Russian investors suffered and they just want them to come and hide in Russia. Please just give them a chance. Welcome to Russia.

455. According to BarWorks’ Facebook page it seems that yesterday was the launching of the site in LA
     Any opinions? Did somebody go?

456. @Marksies@Scotty@Stef

     You know more than anyone else in this group about BW & things related to them…

     The common feel we are getting after going through this blog is that though we know a lot about BW now, but we cant do anything…Because “He” is expert in his game…

     @To all

     If i look back 4 weeks back, i see BW has planned it pretty well this time :-

     – He did not focus on one country, he made it global this time so that density of people from one region is less, and when people are less in numbers from one country, its a little tough to plan any action…

     – He also understand that whatsup/facebook/online blogs are pretty active and can be accessed on finger tip, and I am sure BW might have planned something for this also (what u think?)

     – And might deployed few people who first boost the confidence of investor sharing a lot about BW and than distract them realizing how tough is that to fight against this mastermind monster.

     @Agents

     There is only one agent came up to support their investors so far, But they also :-
     – They did not accepted they have got 20% commission or what ?
     – They did not shown any agreement with barworks or master agent ?
     – They accepted that there was lack of diligence from their side, which means they went for some gree i.e. may by very high commission, before doing proper ground check.
     – When agent propose overseas investment to anyone its their prime duty to do proper diligence as they cant play with the money of the investors and still if they did it , than you know their intentions…
     – And yes one imp. thing is Payment term which is a key to any agreement, i am 100% sure, payment terms in this case might have defined by the agents, though they will neither show us nor accept it till there is a legal investigation, but the fact is any agent claiming they have their all pending commission is all lie , its not at all possible, it might be possible that a few week commission is pending. Agents deployed a huge man power to market this product, they cant feed them if they dont get immediate payments,

     Being a contracts guy, i can predict that agents payments must be like that “Barworks should pay the full commission within a week from the date of investor fund transfer acknowledgement” , agent will not give a credit to Barworks as they are not selling any product or engineered solution, their brokerage (our money) comes with Fund receipt acknowledgement.

     @To all investors
     Lets not trust anyone (means anyone), if its a global scam, lets accept it and spread it globally…

     1. If someone invested directly in bar works , they should complaint in SEC, FBI, USA attorney etc.
     2. For those who invested through agents :-
     – they must identify global presence of their agents
     – they must complaint in every country

     They made it global, they hired crooks to sell their product :

     Now its our duty to spread this news globally, if anyone has taken legal action it does not hold them to stop spreading this crime…

     Yeah one last thing, identity of the key people sharing a lot is still unknown…

     My group is open for all verified investors , so send your agreement & whatsup no. on [email protected], I am sure very soon we will find someone who will lead the this WAR but before that we must get united and StandUnitedAgainstDScam…

457. @ Alfred – I would say multiple accounts in multiple countries like you mention. I think it was Marksie who made mention on an earlier post about looking into the Bahamas as a connection.

     Alfred, please remember that we are not talking about a heist like situation or people carrying bags of ????through customs, we are talking about a slow but steady flow of cash from multiple accounts to multiple accounts, which will all have a ‘genuine’ reason for transfer.

458. I and few other investors that I know personally have a plan, even it is not guaranteed but I can say it has 70% chance. If you like to join us, email me on [email protected]

459. Did the meeting take place in UAE with the authorities regarding filing a complaint etc?

460. @ George I received the announcement for it as well and asked for pictures. They actually did reply within the hour and said pictures will be posted on FB just lik they did for Miami opening on March 31. So far no pics of yesterday, but yes, still a bit curious…

461. Do I get the feeling that if BW post something on Facebook about a new venue opening that investors are taking comfort?

     I hope not.

     This is exactly how a Ponzi works! They take money from investors, pay their agents, themselves and the investor so he/she ‘thinks’ it’s all working for a while and then move on to the next, repeating the process over and over.

     Remember you are not focusing on if BW itself is a fraud but how they have raised funds and who you were contracting with, amongst other things to get it to this stage.

     Last time I can say this –
     The returns are NOT possible.
     The buyback is NOT possible.
     The money has been used or siphoned off.
     You are dealing with a multi headed monster with thousands of tentacles ???? stretching across the globe.

     Even if a Frank or a Brad steps in as a Sales or Operations Director, the beast has already run!

     To SY – you are the only agent who posted on here and once again I salute you. I’ve asked various people who they invested through and nobody has answered. At least SY have had the ???? ???? to give their input. As for their commission ‘pending’, BW have done it to others, so why wouldn’t they do the same to SY. As for the contract guys amongst you, the agents will have a simple set of T’s & C’s, one being their commission level and when it’s due but don’t expect any high level legal document……well in nobody’s favor except for BW that is.

     I wish you all luck with whichever route you decide to take, I hope it’s not too late but once again would urge you to take action NOW before it’s definitely too late.

     Get your ‘ducks in a row’ first and when you have, commit every ounce of energy you have.

     Unfortunately I do not have the answer for you but it seems we are going round and round in circles with many options ‘hovering’ but none focused on the target. Although I could be wrong and hope that I am and several groups have formed away from here and you are methodically plotting your next move.

     Remember who and what you are up against. You have so much information it’s untrue. So, be a sniper, sniff out your prey, do your homework and when ready, pull the trigger!

     Metaphorically Chris.

462. @marksie

     I AM A LAWYER
     So, I’m pretty sure this picture is just 10 times more clear to me than to most of people, and probably than to you, unless you’re a lawyer as well.
     Exactly like – I’m sure – you understand your area of expertise (or job) 10 times better than me.

     Nonetheless, even if I’m a lawyer, I’m not mentioning SEC, investigations, and bla bla bla. like many people are doing on here (included you!), even if they don’t know ANYTHING about SEC, procedures, laws, etc.

     I’m sure you know dozen of investors that bla bla bla, a lot of people that bla bla bla… everybody’s know someone that – SURPRISE – is in the same situation now or was in before.
     Please have mercy.
     People that mention “I have friends, I know a lot of people in the same situation,…” they usually don’t know anybody.

     Even if I’m a lawyer, and even if my opinion is most probably 10 times more valuable than yours, I don’t speculate and I’m not giving any legal suggestion, even if I could. Al least my job title allows me to do so. I’m a simple damaged investor now, so – like everyone – I’m in need of a specific lawyer, an excellent litigator, that can protect my interests.

     If you saw “hope” in my words, that’s very subjective.
     I’m actually very negative about this situation. I think I lost my money. I just don’t like to give up. But I respect if someone doesn’t want to spend any more money. I think it could be a good decision as lawyers are expensive.
     But, please, let me share my point of view while you better focus on your own. I didn’t comment your words, so stay in your place.

     Oh, by the way, I don’t have to explain why my lawyer suggested me to talk instead of write specific information (although I did wrote a lot recently). I’m sure your amazing degree in “investigation” took you to the right conclusion.
     “sounds like an attorney making sure he cannot be sued when he says that he has spent all the money and got nowhere”…. are you 10 or what?!?!?!
     I even don’t know why I’m wasting my time in replying to you.

     Yes, you asked me in a previous post if my attorney had identified any assets that he could go after i.e cash in the bank, properties, anything.
     And yes, I didn’t reply BECAUSE I don’t usually waste time with ridiculous questions.
     I tend to ignore them.
     Moreover I have a job and I rarely look at this forum.

     Correct, I ignored you. Don’t take it personally.

     Thank you for the smart advise about spending my own money.
     Indeed, I already paid a lot my lawyers, my dear Marksie.
     Do you have other useless advices for me?

     Now, I’ll give YOU an advice, and it’s free: instead of focusing on my messages (that you can share or not), look at the real problem, Bar Works, and let people have their own opinion, especially when they have a more solid base.

     L

     (no problem to give proof of my job title, in private, of course, should you’re brilliant mind takes you to the conclusion I’m lying)

463. @Scotty, my group has put together the most detailed evidence package and we have the best network of contacts compared to anyone else. I have been in direct contact with the authorities for some time now. Today my group has stopped all planned actions against Bar Works and its subsidiaries.

     @Diana, save your money.

     This does not mean that Bar Works is rising from the ashes – quite the opposite. It is in serious trouble.

     I have also been made aware that someone has been singing the praises of the Bar Works competitor, OurSpace, saying that it is a great company. Let me enlighten a few of you.

     I have to give credit to @Scotty for first pointing out the connection between Bar Works and OurSpace. I was sceptical because of lack of evidence, but everything that @Scotty said was proven to me from a different source today. These are the facts.

     Renwick Haddow established Bar Works. He took this to a known crook called Jim Moore who owned and ran UPI in Spain. UPI was an agent company. It promoted dodgy schemes.

     UPI promoted Bar Works and was hugely successful. Investors loved it and a lot of units were sold. Moore went to Haddow and said “Look Renwick, my company is keeping your company going. I want a share in Bar Works”. Haddow refused and to make matters worse he held back some of the commissions owed to UPI.

     Moore knew how investors felt about Bar Works so he went back and set up OurSpace in Dubai. UPI dropped Bar Works and began promoting OurSpace instead.

     Moore was charged with offences in the US and has since returned there to mount a defence.

     The bottom line is that OurSpace is as bad as Bar Works. It was established by a known crook and has the same operating model.

     Lorna Moore who runs the Bar Works offshoot, Podworks, is definitely Renwick Haddow’s sister. She is no relation to Jim Moore. The surname is just a coincidence.

464. i am like every one else is an investor with Barworks, i have invested $250,000 US Dollars with an agent called Peter Jones in New York, i live in Toronto and have a lawyer in New York who is working on a Federal action law suit against JP Morgan Bank for negligence and failure to avoid a Ponzi scheme, despite the fact that all initial bank account, websites and lease agreements where in the name of a person that was being sued against coning people in the UK, the whole idea here is to get as much investors as possible in filling this case in order to force JP Morgan to settle and give us our money, with regards to Barworks our sources in New York have confirmed to us that their banks accounts have BEEN CLOSED, and it seems to us that the SEC has taken over the investigations in New York, this very good, but might take for ever if we are to get some of our money back.
     All of the dealings will be directly with the Lawyer in New York as she agreed with me to gather as much of us investors, so please pass this address to as much investors as you can, so we can register your names as plaintiffs to proceed with case.
     please contact me
     [email protected]

465. @Combed, I’m not really sure what to say about your post. Very bizarre. I don’t take anything personally so don’t worry about me. If you are a lawyer I think you could have responded in a more professional manner. Your post looked like it was written by someone who had been drinking.

     You have every right to spend your money as you wish, but my point was that you shouldn’t ask people to contribute to a Class Action lawsuit until you know they are eligible to be included otherwise you are using their money to help fund your own case and not theirs. As a lawyer I would have expected you to have known that.

     Anyway, moving on to more serious issues, I heard last week that the SEC is involved. That was confirmed by a second independent source this weekend. I believe this to be the case and that is good news for all investors.

466. @marksie

     Nobody is drinking here. I just don’t like when someone jumps to conclusions so easily.
     Believe me, I’m not asking anybody to spend money.
     On the opposite.
     One of the reason to use Skype at the beginning was exactly to avoid that written words could have been misinterpreted, as it happened between us.

     Some lawyers had declared themselves available to anticipate costs and to be be paid only if they win. So my genuine intention was to involve a big group of investors without asking money (or an extremely little amount: e.g. $500 each)
     But it was at the beginning, when it seemed that nobody was really moving..
     The scenario has been changed.
     Apparently different groups of investors are moving separately and – I’ve been told – they are filing different lawsuits in parallel.
     These lawsuits represent a potential diminishment of the recovery in the class action such that the total fee the layers will earn will not sufficiently compensate them for the risk of taking the case on contingency.
     So we are back to day 1.

     Nonetheless, I keep thinking that a very big group of investors can easily afford to pay a big law firm. But, again, we should be very, very big.

     Btw, I agree, let’s move on on more serous things. If SEC has been involved it’s definitely good sign.

467. That’s good news Marksie!!! I have not received any notification from SEC yet.

468. @ Marksie – ????????
     @ Combed – ?????

469. I don’t expect anyone to be notified that an investigation is underway. If that happens then it is very unusual because this is treated like a Police investigation. Normally the response to investors is something like “Thank you for your enquiry. We can neither confirm nor deny our involvement at this stage”. Information only goes one-way i.e from you and me to them. They never say how they are getting on. The only time there is normally an official announcement is if they have found wrongdoing and intend to prosecute.

     If I were an investor I would definitely let the SEC and FCA do the hard yards against regulated firms like the banks. They have far greater powers to force disclosure and you will know if they found anything if they announce a fine or prosecution of the organisation. It can be a very expensive process to take on banks and big insurance firms.

     If you wrote to Bar Works requesting a refund because you were invested in Brooklyn, 8th Avenue or 95 Chambers and didn’t get a response from them please drop me a line at [email protected]. I will put you in contact with an investor who is going to take this forward.

     I am struggling to keep pace and track of all the investors who have contacted me. I try to respond to everyone but it is a full-time job and I’m sorry if I don’t respond quickly.

     I will be scaling down my involvement now that the financial regulators are involved. They will do a lot of the work for everyone.

470. If I were an investor I would be taking this opportunity to thank Marksie for his work, time and knowledge given to this forum.

     Whilst this case may be long from over, the ball is rolling and if appropriate findings are made, you can be sure the FCA & SEC will jump all over it.

     I mentioned many posts ago that I thought this was the best route or strategy to take and am still of that belief.

     You unfortunately just cannot take them on individually or even as a group without involving the authorities so they are ‘on side’.

     Everything crossed for a positive outcome for all involved.

471. I am really indebted to some people in NYC who put themselves out to help. One person sent me a video of the West Village location filmed today (Monday). It looked pretty full to me.
     However, Midtown Manhattan (which was the first ever BW site based at 47W 39th St) has closed up shop with garbage visible through the window.

472. I second Scotty

473. Marksie’s comment about the West Village being open and operational brings a few questions to mind. Who are the employees at that location working for? Barworks & a independent operator who leases the space? If BW, are they getting their paychecks? If so, what bank is being drawn on. If a independent operator are they paying rent to BW? If so,where is that rent check being deposited? I wonder if Miami and SF locations are operational. If so, same questions.

     BTW, I received written acknowledge for the NY States Attorney General. Basically, they thanked me and make a determination about pursuing BW. I have not received any official acknowledgement from the SEC or FBI. Just no-reply emails thanking me for filing the complaint.

474. Squareyards opened their office in BW manhattan site Treibbica… Anyone can go look for these individuals asking of what they are offering in the US for investment opportunities as discussion starter and then pretend that you wish to invest with them in Barworks… You’ll get all the answers.
     Anyone in NYC please give it a try

475. @skikdi21 wow is this true?? Do you have the address I will definitely reach out

476. @SBS.. The sales guy who sold this trouble-making investment told me that Squareyard office is officially operating at Manhattan NY.. Address: Tribeca Manhattan, 95 Chamber street, NYC. He also gave me whatever information I want in case BW doesnt get back on the right track to get my refund from Squareyards. Anyways, if you can reach out to these folks from SY, plz keep us posted

477. @Skikdi21 and @SBS, there are good agents that seem keen to help investors and there are bad agents who are lying low. I put SY into the first category. It is up to you where you put them but I think you should wait to see what happens in the next couple of weeks. You might actually be shooting at one of your allies.

     Almost everyday something comes in that sheds more light on Bar Works. Now that I am satisfied enforcement agencies are involved I would like to turn my attention to the foot soldiers. The people who were complicit in covering up the involvement of Renwick Haddow or who deliberately misled investors. The authorities will be focused on the high level fraud, but we can help them with the lower level when they are ready to look at that. I would ask everyone to go back through their emails with Bar Works and to think about conversations they have had. We need to break through the false names they have been using and find out who they really are, where they came from, where they live, and where they are moving on to once they leave Bar Works.

     The people I am interested in are:

     BAR WORKS
     Zoia Kyselova/Zoe Miller, Sam Aura, Peter Jones, Patricia Quinn, Howard Green, Stephen Williams, James Delaware, Jessica Mayo, Julian Tzanev (goes by the name of Julian), Tahirya Cordner, Brian Cohen;

     KNOWN ASSOCIATES
     Mandeep Sidhu, Chris Starkey,

     INCROWD EQUITY
     Robert Haslem, Mark Wilcox

     If you have any more names of people that you dealt with in connection with this investment send them through. Please send to [email protected].

     I already have quite a bit of information on a few of them but you might have a gem somewhere in your records that helps put the jigsaw together. Lucy will deal with this.

     There will undoubtedly be agent firms and people at those firms that you think are complicit in the fraud. We don’t know that to be the case, but if you want to register those people Lucy will take the details. It won’t be followed up for a long time because our focus has to be on the people above and any other person who is known to have worked for Bar Works Inc and InCrowd Equity Inc.

478. Very grateful to an investor who sent me a brand new just launched brochure for 95 Chambers Street. Bar Works has a new bank account. It is:

     Bank Name:Bank Of America
     Bank Address: 910 FOULK RD STE 201, WILMINGTON,DE 19803 – 3159
     Account Name:BW CAPITALPROPERTIES LLC
     Account Number:8980 8602 4872
     SWIFT:BOFAUS3N
     Routing Number: 0631 00277
     Address:910 FOULK RD STE 201,WILMINGTON, DE 19803 – 3159, USA.

     I urge US investors to contact this bank immediately with their concerns. US investors will have more clout than foreign investors.

     It is noticeable that the contracts in the brochure are with Bar Works Chambers LLC and Bar Works Management Inc, but they are asking people to send their money to a new company called BW Capital Properties LLC. As usual this is very fishy. Why didn’t they open the account in the name of Bar Works Chambers LLC ?

     This bank is in Delaware which means it will be very difficult to get any disclosure at all.

     How can they keep taking money in from new investors when they aren’t paying existing investors ?

     95 Chambers St offers an exciting new gym which will boost revenues for investors. Documents filed in NYC show that the experienced owner/manager of the gym is none other than Mr Renwick Haddow.

479. Oops – I missed Franklyn Kinard off that list of Bar Works people. I’l bet Frank got quite excited when he saw that I’d missed him off. Sorry to disappoint you Frank, but you’re on the list too.

     The only one we’re not interested in is Brad Fiorillo – poor guy seems to have been dropped in it and we know he’s not going to be the new CEO. Maybe nobody is.

480. Am I to understand that BW is currently marketing the Chambers location? If so, it sold out months ago, so one must assume that are reselling it all over again. I’m I confused about the latest posting regarding Chambers.

     Also, I’m seeing posts on here that some investors are receiving payments and/or refunds. Is that correct or am I confused on that?

     I’ve seen several post saying be careful not to say anything derogatory on this blog about BarWorks because the have high powered attorneys and they could sue us. I welcome a law suite from BW. If anyone knows want I have to do to get sued, please let me know.

     Last, I’ve have seen post asking if that are any “real” investors on this blog. I am…3 units on Eight Ave.

481. Marksie,

     I just completed a call to Bank of America fraud department. I gave them the whole story and suggested they investigate this account information. The agent I spoke with as escalating the information as soon as we hung-up. I could receive a follow-up contact from BOA. If so, I’ll post it

     I was able to verify the Swift and routing code to be valid with BOA. Just FYI, I found that BW Capital Properties LLC was formed May 2, 2017. The bank address listed is BW’s registered agent.

482. @Rich, all of these posts you are referring to are offline whatsapp chats / emails within investor groups. They are not on here. Investor groups are notorious for being infiltrated and spreading falsehoods and concerns. Every group will have people friendly to Bar Works in it.

     I was expecting BW to pay a few people by now. Not many, just a few so that they would sow the seeds of doubt amongst groups. There are many people who think that if they receive a rental payment everything is rosy again. Maybe that has started, but I doubt it. This is a company under attack on all fronts. It is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and cannot even find anyone prepared to say they are the new CEO.

     Yes, they are reselling more 95 Chambers St units. A new brochure has just been issued. You may not know much about Haddow’s previous ventures. A property or unit doesn’t have to exist for him to sell it. He will sell thin air to get more money because he knows how long it takes to prosecute him. He has sold hundreds of wheat plots on land they don’t own. He has sold 5,350 acres of rice plots when the farm was only 3,000 acres in size. That netted him another $6 million which was never returned. He has sold workspaces at sites where they only had a short term lease and had no intention of continuing, and he is now selling units at 95 Chambers that don’t exist. That is how he works.

     I’m not worried about being prosecuted by high-powered attorneys employed by Bar Works and neither should you be. Chris Lang, the owner of this blog, myself and a few others would be their primary targets. I will tear them apart with my evidence and Chris has been there many times before.

     Don’t be afraid of these people. They are terrified of going anywhere near a courtroom.

     it has been pointed out to me that I forgot to include Keith Simpson aka Keith Milhench on my list. I can’t believe that – he is such a crook. Also Sian McCormick needs to be added. Sorry – I think my brain is full.

     I have also been told that I am being too lenient on Brad Fiorillo. OK, he is back on the ‘persons of interest’ list. Send your stuff to Lucy.

483. I’m not sure how to “contribute” here versus what’s already been shared. I bought one unit at 8th Avenue – but last I checked, there appears to be nothing going on there. I walked by 39th and 46th in midtown today, both appeared to be closed permanently.

     If getting in touch with more investors helps, I remember that back in December we received a holidays best wishes email in which Bar Works’ didn’t bcc the distribution list, but instead showed everyone’s email address (I assume this was a mistake on their part). I clear out my emails regularly so I no longer have it, but others on here may still have it in their archives.

484. @ Geoff – You can’t say you don’t know how to add anything to this forum etc and then come up with an absolute gem like that!

     Does anyone else have the Happy Holidays email??

     It’s been said a few times on here by a couple of us. They’re good, damn good at what they do….but they do make the occasional mistake and when you find these chinks in the armour you need to be diving in and ripping at it limb from limb!

485. @Scotty – “you need to be diving in and ripping at it limb from limb”, metaphorically speaking, of course.

486. Absolutely Chris, yes, my apologies again.

     Metaphorically speaking of course.

     We wouldn’t want anyone actually being ripped apart limb from limb….. would we (hmmm, do I use a ? or a ! to finish that sentence……nah, I’ll let you each decide and put your own punctuation in)

487. @ scotty @ geoff I have the Happy Holiday email and obtain other investors’ email addresses…I have contacted them through that email and form a group.
     If anyone want to join in, please email to [email protected]
     I will add you into that group.
     I really appreciate to @Marksie @Chris @scotty, give us so much useful information.

488. @Xin – did you already send out that email? If so, I should’ve received it as I was on that list (I have not).

489. @ Xin – ???? my pleasure, hope it helps a little

490. Dear investors… well, squareyards who sold 500 units of this scam just informed us that barworks management disappeared, no track of anyone, and they don’t know who to go after… they hired a firm for legal persuit.. but I spoke in person to a scenario manager from SY, I understood they are trying to get their commission 2.3 M from BW and not really caring about investors money.. very funny, they think they have no responsibility.. real estate rule.. if a company promotes a 3rd party product to be sold on its platform, they are RESPONSIBLE to do all precau and due diligence to ensure it’s reliable and fraud/ scam-free.. personally I would never have invest in BW if SY never brought to me.. we use local agents for safety and trust! Am I wrong

491. Went by the West Village location today. It was open with 8-9 people there around 10am. As someone asked earlier, I have to wonder who’s paying the employees if management has fled.

492. @ Geoff- it could be that the site you went past has a little operating capital so it can function but as for the management fleeing, firstly im not sure I’d call RH management and secondly I would say it’s almost certain that he has long gone.

     Ask yourself after your visit if what you saw is a true reflection of the picture the brochures painted. Hardly competing with WeWorks is it but the question you raise is a valid one.

     Great to have you ‘on the ground’ for updates Geoff and always good to get the input.

493. You will rest in hell SY, what you have done is a crime and now you are giving false commitment to your investors.

     You are the one who came to us with lots of commitment to invest in Barworks, conducted seminars in luxury places with suited booted guys…

     You call your self consultant , you dont know F### of consultancy, you did it simply for high commission.

     Dont do drama of pending commission, payments are stopped from April, and before that investors and agents both were getting payments.

     Being an agent you will have your own terms with BW, are are receiving payments from early 2016 till April 2017…if $2.3M is your pending now, How much you would have received ?

     I wish someone can teach a lesson to people like you, i wish authorities take some strict action against you…

     JP Morgan bank & agents like Square Yards should held at first instance…

     You guys killed your investors…shame on you…

494. @Scotty – what you say makes perfect sense. And, no, nothing like WeWorks.

     I had sent an email on Monday to the BW admin office asking if payments were going to resume in June like Franklin’s note implied. This was before it dawned on me that something was seriously wrong, which really occurred after I saw the two locations near me were padlocked…after which I discovered this site (I invested in December…none of these things seemed to come to light…at least online…until January). I figured that email went into Ponzi scheme hell, and I’d never hear back. But I actually received a response from ” Nancy Rodriguez” late this afternoon saying they are working on it. I’m chalking it up to one more delaying tactic.

495. Looking from investors with Squareyards in Qatar, I have built a strong case ready to be filed with help of local legal advisor.. any investor from Qatar may contact e [email protected]

496. @ Square Yards Victim –

     It’s a really tough situation you are in and whilst I agree that SY should have done more DD, it is plausible that they were not even aware themselves of the level of this scam. This is the reason I raised the question as to who signed their contract and if they know RH personally or if RH had any contact with them or if the name JB was used.

     As an agent, they should not have been swayed by 20+% commission I agree and agents should ask questions on anything over circa 10% as an absolute maximum in my opinion.

     If they ‘invited’ you to attend a seminar or similar and ‘advised’ you/others to invest, again to me this is wrong.

     It really depends on the way they ‘sold’ it to you. Did they present their findings and let you decide or did they advise and tell you to invest?

     I am not exonerating their actions at all and it’s a real shame so many invested and I don’t wish you to take this the wrong way but ultimately it is always, in my opinion, the decision of the investor to invest or not.

     I appreciate that if you are sat in a room full of other investors and the buzz in the room is positive it is often hard to say no and you are entrusting someone like SY to have done the homework for you but your own DD should always happen too.

     I don’t agree with the approach of SY or many agents if it is not on a consultative basis and really understanding the clients needs and in my opinion it could take weeks or several meetings/calls to really understand your client. This, I feel has unfortunately gone or has dwindled with many agents who simply want quick commission and to not build a relationship.

     I hold the off plan property market and timeshare mostly responsible for breeding these quick deal sales people who are judged by their bosses on a daily basis.

     The approach should be more professional and as I pointed out before, some kind of global recognition or legislation needs to be introduced to stop these types of schemes.

     Like I say it’s a very tough situation. You have trusted SY, they have in turn trusted BW but ultimately it is your money and your decision unless of course your are paying them to manage your cash and assets for you however this would only be done via a regulated company.

     In my opinion there are 7 Key steps as a guide to investing in the alternative market and DD is just one of them.

     My worry is that thousands of investors have now been burnt so badly they will never recoup the money they have lost and will never enjoy the fruits of the alternative market which are there if done properly and selected carefully.

497. @All

     I’ve invested in 3 units in 70 white St. NY (formerly known as Tribeca) trough Best USA Property Investments (or Best overseas Property investments) in the UK. Payments stopped in April and the broker replies to one out of 3 emails I send him, I’m supposed to talk to him over the phone on Monday, I’ll let you know.
     I have dealt with Tahyira in the past for minor bank transfer issues, but now her email is inactive.
     I have never received any communication from BW about any issue in the last months nor the Best wishes email.

     I live in the UAE and have joined UAE-investor’s list already, I’m in contact with Marksie, and Diana.

     Could someone enlighten me on the possible risks of sharing the proof of purchase and the contract? I’m sorry to ask this question and I don’t want to offend anyone but, I’m really confused and don’t want to dig my hole deeper….

     Furthermore @Gogsuk how do I contact you? The email is blurred.

498. Its all lies SY dont have anything pending, they are simply lying it. They got their payment as soon as clients payment triggered in BW account. and i have an audio clip to prove that…

     @Skikdi21 i agree with you, the only reason they promoted Bar Works over their own convertible because it gives them instant money, which help them to expand their business. the more SY will expand the more it will kill people around the world…

     I am in shock knowing SY is doing all this drama of acting innocent to protect their client…They are real the butchers…

     I will send all the documents to email left on this blog…

499. Dear All;

     We have a group 35 now, we will have our database ready soon with all the required detail for legal actions against BW & related agencies.

     @Square Yards Victim $60K @ nvested 75k with SY Qatar

     Marksie himself has a discussion with Square Yards and confident that Square Yards will help us.

     Dont ask me who is Marksie, No body knew it, What i knew that He is very knowledgeable guy, he know a lot about Barworks and things related to that…

     I am not on agents side, But if they are willing to support us we should not screw them now…

     @All;

     I truly understand except investor, rest all understand this game of thorns very well…

     I believe in god, and i pray who ever has committed this intentionally will get the justice one day…

     @My Story

     1st Half…
     ————
     Square Yard approached me while they were promoting San Francisco in July-Aug2016 UAE, I work in Al Wahda Abu Dhabi area, and at the ground floor there is a space for marketing…only high profile company choose it for marketing…because the place is full of educated professionals…

     I met them there, and come to know about BW, the way whole picture was presented infront of me i found it a bit logical…and this is how our discussion started, I met with two sales, guys both are realiy good in making relationship, they replied all my queries, i got the call from Barworks guys also once!! I mean there was nothing which was doubt able , they replied all my queries on Barworks very ethically, Obviously i have to trust them after all they were so confident in the product they were promoting…I trusted them so much after their presentation that there was no room for below questions which we have now:-

     1. How much is their commission
     2. what is their contract with BW
     3. how the product will generate such a huge profile in two years
     4. What is the protection plan

     Time is changed now, they still talk to me , but they dont have any reply on barworks now…

     2nd Half….
     ————–

     7 Months Later March2017, they approached me again, this time for Istanbul (San Francisco is sold out by now :( by now), I said i dont have money i need to buy home as my family is growing i need a bigger house, and i am planning to take loan…the got the business!!!! immediate i got a home product from them, i did some research and come to know Paramount Builders are not withstanding to their commitment, so i dropped it.

     They have a business to do with me now (I am going to be killed now), they introduce me Istanbul and Convertible. Focus point was Istanbul , although convertible is their own product , all the highlight was on Istanbul (i could not guess that time).

     Obviously, rents are fine with BW so i did not went on google ( I wish , i could have done that, and seen REDD comments) while investing for Istanbul. I though with return of San Franscisco and Istanbul i will pay EMI of Loan, and it will help my kids after two years when will be getting back our investment (You know what sales guys knew it, i shared my future with them).

     My script was written, its time to push for loan SY (i have emails to prove that how much push was there to process loan). I was trusting them so blind they i could not even realize that my neck is in their hand now. loan is approved now, and i made the transfer to turkey bank 9 march 10am.
     I got the confirmation from BW the fund were receipt by 16th March (though it was wire transfer).

     I ask SY that they should give some gift to repeated customer, and they did the same but they mentioned upon receipt of commission, So they paid 3K after a couple of week to me.

     End of March i got return for both unit for April, and than rest is history…

     I am killed guys…I am left with agreement, ownership certificate, email communication and a heavy loan of $90K, which i have to pay now…

     After All above, I still hope & trust Square Yards will stand for their clients…Still people are in touch…But no one has reply what was my fault, who presented me Barworks, why i am looted like this…

     My life is changed since i met SY… Now i wish things back on track, I wish Square Yards will refund at lease the commission part so that i can settle my loan partially…

     End Of My Story… :(

     Send me ur detail to be part of small group we have on [email protected]

500. I made my bank transfer end of April… By then many investors from the real estate agents SY and JG had already complaint of not receiving their returns and BW stopped replying to their emails/ phone calls… Although this was so obvious that BW is a scam, they did not stop me from sending the money, they even showed me some few more transfers done at same period by other victims or stupid investors (dont know what to call ourselves), as well as newpaper publicaion to show how safe and trusted it is… everyone goes his way on how to get back his money… I am not based in the US or UK where criminals are manupilating everyone, I am live where goverment is very limited to the classic understanding of a fraud… “You promoted something on your platfrom, you gave receipt, guarantees and confirmation” you are part of the crime…. My one millon question to SY when I was doing DD… WHAT IF BW DISPPEARS WITH THE MONEY AFTER 6 MONTHS OR 1 YEAR…WHO Will REFUND ME…??
     Well …won’t tell you the answer here guys, cause I have it in writing… not words (documented and preciously saved for a day like this one).

     Please you are all invited to google what happened to SY in Singapore… closed since 3 months by authorities for promoting a fraudulent overseas investment in the US. In this one, they blamed investors for not doing DD… Same f**king lifeline for these players, however case is still open and victims are still pushing toward a refund.

501. The fundraising effort for 95 Chambers St is still continuing although I notice that they are being particular who they send the brochures out to. They seem to be focusing on areas where they think the SEC will have little interest in following up and investors may not have done any online searches.
     Here’s an email from a new fake person at Bar Works – Paul Johnson – sent on Friday.

     It seems that none of the existing investors can get through to Bar Works unless they want to buy another unit in 95 Chambers St ! “Paul” has left his number so it is worth a try.

     The brochure even includes the CEO letter from Jonathan Black. They are so desperate to bring more money in they aren’t even bothering to remove Jonathan Black. This is fraud – plain and simple. I have forwarded to the SEC.

     “Paul Johnson”
     2017-06-18
     Bar Works Chamber Street, New York

     Dear Investor:

     Thank you for your interest in Bar Works Co-Working Space investment opportunity offering 24% per annum net returns on investment plus a 125% buyback option.

     I am pleased to offer you limited work-spaces at Bar Works Chamber Street New York offering: –
     Net returns of 24% per annum from: Co-Working Space and the Fitness Center Combined
     125% Buyback option on year 10: $31,250 per space
     Work-spaces cost: $25,000 per space
     Net returns of $86,250 on investment
     Bar Works Chamber Street New York is now open for business and inspection visits are welcomed prior to investing.

     Please let me know if you wish to take advantage of this great opportunity?

     Please email me any questions on the above?

     Inspection visits are welcomed on the fully operational Bar Works Site in Chamber Street prior to investing.

     Thank you in anticipation.

     Kind regards

     Paul Johnson
     Senior Property Consultant
     Bar Works Inc.
     http://www.barworks.nyc

     T: 001-646-766-8236
     A: 47W 39th street, New York, 10018, USA

502. @ All investors –

     To read what some of you have done and been through and more importantly advised on and had suggestions made to do by any of the entities involved in this renders me speechless and upsets me greatly.

     A lot of what I have written has been the ‘hindsight’ rule about how these financial cowards operate in the hope that next time, if there is a next time, you are better prepared.

     Reading the last couple of posts, the reality of the situation of certain investors has hit hard.

     To read that an agent has suggested someone takes out a loan to cover an investment is frankly obscene.

     To read that investors were still being told to send monies after issues had arisen is disgusting.

     I was approached back in September 2015 to ask my opinion of this scheme and just from the review of the numbers I sensed it was fraudulent. To then find out who was behind it, my mind was made up inside of 10 seconds.

     I wish now, that I had followed my instinct and sent an email to every single person on the planet or taken out an advert on every single media outlet to warn people however this was impossible and realistically who would have believed me anyway.

     When an investment, which is made to cater for future plans and provisions actually turns into ruining lives, it’s a sad day.

     When the agents or brokers are simply thinking about this months commission and covering their rent as opposed to building client relationships and taking time to understand what the client needs, over wants, it’s hurts peoples lives.

     For your average investor to save circa $50,000, it takes many years. To have that opportunity to place those funds in something is sought after by many more who could only dream of that sort of available and spare cash. To then entrust someone with that level of funds is a big big decision and when the opportunity is marketed the way BW has, it makes it difficult to say no.

     I just wish the opportunity had arisen months ago and we had a forum set up asking for opinion of this rather than a result of people investing.

     Stay strong everyone.

503. StandUnitedAgainstDScam

     Hats Off, You still trust SY, You are not going to get anything from. Pull them in court you might get something, they are blood sucker…

     I have send my detail on [email protected], use it if it helps…

504. My family and I invested a lot of money on this. A week ago a friend told me about the things posted online and of course I was devastated (and still am). We invested $300K. What is everyone else doing. I´m trying to catch up with all the messages. Can some one advise us? We are foreign investors. Pls Pls Pls

505. @ vlight – where are you located and which agent did you go through for which project?
     When did you ‘invest’?

506. I know that many people have received the latest update from Bar Works. Here it is in full:

     Dear Investors,

     Since our last communication with our leaseholders, there has been a number of developments.

     Firstly, we are pleased to announce the opening of two new locations: our first nestled in the heart of Tribeca New York City and the second located in Los Angeles’ trendiest Hollywood neighborhood.

     Secondly, we have decided to close our 39th street location. The coffee bar operation that was established there did not prove viable to the operator and they pulled out of the location.

     This left us in a position where we would have to invest significantly in this location to reconfigure the layout. In addition, the acquisition of new members in this location has proved very challenging particularly with the removal of the coffee operator. We have therefore decided to focus our attention on Chambers Street and our West Village locations in New York.

     These upcoming weeks will indicate our ability to survive in this increasingly challenging market particularly bearing in mind the new model we have launched in Chambers street. Early signs are positive but it is still proving a challenge acquiring new members despite the extensive positive PR we are enjoying.

     Bar Works is dedicated to making a success of this business. While this new model is tested in the upcoming weeks, we ask for patience and understanding. Negative posts and threats of legal action are counter-productive. Also, the spreading of misleading and slanderous blogs are unhelpful.

     We apologize that we are not able to answer all investor inquiries/communications, however; we continue to be appreciative of your support and understanding.

     Regards,

     The Client Services Team

     1. A coffee bar operator pulled out and because of that they felt they had to close down the entire site! After all the millions they raised for that site ? Is that the best excuse they can come up with – they can’t find anybody to make the coffee ? That is such a pathetic excuse.

     2. “The positive PR we are enjoying” ! You are living in a dream world. Your company is so crooked your staff don’t even use their own names. When this goes to court all of those people who used fake names will have a hard job convincing the Judge that they had a valid reason for hiding their identities. We already have a lot of the real names.

     3. “Patience and understanding” – You won’t answer any questions, you don’t answer the phones and you ignore emails. How can investors be patient with people who aren’t willing to answer straightforward questions ?

     4. “misleading and slanderous blogs” – shoot us down in flames then. Produce Jonathan Black. Answer investor questions. You haven’t attempted to clear up the accusations because you can’t, and you sure as hell don’t want to go anywhere near a courtroom.

     5. “we apologise that we aren’t able to answer all investor inquiries/communications”. Well just come on this blog then and answer what you can. There are hundreds of investors reading this blog. Of course the people at Bar Works are reading this blog. They have been for a very long time but they can’t do anything about it because what we write is the truth.

     6. The remaining staff at Bar Works are so scared that they won’t put their name to any emails. They sign it “The Client Services Team”. Here’s a message to “The Client Services Team” – the “Redd-Monitor Blog Team” are getting closer to the truth every day and we will find every last one of you. Your colleagues are already covering their backsides and giving up information in the hope that they won’t go to jail.

507. Hi everybody! I am now in group of investors that is willing to find a lawyer and start prosecution. We are from different countries and from different agents. Are there any other groups that are on the same track? May be we unite?

508. Good grief, whatever next; ‘Sorry Sir/Miss, the dog ate my homework’!

509. Dear Barworks and their agents,

     I can’t wait to see you all enchained and walking into your right hole in this world “jail after refunding investors”. I am moving very much forward with general prosection in my country.. “Well prosecutor said I have what’s good for refund from agent”. I am burning inside, you who think you can run away with ordinary people hard-erned money… Barworks and any agent who promoted your fraud and scam.. Me as investor, I will make sure I do my part to let your companies disappear! FB posts, twitter and tagging NYT, FT, FBI, The Guardian, Le Monde, Leberation, Gulf times.. Will make sure from Signgapore to Alaska they hear about you.. I don’t want anyone else to go through this… I just know few names from emails: Jessica, Nancy, Samuel, Yuna… Funny thing, why barworks emails are only with last name… [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]… What if you have 10 people of same name.

     Please investors… don’t stop going after your agents and barworks equally.. They are buying time. My agent promised me to get refund in 3 months. Quite enough time to find an exit., Good luck

     @UAE investors… Beware… Your agents like SY and JGP are in your own group pretending to be investors . Better you meet all up in person and clean up the mess.

510. Thanks for the update @marksie. Have any US investors received the June payment yet?

511. @Skikdi21

     We all standby you, we are burning the same fire as you are! Stay strong, Please associate with us we have a small group of Bar Works Victim, email me on [email protected]

     BW Scammers will reach their final destination soon!! Please share your post we all will spread it.

     Agents – Must realize it by now, there wont be any future for them with this money, soon or later they will face the consequences of doing this. So they must :

     – Approach their investor and return them what they got from Bar Work, This will help you tomorrow while you will see everything going against you.
     – You also knew, that no government whether its USA or UAE will defend you, Infact UAE govt. will stand for the investor…Go and check history.
     – Dont feel that focus is only on barworks, Agent are the one in reality who approached investor and promoted this and not Bar works, you must accept your mistake and payback your client immediately.

     Paying back what you got from Barworks might give u a little loss , because you have put some man power cost behind this fraudulent promotion.

     It take years for us to save this money, unlike a business man.

     So i urge Square Yards(My Agent) , Atom Investments , JGD – to apologies their investor and payback them their blood money…

     Now you have time to correct your errors, you wont get it in future…

     @Marksie

     You blogs are very informative for all of us, i know that you know pretty well the road map ahead, We want you to share your thoughts on Agents, if you agree on above…

512. Haddow = Black, Milhench = Simpson, Kinard = ? It was all a dream

513. Good to see you back Greg.

     Any sightings of Haddow?

514. we are recovering all the info and will send it to the email posted above. thxs!!

515. Dear investors,

     While we are working toward filing our cases to get refund.

     Let’s start acting on twitter #Barworks and tag @FBI, @NYT, @GulfTime, @Lemonde, @The guardian, @SEC, @CNN.. let’s the overheat it and speak outload about it.. They won’t go anyhere and no one else will put a penny and their scam.
     You have no idea what an impact they will get.. me and few of my friends just did and the day after barworks sent an email asking investors to stop making this issue public or filing lawsuit against them till they figure out what to do!

516. @skikdi21 I did that for few days ago and recommended everyone to go that route but I do not see enough tweets. We should set some time and set mass tweets to catch those $$ckers.

517. Someone please count me on board for taking legal action. I am based in HK.

518. Hello guys.
     It seems that they have taken down their Facebook and Instagram pages…

519. Thanks go to the person who sent me the following article. Now we will see if there is any money left. I have known about FBI interest for several weeks. Now it is out in public.

     Investors Call Coworking Startup Bar Works A Ponzi Scheme
     By Jack Newsham

     Law360, New York (June 22, 2017, 9:11 PM EDT) — Bar Works, a startup that purports to be in the shared-workspace business, is now the subject of at least two lawsuits from investors who call it a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

     The latest case, filed Wednesday in Florida federal court, says the company raised at least $25 million and immediately defaulted on its obligations, and that it hid the role of an accused Ponzi schemer in its business.

520. @marksie (and others who wanting to post this article) – Posting the whole article would be in breach of copyright. The article is publicly available – you just need to register on the law360.com website for a free trial.

     I’ll write a post about this latest development in the next few days.

521. @marksie
     well, thanks to the 2 groups that decided to file the lawsuits and run the risk.
     One of those is actually my company.

522. @Combed presumably though yours is not the filing cited in the Law360 article (“Plentium Capital Group Corp.”) given that they are using FL-based attorneys. Where is the evidence of your filing?

523. @Combed, as I have said on this site many times it is your money and it is up to you how you want to spend it. When I communicated with you and your attorney it was my opinion that investors would spend a lot of money trying to get to the bottom of this and they ought to let ‘the authorities’ do that work for them. I told you and your attorney that my feeling is you need to go for low-cost focused targets in order to force disclosure of the Bar Works’ accounts. There would be a time for a group action but it wasn’t now. Most investors have a limit on how much they are willing to spend chasing down these crooks and it could all be burned away very quickly and there was no need to spend that money now. In my opinion it was better to save the money and let ‘the authorities’ do the legwork for you. I knew the FBI had an investigation underway but couldn’t make that public in case they were planning a raid on Bar Works.

     I am still of the opinion that investors should keep their powder dry and should wait to see what progress the SEC and FBI make.

     I give credit to those people who can afford to take action at this stage. Most people cannot, but you and the Chinese investors are willing to risk your money so credit to both groups.

     The Chinese investors appear to be more advanced than you in their action, but neither action has been able to serve papers on Renwick Haddow. If there is any money then he is likely to have it. Bar Works is on the verge of bankruptcy in my opinion. The advice we received was that somebody had to physically serve the Haddows with papers. We knew he had left his apartment a few weeks ago because we saw that it had come on the market. We have been trying to track him down since and have a lead.

     There is still a big question mark over who would get Haddow’s money even if you can find it. There are confiscation orders against his assets so the attorneys are going to have another big payday fighting that battle.

     I think the New York law firm missed a trick in their action. They have named Haddow, Black and Kinard as plaintiffs but have not included Robert Munden or Zoia Kyselova aka Zoe Miller aka Zoe Haddow. There are documents claiming that both those people are directors of Bar Works Inc so I would have thought including them would have been sensible. Documents claim Black, Zoe Miller and Robert Munden are the directors of BWI. They may not actually be directors because nothing Bar Works says can be trusted, but if they are they should have been included. Maybe the NY attorneys have seen the corporate structure of Bar Works Inc but I doubt it. It is very difficult to get disclosure from Delaware companies. Munden is easy to find.

524. @marksie pls would you kindly contact me.
     Pk

525. I have not had a chance to go through the entire NYC court filing in detail yet, but I have already found errors in the attorney’s submission to the court.

     When an attorney is representing more than 25 investors and is no doubt charging them a substantial fee for his services I would expect him to get the basics right. The most basic element of a court case is to ensure that you are prosecuting the right companies !

     One of the defendants listed by the attorney is ‘Bar Works Metropolital Ave, Inc’. This is not the company I have seen written into investor contracts. The company I have seen in the contracts is ‘Bar Works Metropolitan LLC’. Not only is Metropolitan spelt incorrectly in the filing but the company he should be prosecuting doesn’t have ‘Ave’ in the name and it also isn’t an ‘Inc’. This prosecution could be ignored by Bar Works and would be thrown out.

     What is more concerning is another company the attorney has listed is ‘Bar Works Chambers St, Inc’. This is not the company that signed the contract with investors. That company is ‘Bar Works Chambers LLC’. Once again, it does not have ‘St’ in its name and it is not an ‘Inc’. This would be thrown out too.

     This attorney needs to get his act together pretty damn quick because this was supposed to be the easy part.

526. i am very worried I invested $100’000 into Barworks, 2 units 39st and 2 units at chambers Street NYC I would like to speak to all UK investors to see how we can get our money back please reply to me and we can talk over the phone. I have used an alternative ID and give correct details when I speak with you

527. @marksie

     I know, I was just kidding. I’m not looking for any credit.

     However, even if I share some of the things we discussed together, I personally disagree with your strategy, for the following reasons:

     – all the time spent on investigations by authorities is time being used by BW to hide more money. On the other hand, a lawyer can act more quickly and try to make a judge freeze the bank accounts or other assets;
     – you know my view: I think we should have moved at the same time as the authorities: while they investigate we file a lawsuit;
     – if all the investors had moved together, the costs for each investor would have been very little and balanced with the amount he invested. I can guarantee that a lawyer would have been very happy to have hundreds of clients if we had been able to be united and share the costs.
     – I know I can use my money the way I want, so do the other investors. We are trying to help other people.
     – you talk about investors’ money like employees that lost their pensions or retirement funds because a company stole their money. But this is not the case, according to me. The people on here are “investors”. I’m an investor, too. We tried to make (extra) money with (our) money, basically we speculated. Of course, that does not justify anybody to steal our money. But, with some exceptions, most of the investors have the money for a lawyer. And I have a confirmation of this from all the emails I received.
     – don’t forget that, even if authorities find assets in BW while the Chinese group gets a favorable judge’s sentence, part of those assets will diminish and probably some of the investors that waited won’t have any chance to recover their loss.

     Yes, I noticed those errors in the NY attorney submission, too.

528. @pk, I don’t know how to contact you but you can contact me on [email protected]

529. @Marksie I am victim of many scams through UK agents, this is why I didn’t invest in any things they polluted my e-mail box with later including Bar Works. It is striking how all of them operate and there is always this British property mafia behind (same individuals, same unregulated agents, same PR, same pseudo regulations). And UK authorities, police, etc…refuse to investigate them. Even worse those crooks will threatening you with the defamation act (the British crook friendly law) so they can continue destroying lives with other scams. I wonder if Britain got a university who deliver MD of frauds and PhD of scams.
     You mentioned http://northdakotadevelopmentsreceiver.weebly.com/. I know the agents who sold it were selling BarWorks, OurSpace and other craps. I was victim of NDD and it was a nasty fight…the modus operands is the same: stopping the payment, blaming contractor and the entire world, “restructuring”…then shutting down their social media..The unscrupulous agents washed their hands after taking 20% of undisclosed commission…They hired rogue lawyers to issue legal threat, etc. Like Haddow NDD masterminds were reported to the FCA but they let them continue scamming people, the fraudsters even used the FCA decision as a proof that they are genuine scheme.
     If it helps, forget about UK, the only chance to recover small money as with NDD is in US. You can start by BarWorks law firm (in the case of NDD we got 5% back from lawyer PI). If your agent is based in US you can make his life miserable via SEC and class action.
     @Chris as you I received many threats of legal proceeding and I’m collecting them as a matter of pride. Unbelievable! Those crooks believe that the bogus law of their “country” applies to all mankind. I like to ask them to come in person to my country and commence a legal action because where I am based they will end up in jail.
     I’m sorry to say but behind any scam like this, and I’m victim of many of them. you have individuals and entities from UK and I wonder when this country will consider that frauds and scams are crimes. In many scams I have follow British victims, they are usually old people who lost their pension and their authorities don’t care. Unlike me, they are scared to talk openly because of the defamation act which seems to be the only law in force in UK.
     \

530. I have been notified of this forum by an investor and as the director of the former company, Best Overseas Property Investments Ltd., I firstly write to express my shock and concern at the current situation in respect of Bar Works and confirm that I am already liaising with the majority of investors who purchased via Best Overseas Property Investments Ltd. I hope to contact the remainder in the next day or two.

     I am happy to provide Bar Works brochures, contracts, etc. that may assist anyone on this forum in ensuring the best possible outcome for investors.

     The company was introduced to the Bar Works opportunity by UPI (a company we have worked with before in relation to properties in Spain – with no issues), carrying out due diligence and waiting until the first venue was open before commencing marketing. Indeed, one of our existing clients visited the venue to see it in operation (giving it the thumbs up) before becoming the first to invest via Best Overseas Property Investments Ltd.

     Best Overseas Property Investments Ltd. acted in good faith at all times and I will continue to find out as much information as possible for investors and assist in any way I can.

     Simon Peck

531. Wow, I have to give credit to the person who has updated the Bar Works page on Wikipedia. This person is really on the ball and has summarised the position extremely well. He/she says that the site in San Francisco has closed down so I believe him/her.

     I think it might be the same person who sent me the court documents today which proved that on Friday Zoia Haddow, Renwick Haddow and Jonathan Black were served with the summons from the NYC court. They were found at an address in Connecticut, USA.

     JB wasn’t actually found – Zoia was served with the documents on behalf of JB because they are both directors. I’m going to look pretty stupid if JB turns up to court having spent 4 months banging the drum saying he doesn’t exist !!

     The announcement was met with joy from some in my investor group because three times Connecticut had come up in our investigations. Once in relation to Keith Simpson who was said to be living with JB in Connecticut, a second time in a throw-away comment made by a BW staff member that JB commutes in from Connecticut, and a third time when Anne Marie found an online advert where a lady called Zoia Haddow was selling puppies from an address in Connecticut. We were following that lead down and are so pleased that we were on the right track. We had tracked Haddow around NYC and always been just one step behind him.

     The good news is that they aren’t likely to be able to leave the US now.

532. Nice write up on Wikipedia

     https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Works

533. Hi Simon I have also invested in BW and need help in getting my $100’000 investment back please email me

534. I read an article on communal workspace in (maybe) the world’s most prominent paper (certainly top 3) this morning. On a whim. I sent an email to the journalist asking them if they had heard of Bar Works and provided a general overview of what I know (I also referenced TRD’s original article and provided a link to this blog). The journalist reached out to me and wants me to give them a call to provide more background. I will do that, but ultimately I don’t know much more than what I’ve learned here – so depending upon the ultimate interest level, I may want to put the journalist in touch with some of you.

535. Hi, like most people here I have been scammed by BW. I was wondering if someone here could help me understand how these parallel litigations work.
     Is it basically a race between these 2 (potentially more in the future) lawsuits to get to Haddow first? Shouldn’t these 2 and any other in the future be merged? Not sure how the law works in the US but doesnt make much sense.
     Additionally, do you know if possible to join one of these claims? Or should investors not covered in these 2 lawsuits file new ones? Again it does not make much sense to have many litigations running at the same time.
     Sorry for my lack of knowledge of US law, but Im trying to assess which is the best way forward for me.
     Thanks.

536. Simon Peck.. Thanks for the note.
     Tell us about the commission.. it must be irresistible up to a point that many agent have sold barworks by late April 17.. Although they had seen many suspicious things about BW by then still they haven’t stopped these investors from transferring the money to BW accounts. According to general attorney where I live.. These investors must claim their refund from their agents and not from BW. Simply cause they haven’t started anything with BW.

537. Guess this is it ….the pack of cards is finally falling. I just lost my hard earned money to another made in the USA recession proof bla bla bla investment scams right under the nose of the “best financial regulators in the world ” investing in syria or PNG is far much better than in the USA !

     http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20170626/REAL_ESTATE/170629914/co-working-company-bar-works-collapsing-amid-allegations-of-fraud

538. Skikdi21 The last sale my former company did was in November 2016. I should point out that Best Overseas Property Investments Ltd. ceased trading a couple months ago. There is absolutely no need for me to be involved in this forum other than for me to work in the best interests of my previous investors and I have morals. I am liaising with both investors and lawyers multiple times a day and will continue to do so on an ongoing basis.

     I am also advising investors who purchased through other agents/promoters and will continue to do so. I have contacted every investor who invested via my previous company and will be speaking to them on an ongoing basis.

     Simon Peck

539. Simon Peck – what’s the link between Best and Best International , Greyfriars etc ? BW and OS are the exact same model ?

     Greyfriars is part of the Best Group and we’re raised last year we’re they not and told not to take any more of a certain type of investment?

540. Another article

     http://tribecacitizen.com/2017/06/27/in-the-news-is-bar-works-capsizing/

541. @ Simon
     Well done for coming on here.
     Out of curiosity I have a couple of questions for you.

     Did you have any dealings for your commission agreement with barworks or was it done through UPI who presumably were the master agent (?)?

     If you dealt with barworks did you have communication/signed agreements with Renwick Haddow or Jonathan Black?

     If you dealt with UPI, did you have any communication/signed agreements with Jim Moore?

     Just trying to fit some pieces of the puzzle and your help would be great to understand who was contacting and contracting the agents.

542. Fully agree! I was out of the correspondence for some time. I am ready to join the team that has hired a lawyer already or is planning to do that.

543. @Scotty The initial agreement (Nov ’15) was with United Property Connect, now known as UPI, and was signed by Ain Robinson. I had never heard of Jim Moore until this forum. A second agreement directly with Bar Works was signed on June 16th 2016 by Jonathan Black.

544. Please could someone get in touch with me I would like to join the team you have hired a lawyer as I have invested 100’000 into Barworks no one seems to get back to me

545. Thanks @ Simon.

     Why the two agreements?

546. Hi Scotty, I dealt via UPI and then a commission payment was not forthcoming. UPI said they had a falling out with Bar Works so I should contact Bar Works directly for payment. Bar Works then suggested signing agreement directly with them.

547. Interesting @ Simon, thanks for clarifying.
     So effectively UPI we’re the liaison/master agent to start with and then had a falling out and went their separate ways and set up Ourspace?

548. @ Simon, you mention your contract was signed by Jonathan Black….. was Renwick Haddows name ever mentioned?

549. Hi Scotty, UPI were the master agent who then had a falling out with BW over comms. I did not promote Our Space but was aware that UPI were promoting. I am unsure as to their role – whether they were a master agent again or part of the ‘developer’.

550. Simon – Best International own Greyfriars , Greyfriars link is Ourspace and Jim Moore

551. Simon – and the final reason I find it odd, Best Overseas is part ( was ) part of Best International who share the same address as Ourspace Capitol ( both the exact same address Knutsford Cheshire) . Personally I find it hard to believe you was not aware of the link .

552. Simon – and the final link – Dubai – Chinese Business Hub ( website taken down ) , same model as Barworks and Ourspace , was being sold by Crown International who one of the partners there is a partner in Ourspace Capitol . The link follows from actually Best International to Barworks and Ourspace and Chinese Business Hub. There was a guy on here from the UAE who seemed to be very emotive ….I just wonder

553. Final final point –

     http://m.ripoffreport.com/reports/ourspace/internet/ourspace-our-space-deceptions-liars-cheaters-conns-where-the-euros-dubai-new-york-intern-1333836

     Mentions Johnathon Black and Kevin Halliwell ( Barworks and Ourspace )

554. Well guys.. Sorry. This is going down to real sh*t. What a battle is ahead of most of us to get back this money. My battle will be against my agent.. before investing, I told him the following:”What proof do you have it is garanteed, when if this barwork turns down to be a scam after few months or one year… well, they gave me their commitment to maintain this guarantee in writing”, Yes people it’s documented!. As such my lawyer told me I have every right by the law to get refund by the agent.

     I am really sorry that all these investors have lost their hardly earned money under the most sophisticated financial and legal system in the univers.. The almighty United States of America. Thanks God I will get my money back easily cause I don’t live in a country as great as great as the birth place of Barworks!

     That’s my last contribution here.. Wish all best luck.
     Please don’t feel ashamed of this .. We are not stupid, foolish, or easy to get. Everyone had a reason to believe in this. Mine.. I’ll be honest with you.. I really did never care of BW as long as I had guarantee from my agent.

     Thank you all and stay strong against this.

555. What do you know about Greyfriars and Best international. I have an investment with them in UAE that has gone down. Are you saying there is a link between Barworks and Best international?

556. @ Innocent Bystander Best Overseas Property Investments Ltd has nothing to do with Best International/Greyfriars. The only connection is that both companies have Best in their name.

     @ Scotty Renwick Haddows name was never mentioned

557. Hi Skikdi21 we are victims to but no one is replying to us we are in the UK can you assist can we talk over the phone please

558. Mike, Im a UK investor, can you get in touch, you haven’t left any contact details, thanks

559. @Skikdi21

     Wish you all the best for your refund.

     Everyone has assurance from agent in terms of email, call etc. but what you have is really amazing, we did not even think of it after agent assurance. you got it on the paper from agent, its really great , happy for you…

     But even if agents have not given in written to rest of the investors , this does not leave them from liability toward their investors :

     1. Agents are the one who approached us, and not bar works.
     2. Agents are paid for their consultancy skills while proposing this to investors, and they have liability toward investors , they can not run away.
     3. “Intention” of agent need to be define here, whether they did through diligence or simply went for higher cut of commission , and how much high it is ? 5% is the standard rate, however if they have taken 15% or more than that , how they justify BW return ? which is:

     -12-16% annual , for two years its 24-32%
     – 25% on exit after two years
     -15-20% agent fee
     -BW sales fee
     -BW operational expenes ( Salary, Promotional expenses etc.)

     How can real estate consultant call them self innocent, knowing the current market appreciation over real estate.

     Its pretty clear they agents simply gone sold it for 15-20% brokerage from barworks and that too very quickly compare to other standard investment where they only got 3-5% brokerage and developer T&Cs.

     I dont see any room for agents being innocent here, they did it knowingly and its a crime, so they must be held by authority and ask to payback their investors.

560. Any other italian here who invested through Dream Homes Investment? Ex Investimentiestero?
     Thank you
     Francesco

561. I am a victim from London – invested through Square Yards – I am planning a legal action, those who are from UK and invested through Square Yards can contact for a joint approach – thanks

562. Hi I am a victim from UK how do I get in touch please

563. @ Squareyards- scam victim,

     I totally agree with you… there is no one here who had ever thought that with Barworks turning to scam any day, the agents would be kept out of it. It’s their fight much more than anyone here. They must do one of two things, either getting things back on track .. continuous payments and ensured exit or they refund and they take their long fight with Barworks to get any money back.

     I think any investor who hasn’t considered to file a case against their agent doesn’t have much value to his lost money. Honestly I am still impressed that no one of these agents have filed any lawsuit case against Barworks.

     I personally would never have known or heard about Barworks if they didn’t bring it to me and gave me guarantee for it.. they say do your due diligence .. well .. I did Mr. agent ..when I got your guarantee in writing :)

     P.S: this is not my only investment and all done overseas.. but all through local agents with their signed agreements, guarantees, warranty checks.. this is the role of local agents.

564. Regarding legal action against agents.. PJM, Squareyards..and others … please plan them in groups.
     Anyone who is not engaged in this will lose a lot. DO IT ALL! Voice of people is voice of God!

     What we gain to sue the agents:

     – In some countries possible refund total or partial. I believe investors of GCC can have this.
     – Prosecution or emprosinment .. UK, US, EU
     – Heavy fines .. UK, US, EU, GCC
     – Business loss… Everywhere.
     – Very low cost action or none at all… Common.

     One investor shared with me last email sent from Squareyards to their investors,,sharing updates that we all see in the blog and copy of legal action taken by the Chinese investors.. They also suggested them few lawyers and in the same email they get discharged of any involvement.. Hahaha. Really funny! This is up to the Judge amigos!

565. Below is what i got from Square Yards today

     ============================================================================
     Dear XXXXX XXXX,

     Recent news concerning Barworks, Inc. has made us increasingly concerned that representations made by that company were not true, and in fact, may well have been fraudulent. Some of the facts which came to be known to us are as follows:

     Zoe Miller and Jonathan Black who identified themselves as founders of Barworks may have misrepresented their identities.
     Zoe Miller’s true identity may be Zoia Kyselova.
     Zoia Kyselova is a close associate of Renwick Haddow who is a person of disrepute who has a checkered past in the UK. There is a lawsuit filed in London against Haddow and others by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for being involved in the operation of an unregistered, and, therefore, illegal, “collective investment scheme” involving Capital Alternatives Limited and its affiliates (the “Capital Alternatives Scheme”)
     Jonathan Black is a fictitious person and probably an assumed identity for Renwick Haddow.
     Samuel Aura who identified himself to be senior member and equity holder in Barworks is now claiming that he was only a master agent and never an employee or shareholder of Barworks.
     They have not been paying the assured rental to their investors as agreed under their contract.

     Last week, we learned that investigating agencies in United States including United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) are investigating Barworks. We intend to be in contact with the SEC to fully cooperate and assist with their investigation. Our hope is that, if there are any Barworks assets available, the SEC will collect them into a fund for the benefit of all investors to share equally and that is one significant reason why we will be cooperating with the SEC.

     While we are hopeful that SEC will be able to ferret out any available assets that can be recovered for the Barworks investors, we are also aiding our investors by retaining an independent investigator to search for useful information about Barworks and its owners as well as assets that may be recoverable. We will share the information uncovered by the investigator with SEC and, if the SEC deems it appropriate, we will share that information with you as well.

     We have also learned that at least two civil lawsuits have been filed in U.S. courts against Barworks on behalf of Barworks investors. A copy of both the lawsuits have been attached herewith for your reference.

     We ourselves are shocked at these revelations and have been coordinating and communicating with a large number of people to come up with a way forward for our investors.

     As we see it, there are the following options which can be exercised by you as one of the investors:

     We can file a complaint with SEC on your behalf, with your consent – kindly provide us with written permission in case you want us to do that. However, if you want to lodge the complaint with SEC directly, it can be done online at https://www.sec.gov/oiea/ Complaint.html. While we are aware that SEC has received some complaints already and they are investigating the case, however more complaints would help them get more information which might be further helpful in their investigation.

     You as an individual or a group of investors can file a civil litigation yourself. We have come to know of the following 3 set of law firms based in US which are interested in pursuing a case in the current scenario.
     Bennett Aiello Attorneys at Law
     They are a Miami based law firm and are handling one of the suits against Barworks. In our communication with them, they have conveyed that they can also take up a case on behalf of other investors in Barworks. They would be expecting to receive a starting retainer of $1000-2000 from investors for every $25,000 of investment made by them to fund the costs of pursuing the law suit.
     Their contact details are:
     Bennett Aiello Attorneys at Law
     The Ingraham Building
     Eighth Floor
     25 Southeast Second Avenue
     Miami, Florida 33131
     Phone: 305-358-9011
     Fax: 305-358-9012
     http://www.bennettaiello.com
     Contact Person: Paul Aiello
     [email protected]

     KAPIN PLLC
     They are a New York based law firm and are handling one of the suits against Barworks. In our communication with them, they have conveyed that they can also take up a case on behalf of other investors in Barworks. They would be charging at the cost of $500 per hour for their time spent on the lawsuit and would be expecting to receive a starting retainer of $50,000 from all investors combined to fund the costs of pursuing the law suit.
     Their contact details are:
     KAPIN PLLC
     305 Broadway, Suite 1004
     New York, New York 10007
     Tel: 212-513-0500
     Fax: 866-575-5019
     http://www.kapinlaw.com
     Contact Person: Michael J. Kapin
     [email protected]

     Maalouf Ashford & Talbot
     They are a law firm having office in New York City, Dubai, Riyadh, Beirut, Hong Kong, Shanghai, São Paulo, and Moscow. In our communication with them, they have conveyed that they are preparing to file a lawsuit on behalf of certain investors who have retained them and would be willing to include more investors in the lawsuit. They would be charging at the cost of $650 per hour for their time spent on the lawsuit and would be expecting to receive a starting retainer of $826 from investors for every $25,000 of investment to fund the costs of pursuing the law suit.

     Their contact details are:
     MAALOUF ASHFORD & TALBOT, LLP
     40 Wall Street, 28th Fl.
     New York, New York 10005
     United States of America
     Tel: +1 212.537.5035
     Fax: +1 212.537.9268
     http://www.maaloufashford.com
     Contact Person: John Maalouf
     [email protected] m

     We keep the names of our investors confidential, and hence we have not disclosed your names or contact information to any of these lawyers. Please understand that we cannot offer an opinion as to whether you should consider retaining these lawyers or any other you may choose to represent you. We do not have a relationship with them and cannot vouch as to their competence. Nor can we offer an opinion regarding the extent to which joining a civil lawsuit offers you any prospect of a recovery from Barworks. Further the client attorney arrangement if any would be entered into directly by the law firm you choose (if any) with you and we cannot be involved in that transaction or communication as we are likely to be deemed as an interested party by the law firm.

     We would try to keep you updated regarding any progress on this front on a regular basis. However, in case you want to reach out to us, the best way would be to write on [email protected].

     ============================================================================

     After reading this email, its clear that this guy is really a son of ####, He dont stick to his own words, I saw his thread in REDD where he was talking big, that he will not leave thier client alone, will file a case behalf of them, committed to support client, SY also accepted that they made a mistake promoting this fraudulent investment.

     “So the bottom line is he accept that he made an error openly,” and now he send an email which shows he has no liabilities toward clients…

     @Marksie : Your Thoughts ?
     @StandUnitedAgainstDScam : you might have also got the same ?

     You both were relying on this agent that they will support, he has shown his real colour now…

     Probably he knew the bottom line :-

     – He has taken a big cut out of our money – 20%
     – Same might have gone to BW sales
     – More than that to RH JB etc etc
     – Lot more on parties, seminars, salaries

     So they knew that there is nothing left for investor to return now, even he file a case he will lose money…and money is the thing for which they supported Barworks….

     After earning millions of dollars, square yards is leaving their client alone…

     Whatever they have written its all taken from this site…

     @ REDD Experts : Please suggest

566. @Square Yards Victim , @Skikdi21, @ Marksie, @Chris

     Me too got the same email like others, I am also in shock after seeing this email from them at this time when i was counting on them so much, Marksie and me had a discussion with SY and we were expecting he will support his clients till end, which he did is a shock for everyone…

     I am sorry guys i was the one who was defending SY…I take my words back. Below is what i replied SY…

     ========================================================================

     Dear Tanuj;

     I am in bigger shock after seeing your email, your this email opposite to all your commitments that you have made so far, on social blogs and phone calls…

     Conclusion of your email – the way i see:

     1. Square Yards is innocent in this whole scam 2. They have not done anything wrong promoting this investment, its okay if its fraudulent end of the day 3. Client can directly take legal action against Barworks, they have taken their “Undisclosed” brokerage and have no liabilities toward any of the investors.

     Let me remind it again, i feel you guys forgotten everything :

     – Square Yards approached me promoting barworks San Francisco in August2016, and I have invested $60K over your assurance
     – Square Yards again approached me in March2017 for barworks Istanbul assuring its coming with higher return 15-16% , and this is done while Square Yards has their own convertible notes launched, but the focus was on Barworks. After all the assurance I invested $90K loan money, which I was planning to use to buy home.
     o Tanuj as you per discussion with Konrad (Real Deal Editor) , Square Yards is not promoting Bar Works since Jan2017, Than why I have been put in trouble ? Why you sold this to me ?
     o I have email showing sense of urgency for loan clearance from ADCB by Square Yards, Why it was done ? When you are not promoting something, how can you advice your investor to invest in that ? Is not this cheating/fraud/scam ?
     o I personally met Mr. Aaroon & Mr. Ajaj Mittal in SY Abu Dhabi Office, they knew the whole story, my future planning & all that.
     o Square yards is the one who approached me, and not bar works, you must be accounted for promoting this fraudulent product even after you realized, you let the investor put their money i.e. which is intentional crime.
     o You are paid for expertise consultancy skills while proposing this to me, and you have liability toward your investors.
     o Every one knew it by now – High agent commission are part of this scam, which is part of investor money, Being a consultant how to you convinced to promote this product can generate such an high return ?

     – May I know what is your contract with Barworks ?
     – May I know proof of diligence , Jonathan Black does not exist ? and you have forward me signed agreement by him.

     As an out of court settlement – I demand my second investment of $90K(loan amount) refund which was made due to wrong intentions & errors from Square Yards, However I will await from Square Yards to file a law suit to recover remaining $60K(saving) from Barworks.

     If I do not hear any resolution on this by next one week, I have all the rights go for legal actions.

     For your information – Few newspaper in UAE & NYC are agreed to publish my story when i shared your this email to them, Actually i was holding it, because i was expecting a lot you…its good you have broken all the dreams…

     ============================================================================

     My family told me not to invest in abroad – people out are not trustworthy…Square Yards is the same…An agent from my own country India – who has taken all my five years earning…i lost 5 years of my life…

     i urge all the UAE investors to get united now…we cant hold it anymore now after this email, lets get united , the more we will be the more pressure can be buildup…

     [email protected] please send your detail…

     What you think @Marksie????

567. UAE Fraud Law

     ===========================================================================

     Fraud

     Federal Law No.(3) For the Year 1987 on Passing Penal Code Article No.399:

     “Shall be punishable by confinement or by a fine any individual who, by using fraudulent practice, assuming a false name or quality, takes possession for himself or for others of any movable property or written instrument, or obtains any signature upon such instrument, its cancellation, destruction or amendment, whenever it is intended to deceive the victim and bring him to surrender a legal right. Shall also be liable to the same punishment he who alienates an estate or a movable property while being fully aware that it is not his own or that he has no right to dispose thereof; or he who knowingly alienates any of the above mentioned after having previously disposed thereof or having concluded any agreement thereon, whenever such an act operates to the injury of others.

     If the object of crime is a property or an instrument pertaining to the State or to any of the authorities mentioned in Article (5) above, this shall be considered a circumstance of aggravation.

     Attempt shall be punished with confinement for a period not exceeding two years with a fine not exceeding twenty thousand Dirhams. And where a recidivist is convicted and sentenced to confinement for a period of one year or more, the Judge may order that he be put under police surveillance for a period neither to exceed two years nor to exceed the duration of the inflicted penalty.”

     Definition:

     Fraud is defined as taking or gaining from another property, money, vouchers or anything of value by deception or lying or trickery which is supported by verbal means or written documents, causing the victim to rely on the same to willingly hand over something of value from himself to the person committing the fraud.

     The crime of fraud is considered a serious fraud if committed against government property or objects of value. This may result in a serious punishment, such as imprisonment.

     If a person who is convicted of fraud and has served his sentence commits a crime again, he or she can be put under investigation and surveillance for up to two years or up to the term of his previous imprisonment.

     Attempted fraud:

     The maximum imprisonment for attempted fraud is two years.

     Difference between lying and fraud:

     Merely lying does not amount to fraud. The element of support has to be present. Therefore, ordinary lies are not considered fraud, as the law does not punish mere lies.

     Difference between fraud and theft:

     The willingness to surrender is what differentiates fraud from theft. In a fraud, the victim willingly surrenders the object of value. In a theft, the victim is not willing to hand over his object of value and it must be forcefully taken from him.

     Difference between fraud and breach of trust:

     In fraud, the intent to de-fraud, and bad faith have to be present from onset. Whereas in Breach of Trust, the intent changes during the process. The presence of bad faith and intent from onset can be proven by evidentiary support.

     Elements of fraud:

     In order to successfully prove fraud, two elements have to be present: the method and object of value or a third party; and the intent to deceive.

     Material requirement:

     The material can be any means of deception such as a false identity or character, or taking an action using property not owned by the deceiver.

     Deceptive methods:

     Deceptive methods fulfilling the requirement of comprising a fraud include general documents, written or verbal expressions, circumstances or appearance, or use of other persons in order to deceive the victim that induce the victim to rely on such supported documents, persons or verbal expressions to handover an object of value. Lying, unsupported by any such acts, does not constitute fraud.

     Using circumstance:

     The general circumstance required to comprise a fraud can be by coincidence or engineered by the party him or herself. In both cases it shall satisfy the requirement for fraud.

     Fraud is based on actions or circumstances that convince the victim into handing over his property. Such acts or circumstances could be made or taken advantage of by the accident himself.

     The Dubai Court of Cassation said on 10/11/2001 that circumstances of fraud can include: “[A person or people] taking on the appearance of rich people and appearing like them and driving their cars to invite people to one’s house and convincing them to hand over their money, after which he disappears, or claiming he has connections with people holding high rank in the government or that he does business management or opened a branch or an office of a fake company or claiming he can cure people, or double their money or do whatever they want by using black magic”.

     Exception to the rule:

     Lying shall constitute the crime of fraud if committed by an individual employed by the government and he takes advantage of his job or his position to deceive another. In all such cases lying shall equate to fraud.

     Third party involvement:

     If the lie is supported by a third party, it is considered a fraud on the condition that third party was moved by the fraudulent party to support the lie. The third party shall be considered a main wrongdoer of the crime if he had an agreement with the fraudulent party to deceive the victim prior to committing the crime or provided support to the deceptive party and vice versa. That includes any documents issued in order to support the lie in such a case written by the third party and issued to the party committing the crime. The only scenario in which the third party shall be considered a victim is if he acted in good faith and was unaware of the deceit.

     A third party is considered a partner to the fraud if he supports the fraudulent party.

     Purpose of the Deceit:

     Under UAE law, the purpose of the deceit is not conditional. Any action taken, regardless of the purpose, if done to take another’s money or property is considered fraud.

     As stated in Abu Dhabi Appeal No.173/79, criminal hearing date 5/8/1979:

     “The deceiving party is the one who must take the action that leads to the interference of the other party supporting him – whether that party had bad intentions or was deceived as well with the deceived party”.

     Doctrines for victim’s protection under the law:

     1. The person

     The criteria are applied on a case-by-case basis and on the merits of each case. So a court will assess the IQ of the victim, among other things to assess whether the deceit was an obvious one or not. This ensures that the person committing fraud does not evade the law or the punishment. This is most often used by the court to protect victims of fraud.

     2. The Standard of Average person

     It is considered as fraud if the court determines that an average person of average intelligence would have succumbed to the deception. If so, then the crime is fraud. However, this is a loophole most likely to be used by those committing fraud since they intentionally target people of below average intelligence or means.

     3. The intentions of the deceiver

     The law shall protect the victim if the deceiver intended to deceive and the means used by him to deceive were successful in deceiving the victim. However, if the deceiver was not successful in deceiving the victim, it shall be considered attempted fraud. The disadvantage with this condition is that it merges the elements of the crime; the intent and the actions.

     Using a false name or identity:

     False name:

     A person is said to be committing a fraud if he takes a false name, in part, or in full. It is, however, not considered fraud if a person uses his commonly known name which is different to his name, or if he shares the same name with another person. However, if he convinces the victim of his false identity of being the other person, with whom he shares his name, it shall come under fraud.

     Taking on a false quality:

     The above is defined as an image an individual acquires due to his position or reputation in a society or due to his affinity with another person of importance. Such quality could be due to the individual’s profession, job, status etc. It is considered fraud to assume the personalities of another person in order to deceive someone out of their property.

     Requirements

     The requirements for the above are timing, and exaggeration. Hence claiming a characteristic like being a court judge if you were one in the past, is still a fraud. Additionally, if a person exaggerates his position in order to deceive, it is a fraud. So any elevation of a person’s profile to a higher one in order to lure the victim is enough for fraud.

     If the fraud is successful due to using a false name or characteristic, it does not need documentation or a third party or any other form of proof.

     Conditions

     Three conditions have to be met to prove fraud by assuming another’s name or characteristic:

     Firstly, the name or characteristic assumed should lead the victim into handing over his property. What shall be considered to have ‘lead’ the victim is at the judge’s discretion.

     Secondly, there must be a positive action from the deceiver to convince the victim of the false characteristic in order to be considered fraud. Hence staying silent shall not be considered fraud even if it misleads the victim into assuming the other’s identity.

     Thirdly, the characteristic undertaken by the one committing fraud should not be evidently inconsistent. It should be such that an ordinary person does not immediately suspect a wrongful act.

     If the above three conditions are met, it shall be considered fraud under Article 399. If any of the above is in writing, it shall be an additional crime of falsification which carries a higher punishment as a more serious crime. In such cases, Article 88 shall apply which states if a person is guilty of two crimes, he shall be punished for the more serious crime. As a result the person shall be guilty and punished for falsification.

     Immovable and moveable property

     Under Article 399, any action taken on an immovable property such as land, which does not belong to a person, is also considered fraud. This is to protect all immovable property. This kind of fraud has two conditions:

     Firstly, an action must be taken on the immovable property and this action must be that of rights in rem or ‘real rights’, and not rights in personam i.e. personal rights. An example of such an action would be selling a property fraudulently that does not belong to the person. Renting the property that does not belong to a person shall not be fraud since it’s not a right in rem. Such an action can be oral or written. Evidence Law requires that any contact or action, whose values exceeds more than AED 5000 shall be in writing. However, that does not apply here and hence this could be considered as an exception to the Law of Evidence.

     Secondly, the action taken on the property must not come from the owner of the property. An owner in such instances could be the owner himself, or authorised by contract e.g. a Power of Attorney, or established through judgment of the court e.g. in the case of minors. If the rightful owner has taken any action on his rightfully owned property, it cannot be a fraud. If a minor takes any action, it’s not a fraud, however, it is categorised as another crime. The same will apply if a son, for example, took an action on his father’s property. This shall be deemed fraud.

     In cases of immovable property, if the owner of the property has entered into an agreement with Party ‘A’ but has yet to transfer ownership, and sells to Party ‘B’ instead, this shall be considered fraud. Following the same path, if ‘A’ sells to ‘B’ without transferring ownership and then sells the same property to ‘C’, this too shall be a fraud. These rules shall apply regardless of the knowledge of the victim or the court of the true owner of the property.

     The result of the crime of fraud:

     The conditions on the property or money: it is conditional that the property must be movable. So it could be money, vouchers or a contact etc. In case the property is real estate and the agreement is fraudulent it will be enough to qualify as a fraud since an agreement is a movable property. Another condition is that the property must have a material value, and not just an emotional value to the owner. This condition differentiates it from theft. In fraud a person must ‘take’ something of value, for if a person deceivingly identifies himself to be a policeman to avoid paying the metro ticket, it shall not be fraud. However, if he does the same in order to ‘take’ discounted or free tickets it shall be fraud. Hence it is important for the person to ‘take’ something to satisfy this condition.

     Taking of the property: This crime of fraud must result in the taking of the property of the victim. The deception has to have happened before taking the property to be liable for fraud. The action leading to the handover of the property must be performed by the victim. It is immaterial whether the person committing the fraud has benefitted from the property or the crime or not. Even if he donated the taken property, it shall still be a fraud. Additionally, if the victim handed over the money under a fraudulent pretext for an illegal purpose, that shall not absolve the fraudulent party of liability.

     In order to establish fraud, the deception must drive the victim to hand over the property which the deceiver intended to take. Therefore the deception must take place before handing over the property.

     Damage:

     Article 399 says that there must be damage to the victim in order to successfully prove fraud. Even if the victim was compensated that the deceit did not result in the specific damage, fraud cannot be established. Two conditions for causation should be resent:

     Firstly that deceit should transpire before the property is wrongfully attained by the deceiver. And secondly, the handing over of the property by the victim under the deceit should be the result of the deception. A situation where the victim becomes aware of the deceit and continues handing over the property, for whatever reason which might include the victim trying to complete the crime in order to attain evidence of the fraud, shall not be considered fraud. It can only be a crime of fraud if the victim is truly deceived into handing over his property.

     It is the judge’s discretion whether causation has occurred or not or whether the link between the deceit and the damage is established.

     Moral requirement: Intention

     Two conditions must exist together to fulfil the ‘intention’ requirement for the crime of fraud. Firstly, there must be a general intention for a party to deceive another party. Secondly, there must be an intention to gain the other’s property by this deception. The motive of intention is immaterial in this matter. The evidence and proof of intent and what qualifies as evidence is also a discretion available to the judge.

     Punishment

     The punishment of fraud is imprisonment or a fine. A person convicted of fraud could face anywhere from 1 month to up to 3 years’ imprisonment. If the fraud is a more serious one, for example if committed against a government entity, the prison sentence could be up to 6 years. The fine for such a crime can range from between AED 30,000 to AED 60,000.

     For cases where attempted fraud has been successfully proven against someone, the maximum imprisonment is 2 years and the maximum fine is AED 20,000.

     If both parties decide to settle the matter, this shall not discharge the case against the accused. However, it can reduce the sentence of the imprisonment or the amount of the fine.

     In the case where the parties to a fraud are siblings, a case can only be filed against the deceiver by the victim. In such cases the prosecution shall not act independently to charge the person of the crime.

     After the final judgment, in cases where the two parties are siblings, if they reach a settlement the prosecution can suspend the prison sentence or the fine. In case they reach settlement before the judgment, the court issues a verdict to drop the charges and close the case.

568. A Deep Look at the UAE Law against Fraud

     Article 399 of UAE Federal Law No. 3 of 1987, as amended, (the ‘Penal Code’) stipulates that:

     ‘Whoever captures for himself or for others transferable money or documents or signing such document or cancelling, damaging or amending it through trickery or using a false name or personality for the purpose of tricking the victim and forcing him to deliver such shall be punished with a jail or a fine.

     The same penalty shall be applied to whoever disposes of a building or a movable that he knows he does not own or that he has no right to dispose of such or who disposes of anything of the same kind with the knowledge that another person has disposed of such or contracted on and hence he shall harm the other.

     The attempt shall be punished with a jail for a period not exceeding two years or a fine not exceeding ten thousand dirhams.’

     The layman’s understanding of fraud is that it is an offence that involves deception; however, the elements of the crime are more nuanced. The act of fraud, under UAE law, is the act of acquiring or receiving, through fraudulent means, money, moveable goods, or immoveable real property that is owned by another person. Those means, to be fraudulent, have to convince the victim to surrender the money, goods, or property to the offender. While deception is a necessary aspect of fraud, it is not sufficient in and of itself to establish the offence. Fraud is only considered to have occurred when the act has involved both deceit and the use of fraudulent means to obtain property or assets.

     Deceit and fraud distinguished

     These requirements are reflected in the decision of the Dubai Court of Cassation in judgment 19 of 1995. In that case, the Court stipulated that the act of lying on its own does not lead to the establishment of fraud. Both deceit and fraudulent means to obtain property or assets had to be established for the offence to have occurred. ‘Merely false sayings and allegations are not sufficient for fraudulent means to take place. Lying should be accompanied with material acts or external appearances [that] cause the victim to believe in the truth of the lie and to surrender his money as a result of such belief’, the Court explained.

     The element of the offence, ‘using fraudulent means’, is defined by Article 399 of the Penal Code as constituting any of the following actions committed with the intention of deceiving others:

     using a false name or acting in a false capacity;
     disposing of money, or moveable or immoveable property, while knowing that it is not the disposer’s property or that he is not entitled to dispose of the same; or
     falsely imitating an act previously carried out by another.
     These acts are not only characterised as being deceitful but are also defined as using external instruments for the purpose of supporting the act of fraud.

     Requirement of an ‘external instrument’

     An external instrument, in this sense, refers to measures taken to lend credibility to the deception involved in the fraud. For instance, a criminal may establish a fraudulent company, open headquarters, appoint support staff, and take other steps to create the illusion of a legitimate business. Constructing an appearance of legitimacy confers a level of trust that makes it easier to coerce funds from victims. Commonly fabricated qualities include appearances of wealth, professionalism, or morality to encourage greater levels of trust.

     External instruments or appearances can be used in other ways, depending on the type of fraud in question. For example, they can also be used to convince a victim of the occurrence of a false incident, as is common in insurance fraud. For example, a criminal may commit arson to obtain the monetary value of an insured property or conceal the whereabouts of a vehicle before claiming that it had been stolen.

     Where a fraudster is assisted by another person in carrying out a deceit, the use of an accomplice is also deemed an external instrument and constitutes fraud. According to the Dubai Court of Cassation in a judgment dated 12/03/2005, in Challenge No. 1/2005 Penal Code, however, the accomplice is only considered an external instrument if their participation was ‘a result of the effort, intention, and organisation of the criminal’ and was not independently solicited by the accomplice. The accomplices support and intervention will be considered when evaluating the criminal’s lying to a crime of fraud.

     Abuse of position

     The act of taking a false identity refers to the criminal availing itself of a false identity to provoke a desired response from the victim. For example, a fraudster may pretend to be a lawyer to obtain confidential information from a victim. It is important to note that, whilst this would be a blatant lie, Article 399 of the Penal Code does not refer to this offence explicitly as identity fraud, but rather as simple fraud.

     This differs, however, in instances where the fraudster has presented themselves in their true capacity, but abused the trust associated with the given role in an attempt to convince the victim to surrender monies. A policeman, for example, may apprehend a victim and convince them of their obligation to pay a contrived fine. The fraudster has not taken a false identity but has rather abused their position and added certain elements to deceive the victim. In such cases, the judiciary will generally consider the misuse of position or office as a form of fraudulent means.

     Deceit

     Deceit is that which would cause a victim to believe in an untruth, thereby causing an ordinary person to surrender property. The test for deceit requires that an ordinary or reasonable person would be deceived by the misrepresentation. Actions that were too incredible or outlandish do not fall within the scope of the rule.

     With regards to deceit with the intent of gaining control or disposing of property to which the fraudster has no claim, it is possible for an ordinary lie, without an external instrument, to constitute a fraud. The law has been framed to encompass the situation where a victim believes in the validity of the financial transaction even though the perpetrator has not made specific misrepresentations on their position or capacity. Even if a false name or capacity has been assumed as part of an ordinary lie, without the support of external instruments, such actions are still deceitful and should be punished according to the law of fraud. In these cases, if the victim believes that the accused’s identity is authentic, without the usual accompanying evidence, the fraudster is still considered guilty of taking a false name or capacity. It is important to note that deceit may occur in many forms, but wherever it occurs in writing, it may also constitute forgery.

     Identifying the victim

     The law assists in identifying the true victim of a fraud. The law states that the victim is the possessor, at the time of the crime, of the object of fraud, such as the money or property stolen, rather than the owner of the property.

     For instance, consider the position of a couple who have been sold a property by a man claiming to be a property developer. After signing the deal, it transpires that the man does not in fact own the property in question and has disappeared with the couple’s money. In this case, the victims of the fraud are the couple who now have completed an invalid purchase, and not the true owner of the house. The true owner is not directly harmed by the crime in the sense of having suffered any damage, although his compromised right to possess the property would still be considered a criminal harm.

     The above rules apply in all instances where the fraudster is not in possession of the property that is subject to a sale, whether it is moveable or immovable in nature. However, if the property is moveable and the fraudster is the possessor, then the original owner is also a direct victim of the crime. It is important that the law distinguishes between movable and immovable property and the law relating to ownership. In offences relating to immovable property, such as houses, the title of deed will constitute proof of the ownership of the building, irrespective of who has control of the property. For movable property, or chattels, the individual in control is assumed to be the legal owner until proven otherwise.

     The circumstances of the victim

     The criminal law takes into account the intention of the victim as well as the perpetrator of fraud, making this element of the offence different from the element of deceit.

     In cases where the fraud involves the victim committing an illegal offence, the criminality of the victim does not absolve the fraudulent nature of the act. For example, if a perpetrator assumes the role of an arms dealer to broker a transfer of stolen weapons to a victim who intends to use the weapons for a criminal purpose but disappears with the payment monies before the weapons have been handed over, a fraudulent scheme has still taken place, and the illicit nature of the victims’ activity does not prevent them from being victims.

     To avoid being classified as fraud, the conditions that are used to persuade the victim to surrender money must be correct and devoid of any falsification. In the Court authority cited above, the defendants used the victim’s prior knowledge of an existing case of theft in the area to convince the victim of an imminent risk of robbery and attack. The use of such information, by itself, does not constitute a fraudulent act.

569. Guys Lets Inform CID on Urgent Basis – All From Abu Dhabi Can Join Together

     ===============================================================

     ABU DHABI // More than 40 arrests have been made in connection with a car scam worth Dh1.3 billion, which affected more than 3,700 people, police say.

     The arrests came after a six-month investigation into fraud after more than 400 investors complained to Abu Dhabi Police in five days.

     The three people who managed the scam hoped to make sizeable returns from selling cars on credit, although police would not reveal how the fraud worked.

     A total of Dh53 million in cash was seized from the gang members’ homes and at car showrooms they owned. Another Dh100m in their bank accounts was frozen, police said.

     Maj Gen Maktoum Al Sharifi, director general of Abu Dhabi Police, said investors were promised a 100 per cent return on their money, before this changed to 70 per cent.

     Brig Gen Rashid Bursheed, director of CID, said the 43 people were arrested on charges of fraud, practising various professions without a licence and under suspicion of money laundering.

     One of the accused admitted to being part of an unlicensed investment business with fraudulent intentions, he said.

     Brig Gen Bursheed said 423 vehicles were seized in 16 showrooms and 3,700 cheques were seized.

     He said anyone who thought they might have been conned in the scam should go to police, who were still investigating the matter.

     [email protected]

570. One More Story From UAE
     ================================

     DUBAI // A Dubai court has ordered rogue financial company Exential to repay Dh1 million to one of its victims, giving thousands of others embroiled in the multimillion-dollar swindle a glimmer of hope.

     The company’s Dh50m foreign-exchange fraud was mainly aimed at air cabin crew and church congregations.

     Lawyers say the Dubai Civil Court judgment against Exential in favour of the Filipino cabin crew member is a landmark in the long-running saga.

     “Exential tried to baffle their clients with jargon to make it difficult for them,” said Barney Almazar, head of legal aid at the Philippine embassy.

     “They claimed they were not the ones who invested the funds but they were the ones who had been given the cash so were equally liable for the losses.”

     The embassy is offering free legal advice to more than 30 victims and its law experts have been shocked at their level of financial commitment. One church group has more than 90 parishioners who together invested more than Dh6m.

     “Most of the investors borrowed a lot of money so they did not have the cash to fund a trial, and a local lawyer is very expensive,” Mr Almazar said.

     Bong Cruz, a leader at Couples for Christ, invested his life savings of $40,000 to help secure the futures of his wife and their two daughters. Now he has some hope of having it returned.

     “We are all filing cases,” Mr Cruz said. “We can’t just sit back and cry. We must fight for it.”

     Promises of 120 per cent returns on a US$20,000 deposit enticed hundreds to invest in the forex scheme, which collapsed in March last year.

     Last July, the Department of Economic Development banned Exential from trading at its Media City base and the first legal cases were set in motion.

     The Central Bank is likely to seek a freeze on accounts and listed assets owned by Exential to use in repaying lost funds.

     The chief executive of Exential, Sydney Lemos, 36, from Goa in India, is in police custody and does not yet know if he will face criminal charges. A warrant is out for the arrest of others connected to Exential in the UAE and India.

     “In January the court proceeded with the hearing and on April 5, it ordered Exential to pay $250,000 for the claim, plus expenses and ongoing interest. The full payment was Dh1m, which is now due,” said Mr Almazar, of Gulf Law in Dubai.

     [email protected]

571. @Kams – you was the guy about a month ago , emailing us all copying in Square Yards saying how they to were duped and they were the good guys …make your mind up ‘!! Personally being candid I don’t believe a word you say.

572. @UAE- Investor and all others;

     You broke my heart with your story.. This is really hard situation for you and your familt but plz stay strong, IT WILL BE SOLVED AND YOUR MONEY WILL RETURN… You were not stupid or foolish, you just invested and did it the right way. You did not invest directly with BW since the company you used is based in UAE, they have all responsibility to ensure it’s not a scam or fraud.

     Listen to my advice carefully what you should do.. “No offence :)”You Indians are very nice & peaceful people and you need people with Bad-Ass features to tell how to approach this matter..This is a war and I am taking it this way:

     1-Pls don’t listen to Squareyards B.S, Their management espscially one guy in Dubai managing BW is a BIG MOUTH nothing Else… Don’t visit or speak to them anymore, go ahead and file the legal case to the general auttorney at the general prosecutor of Abu Dhabi.. Here is what you need:

     2- You official claim.. Put down this history you mentioned and bring any supportive document.. Take all to recognized translation service for Arabic translation.. Take all to the general prosecution of Abu Dhabi.
     3- Do not forget to put their address and name of people you dealt with from sales and their management.
     4- This one is important: SY may tell you “Hey..it’s your responsibility to do due diligence”.. Say “Bloody YES, I did it when I invested with you.. Cause you are based here and acting under federal law of the UAE… You also advertised BW as a partner for SY.. That means you invested locally”
     5- IT’S NOT SQUAREYARD OR ANY OTHER AGENT TO SAY THAT THEY ARE NOT INVOLVED.. THERE IS A LAW AND A JUDGE TO DECIDE IT.

573. @UAE Investor
     @Saumya
     @Santosh
     @Scooty
     @Marksie
     @Chris Lang
     @StandUnited
     @SY Victim 75K

     Some Important Links :-

     http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/square-yards-slapped-with-fine-six-month-ban

     https://repdigger.com/reviews/squareyards

     https://www.complaintboard.in/complaints-reviews/squareyards-l612308.html

     http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/square-yards-partners-us-based-barworks-inc-investus-property/articleshow/53722644.cms

     http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/court-orders-fir-against-real-estate-firm-for-fraud/article2144756.ece

     http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/square-yards/nationwide/ms-square-yards-tanuj-shori-ceo-anupam-rastogi-gulf-head-misleading-investor-pro-1382006

     Lets inform above to below investors and also use this history of cheating in court against SY…

     http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/real-estate/anil-ambani-puts-rs-80-crore-in-e-realty-firm-square-yards/articleshow/55321898.cms

     https://www.aimgroup.com/2017/01/12/square-yards-raises-money-from-a-row-of-investors/

     http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/real-estate/square-yards-raises-6mn-from-singaporehong-kong-based-investors/articleshow/47150471.cms

     http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/square-yards-raises-10-mn-from-multiple-investors/article9474695.ece

574. @innocent bystander

     You r right!!! you should not trust me…

     I trusted Square Yards , they came on REDD and assured that they will standby their investors… So I trusted them again…and they did the same again- back stab me , sending an email that they hv no liability…So its all my fault I should hv gone for legal action long back…

     You r right!!! You should not trust me…

     @Scooty : will u still solute SY???

     @Marksie : How would u explain this movement of SY?

     @Skikdi21 Thanks for ur advice…

575. MASSIVE ANNOUNCEMENT

     https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/charges-unsealed-against-british-citizen-defrauding-investors-more-36-million

576. @marksie – Thanks. That is pretty massive. There’s an FBI sealed complaint here, and a SEC complaint here.

577. It’s pretty clear from the complaint that “Emplyee 1” is the person we know as Franklin Kinard. But is that his real name/identity?

578. @ Marksie
     ✋????????

579. Hope For UAE Investors :

     http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/government/khalifa-approves-anti-fraud-law-1.1955021

     Legal experts said the law enhances brand owners’ rights, citing articles that make it an offence to possess counterfeits, even where the IPR holder is unable to prove that the counterfeiter intends to sell them.
     A federal committee to combat commercial fraud will be set up. It will have sweeping powers to close down offending businesses, be they inland or in free zones, and bring to task officials of these firms, once the existing draft bill turns into law, according to Federal National Council.

     The law will cover fraud in goods, contractual jobs and services offered by business in UAE

     Imp. Note: Real Estate Consultancy Also fall under services cat. and agents are paid heavily for this, so can be held responsible…

580. @UAE Investor/Kams

     I don’t think I have ever supported or saluted SY, I was merely trying to suggest that they may also have not known that RH was behind JB and whilst an agent should be wary of high commissions schemes they still would not necessarily have been able to find out the true identity of these people.

     I don’t know of the relationship you have with SY but I doubt you are paying them a fixed retainer which would increase their responsibility but yes they have a duty of care for their clients.

     Returns of 20-25% are possible Kams in the uk and elsewhere but you need to know and trust the right people to get them.

     I don’t blame you or SY, I blame the people at the top of the network who knew how it all fitted together.

     I think if you scroll back I said to go to the SEC and FBI months ago. Was that incorrect? No.

581. Hi Scotty;

     I guess you misunderstood my point, the point i was trying to make was :-

     – When there was pressure on them for legal threat, they came back on REDD (Part Of This thread) and they assured their investor that they will standby their investors.

     But the email came to all the investors yesterday was a shock for all of us who appraised SY.

     Square Yards was in waiting mode , they knew it deep inside there is nothing left in the system to share with investors, so they prepared such email that they have no liability toward client…

     My Relationship with SY Yards :

     I an investor who invested in Barworks through square yards $150K (I guess you missed my blog which i have shared abov)

     Innocent Bystand approached me doubting me, i have shared him my agreement and contact no.

     Tanuj Shorie : CEO of Square Yards assuring me so far, that they will do all the possible support, and than all of sudden they dropped an email which shows they have no liabilities towards us.

     Charges against Square Yards Real Estate Agent (Located in UAE – Dubai & Abu Dhabi)

     1. Promoting a fraudulent investment in overseas without doing thorough diligence.
     2. Promoting a Fraudulent investment for higher % of brokerage i.e. 20%, usual brokerage in real estate market is less than 5% (We have an audio clip of sales manager from Square Yards to prove that).
     3. Breaching the trust of investors, as investor followed the advice from agents.
     4. Square Yards approached me promoting barworks San Francisco in August2016, and I have invested $60K over your assurance
     5. Square Yards again approached me in March2017 for barworks Istanbul assuring its coming with higher return 15-16% , and this is done while Square Yards has their own convertible notes launched, but the focus was on Barworks. After all the assurance I invested $90K loan money, which I was planning to use to buy home.
     6. Tanuj as you per discussion with Konrad (Real Deal Editor) , Square Yards is not promoting Bar Works since Jan2017, Than why I have been put in trouble ?
     7. I have email showing sense of urgency for loan clearance from ADCB by Square Yards, Why it was done ? When you are not promoting something, how can you advice your investor to invest in that ? Is not this cheating/fraud/scam ?
     8. I personally met Mr. Aaroon & Mr. Ajaj in SY Abu Dhabi Office, they knew the whole story, my future planning & all that.
     9. Square yards is the one who approached me, and not bar works, you must be counted for promoting this fraudulent product even after your realized, you let the investor put their money i.e. which is intentional crime.
     10. SY paid for your consultancy skills while proposing this to me.
     11. “Intention” of agent need to be define here, whether they did through diligence or simply went for higher cut of commission, and how much high it is? 5% is the standard rate, however if they have taken 15% or more than that how they justify BW return? which is:
     -12-16% annual , for two years its 24-32%
     – 25% on exit after two years
     -15-20% agent fee
     -BW sales fee
     -BW operational expense ( Salary, Promotional expenses etc.)
     12. How can real estate consultant call themselves innocent, knowing the current market appreciation over real estate?

     Their cheating history is already shared by another victim of square yards above, If anyone has doubt on can contact me on [email protected] and will share proof of investment and email communication with SY…

     Thanks to all for your support @Chris Lang@Marksie@Skikdy21@Scotty all…

582. @Scotty @UAE Investor

     After the links i have shared which shows Square Yards has a history of cheating investors, there is no room left for them to be called innocent…

     As Skikdy21 mentioned, Indian Investors are innocent, this is how might be UAE Investor trapped by Square Yards…

     and i wish very soon these guys would be behind the bars…

583. Dear All
     Just want to make something clear:
     1. Do I think barworks operated a fraudulent scheme? Yes
     2. Do I think the agents considered commission before client care? Yes
     3. Do I think SY showed some ⚽️s coming on here? Yes but would have liked them to answer if they dealt with RH or JB
     4. Was I one of the first to suggest FCA, FBI, SEC to file a complaint? Yes
     5. Have you been given a complete breakdown of how this industry works? Yes

     Just wanted to make this clear in case anyone is thinking I now all of a sudden have changed my stance or I have not been clear.

     Your story about being advised to take a loan to cover the investment breaks my heart and unfortunately this product is prime for ‘loading’ clients.

584. Both the SEC and the FBI have brought charges against Bar Works, Haddow and others. The bank accounts are tied up. If the allegations are proven it means that investors’ money was obtained illegally. The SEC now controls all assets and if they are successful they will distribute what is left between investors. Historical evidence suggests that all investors will be treated the same whether they took independent legal action or not, so people who are not currently involved in a legal action do not need to worry that they will be left out.

     I have had discussions with many agents / brokers now and I believe there are good agents who want to do the best for their investors and there are bad agents who don’t want to know and are unwilling to help their investors.

     @Skikdiki, @UAE-investor, I classify SY as one of the good agents and I will explain why. I have been in regular contact with SY for quite some time. I know that SY made a lot of enquiries with various attorneys in the US and they, like me, came to the conclusion that legal action would be expensive and a waste of money. We were both aware that there were SEC and FBI investigations running behind the scenes and that they would override any private legal actions brought by investors. At the moment it seems likely that all investors will receive a partial refund from any money that the SEC/FBI find, but that could take a long time to complete. A few days ago SY approached me and asked if I would work for them pursuing alternative routes for compensation for their investors. I have agreed to do that. They will pay me for my time. Any other agents who would like to contribute to the process and join with SY are welcome. They can contact me at [email protected] and I will put them in touch with SY who will co-ordinate the process. I will not take money from individual investors, only from agents who want to do something to help their investors. My reports will go to SY and they will update fellow agents / investors. There are a few investors who helped gather information and have put themselves out to help. They will be automatically included in this group (that includes the young lady who is in NYC at the moment).

     @Skikdiki, @UAE-investor, I do not know the laws of the Middle East and it is not my job to try to dissuade you from taking whatever action you feel is appropriate. You must do what you feel is best for you, but in my discussions with a number of agents it has become apparent that many of them were tricked by Bar Works.

     I believe there are a number of possible compensation routes for investors which could supplement any refunds from the SEC. I will be following up on those. Ultimately, we have to accept that the target organisations will not just roll over and pay out. We are going to have a fight on our hands. I have said from the start that investors should not pay large sums to US attorneys until more evidence has been gathered and the strategy is clear. This will save everyone a lot of money in the long run. I have seen the claims made by some attorneys as they seek to separate investors from their money. It is very important that when the time comes the right attorney is selected and not one who seems motivated by a big payday.

     As everyone can now see this is a complex fraud which will take a very long time to resolve. The situation with Haddow’s previous companies has taken four years to reach this point and is only now coming to an end. Later this year investors in those projects will finally hear how much money has been recovered and what level of refund they will receive.

     Some points from the FBI case are:
     1. Haddow controlled the bank accounts;
     2. At least $36 million was paid by investors;
     3. Approximately $18 million was paid out to foreign accounts in more than 40 countries (this money would have been paid into Haddow’s own accounts and to master agents, sub-agents etc);

     Based on these figures it is possible that Haddow may have paid himself around half of that $18 million so it is possible that this money is still out there somewhere. In addition, this information also shows that $18 million was retained in the US. Obviously there were running costs that Bar Works had to cover but it will be interesting to see how this money was spent and how much is left. I note that the FBI have a warrant out for Haddow’s arrest and that the private court action in NYC served the court papers on Zoia Haddow, not Renwick Haddow. Therefore, it is possible that Renwick Haddow is on the run and may have left the US.

585. @Scotty

     Apologizes if any of my word went wrong and hurt you, it was not the intention…

     SY knew since the day one the whole story, that very little might have little left with BW so file case wont help them to recover their commission.

     Exactly, they did not share any detail of their contract with BW how much they got from there, whether they meet RH/JB etc.

     Just to let you know, ever 3 or 4 person i met is invested in SY…

     SY is not sharing detail of investors, lot of people are in sleep mode , they just started observing that rents are not crediting…

     And yesterday they did the worst thing they could with their clients, they informed us they SY has no liability toward us, if we wish we can file a case or can wait for the status…

     SY think that they can come & take our money and go, and we wont be doing anything…I will knock every door in the world till i get the justice…and still no result than the worst will come to them…

     All, i urge you please join me to help all of us and to protect others from company like Square Yards please joine the fight against scam / against square yards – [email protected]

586. Thanks Marksie for your valuable post and especially for your comment that those who have not yet hired a lawyer should not worry and the remaining assets will be shares on an equal basis. I have some questions:
     1. Are you 100% sure about that?
     2. Why the two groups still did hire a lawyer? what was their point if SEC will treat all investors equally?
     3. How SEC will get to know ALL investors? I think they should set up their database of the verified victims. Do you have any idea may be as to how they will compile this database and what is a guaranteed way to be in that database?

587. Jared Stamell a US lawyer is “discussing a possible class-action suit with investors”, according to an article on Crain’s. “Stamell said it only made sense to sue the banks that handled the co-working company’s financial transactions rather than the alleged perpetrators.”

588. @Alfred, to answer your points:

     1. I did not say the assets would be shared on an equal basis. I doubt that someone who invested $25,000 would receive the same amount as someone who invested $500,000. What I said was that my experience is that the financial regulator does not take into account money spent in private recovery actions. It acts on behalf of ALL investors and normally ignores any “expenses” claims such as fees paid to your own lawyer. If you are thinking of appointing an attorney I suggest that you ask him to answer this point. This makes sense when you think about it because some people might try to claim that their legal fees should be taken into account, other people could claim that they paid for flights to go and visit Bar Works etc etc. It would be a complete mess with people making claims left, right and centre. Regulators normally ignore all such claims.

     2. I have no idea why other groups hired a lawyer. I have been advising against it for some time. Once the dust settles the other potential targets for compensation will become clear. @Chris is right that the banks have to be on that list but there is currently no evidence that they did anything wrong. The best organisations to find out whether they did or not are the SEC and the FBI. They have greater powers than attorneys and their services are free ! The banks aren’t going to run away so there is no great urgency to chuck money into investigating them at this stage.

     3. I am in direct contact with one of the investigators at the SEC. The plan is for SY to compile a list of their investors and I will submit that on their behalf. However, I would still advise every investor to register themselves on this link https://denebleo.sec.gov/TCRExternal/questionaire.xhtml just to be on the safe side. if you do it yourself you can be sure that you will be taken into account.
     The SEC will have access to all the financial records of Bar Works so they should also be able to trace payments back to investors but it is best not to rely on that. You should make your own compaint direct to the SEC.

589. @Marksie;

     SY Could have other option left in place of coming on this blog and acting innocent. I like you for your in depth knowledge on this issue which helping a lot of people…

     While calling SY one of the good agents you must also had a look on below

     The issue with SY is that they are so mad for business expand they are not doing proper diligence, and end of the day we the investors are paying for their stupid mistakes…

     If SY is a good agent they could have disclosed their agreement with Barworks after all this. But they will not do it, because than how they will explain the product can generate such a heavy return after their brokerage i.e. which is expected to be very high (i have a strong evidence – its 20%, and this will be presented in court against them soon, if they did not accept out of court resolution sent to them)

     If SY is a good agent they could have come up some resolution, that because of their mistake client should not suffer, they should have returned back commission which they have taken for their consultancy fee…If their consultancy did not work, what right they have over the commission received ?

     Example :
     I am an engineering consultant, i design the industrial solutions, but if my solution does not work they way i present them, or fail to meet the expectation, there are provision of penalty over me.
     Square Yards call themselves a consultant , but every thing they propose turns a night mare to their investors.

     If SY is a good agent, they could have stopped me transferring money in March (loan amount) , Tanuj told Konrad that they are not promoting Barworks since Jan2017, Than why they allow me to transfer this fund which was a loan amount, and last but not the least you will be shocked to see those email pressuring me that hurry up your loan procedure units are limited…

     If SY is a good agents : I have invested in another product through Square Yards, its an Indian property investment, But i cancelled that while i came to about Bar Works.

     Investment detail :-

     INR 5.8 Million , I paid advance money which is 597K

     80% was about to go to developer under subvention plan, but i cancelled it as i sensed Bar Works is a fraud game.

     Its more than 2 months, i have not received my advance booking amount. Today i got the message from SY that developer has transferred my advanced booking my account, when i checked it i found they only transferred INR50K ($830). They are the one who were chasing developer so far, and they don’t know what developer is transferring me…

     You are not at my place, otherwise you could have better understanding about SY…

     Still if you feel something is left, check below the history of cheating conducted by them posted by another victim of Square Yards…I am sure these things will change your mind…

     =============================================================
     blog by another Square Yards victim:-

     Square Yards – Scam Victim

     30 June 2017
     @UAE Investor
     @Saumya
     @Santosh
     @Scooty
     @Marksie
     @Chris Lang
     @StandUnited
     @SY Victim 75K

     Some Important Links :-

     http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/square-yards-slapped-with-fine-six-month-ban

     https://repdigger.com/reviews/squareyards

     https://www.complaintboard.in/complaints-reviews/squareyards-l612308.html

     http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/square-yards-partners-us-based-barworks-inc-investus-property/articleshow/53722644.cms

     http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/court-orders-fir-against-real-estate-firm-for-fraud/article2144756.ece

     http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/square-yards/nationwide/ms-square-yards-tanuj-shori-ceo-anupam-rastogi-gulf-head-misleading-investor-pro-1382006

     Lets inform above to below investors and also use this history of cheating in court against SY…

     http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/real-estate/anil-ambani-puts-rs-80-crore-in-e-realty-firm-square-yards/articleshow/55321898.cms

     https://www.aimgroup.com/2017/01/12/square-yards-raises-money-from-a-row-of-investors/

     http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/real-estate/square-yards-raises-6mn-from-singaporehong-kong-based-investors/articleshow/47150471.cms

     http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/square-yards-raises-10-mn-from-multiple-investors/article9474695.ece

     ==========================================================================

     @Chris Lang, thanks for your post the one of the group is filing case against JP Morgan.

     My point is “If Banks can be held for mistake in their services, Real Estate Consultant can also be”

590. Hi Marksie, thanks for your prompt reply.

     1. You said “all investors will be treated the same”. What does it mean then if not equally? I mean the proportionate distribution, like if 63% of assets will recouped from BW then each investor will get 63% of his/her investment. So the one who invested 500k will get 63% of that amount. And of course you are right that extra expenses that investors will have spent on the lawyers or tickets to a cinema will not be subject for compensation. This is obvious, I didn’t raise any doubt about that.
     2. ok, agree
     3. Noted. I have done it already. Marksie you are so involved in the process, you know more than anybody else, you have direct contacts with FBI, SEC and DOJ. I tried to get to know more about you from other investors but nobody knows much about you. Sorry to ask you but could you please say a little bit about yourself? Are you and investor, where are you from and etc. You can send to my e-mail, you know it. Thanks in advance. I can disclose all info about my investment and situation, actually you know about me.

591. Hello my fellow victims! Those who have read the SEC and FBI reports in court in particular. I consider it a very good and detailed description of the whole story. I was impressed that FBI agent has managed to meet and speak to so many people (investors, employees) involved. But that is all. What is next is the next step not clear for me. What is your impression?

592. Anyone who have logged a case in SEC, do you get any sort of confirmation page, message, email.. I did it after that it had returned to a blank form page!!!

593. @UAE-Investor, you and I have been communicating for quite a while. I know the difficulties you are facing.
     My apologies for using the term ‘good agent’ because I can see that it depends entirely on one’s perspective. From my perspective I am looking at whether an agent is stepping up to take some responsibility in the recovery process or is washing their hands of the investors.

     I know that many agents, including SY, visited Bar Works in New York, visited their sites and met their management teams before they would agree to promote Bar Works. Unfortunately none of the agents were in direct contact with each other because if they had been they might have realised that none of them ever met Jonathan Black. In almost every case an agent has told me that on the day they were due to meet Jonathan Black he was called away to Miami or San Fran or Las Vegas. If the agents had been talking to each other they would have smelt a rat.

     What is clear is that there has been at least one master agent who was aware that this was a scam from the very start. The role of United Property Invest has been raised before and, in my opinion, they seemed to play quite a key role in the promotion of Bar Works Inc in the early days. Also, in my opinion, the man called Julian Tzanev seems to have been very influential in co-ordinating many of the agents.

     The FBI report lists information obtained from two agent firms described as Agent-1 and Agent-2. I have given my own interpretation of the statements below:

     Agent-1 co-ordinated around $15 million in lease sales from Jan 2016 to April 2017, interacted regularly with Renwick Haddow, never met Jonathan Black, and understood Jonathan Black to be Renwick Haddow’s ‘alter ego’. Agent-1 understood Haddow to run Bar Works.

     Agent-2 states that Haddow adopted the Jonathan Black identity in dealing with third parties. In March 2016, 15 months ago, Agent-2 was aware that an independent agent was travelling to the USA to meet Bar Works management and asked how they could deal with the Jonathan Black issue. He suggested they could say JB was on honeymoon [this suggests that Agent-2 was in on the scam having been aware that JB did not exist as long ago as March 2016]. Haddow replied that there were others at Bar Works who could “keep the agent occupied”. Agent-2 was the person who suggested, in relation to the FCA court case against Haddow in the UK, that he hire “great lawyers” and “have a massive distance to a special place (hard to get back)”. This suggestion was made in March 2016.

     I have a pretty good idea who Agent 1 and Agent 2 are. A number of agents were deliberately tricked by Bar Works and their ‘master agents’. There was clearly a conspiracy to defraud and one can only hope that Agent-1 and Agent-2 are included in any future prosecution.

594. My agent told me that some investors started getting replies recently from Barworks asking them for few more time to get back on track… resuming paying returns. and they also asked to refrain from taking any legal actions!!!!! Who does have more info on this

595. @ SY Victim – SY told you to wait and not take action?

596. How can SY be saying that ? When BW is having its assets frozen ? Or did I misunderstand ?

597. 2 Innocent Bystander – I don’t understand it either!

598. Cynical side to me says it’s BS from SY, happy to be wrong though.

599. I think that’s what he SY victim meant Scotty.. BW will return to operations and payments found it so hard to be true personally…. .. if SY is serious here, why they don’t share proof. Otherwise they are buying time as I heard a group of investor are filing lawsuit in the UAE against SY

600. To avoid confusion, this was a statement issued by Bar Works Inc before the SEC and FBI released details of their involvement. Whoever wrote it didn’t have the guts to sign it and at the bottom it had the words ‘Client Relations’ (no signature). Ignore it – it isn’t relevant.

601. Now that makes more sense!
     Thanks for clarifying @ Marksie

602. We are a law firm investigating allegations of a Ponzi scheme coordinated by Renwick Haddow and possibly others. We have successfully recovered investor money in similar cases through “claw back” litigation, and we are trying to discover whether this situation presents a similar opportunity for investors. The nature of the scheme has made it hard for us to obtain information. We are interested in talking to any United States-based investors or other witnesses, and especially in reviewing documents related to investments with Bar Works or Bitcoin Store, including any private placement memorandum related to these entities. If you have information about any of these persons, businesses, or issues we would really appreciate your assistance. Please contact us on a direct line at 510-817-2658. You can find out more about our law firm at http://www.asmlawyers.com. Thanks for your help.

603. That’s excellent but I would guess that US citizens make up circa 10-15% of all investors. I really hope the other nationalities won’t be left alone in this fight.

604. This was the guarantee that my agent in the UK gave me prior to me investing in Dec 2015. I have asked for my money back and you guested it, they said no-way. Any ideas?

     Investor Security And The Guarantee Explained
     The rental guarantee is clearly shown and stated in the terms and conditions and it’s worth noting that America is the most regulated country in the world for any form of investment. The US laws for T & C’s and legally binding contracts give huge amounts of consumer and investor protection. Bar Works operates in this US highly regulated arena and must abide by any terms offered. It is not flippant to say that if they breach those terms, they can face huge fines and even imprisonment.

     The CEO, Jonathan Black, has set up and financially controlled PLC’s in the UK previously, one example being Regent Inns PLC who owned and managed the Walkabout estate, a chain of London high street bars and hospitality venues. His professional track record is exemplary and that can be validated online and therefore clearly in the public domain.

605. Interesting @ SWA. Are you able to name your agent?

606. Hey guys where we stand , any news from SEC & FBI ?

     I have few queries, Appreciate if someone can answer them :

     1. How much are the assets have been frozen so far ?
     2. How this distribution of frozen assets will take place ?
     3. Will those who went for private lawyers will get priority to get back their funds over other investors ?
     4. If No, than its fine. If Yes, Will they get the full invested amount as a refund on priority. What if there is nothing left after initial priority distribution ? What about other investors, i dont think its fair with them. Once the court judgement is out against Barworks, all the investors should be treated equally and should be returned in proportion to their investment.
     5.Will Haddow use our funds to defend in court ? since its scam , he should be prohibited using anything from Barworks crowd funding, i may be wrong, dont know the law.
     6. What about agents ? will these agents will also come under scan, because their actions are very suspicious , not all but few of them like Square Yards who are the biggest contributor for BW , who burnt lot of investors, must come under the scan, because :-

     a. Lack Of Due Diligence : Promoting a fraudulent investment in UAE and other overseas country without doing thorough diligence, which turned out to be a scam now Jonathan Black (Ex COO Bar Works), who in reality does not Exists, Square Yard has no clue of this man and they says that they have done due diligence before promoting Bar Works

     b.No due diligence for security check whether investment has insurance protection or not, this means investor money exposed to risk without protection.

     c. Considerably Higher Brokerage: Considerably higher % of brokerage i.e. 20%, usual brokerage in real estate market is less than 5% , Square Yards talk big on forum, but they will never show their contract with BW, because this expose them.

     Proof : I have an audio clip of one of their employee to prove it.

     d. Intentional Crime:
     “Intention” of agent need to be define here, whether they did through diligence or simply went for higher cut of commission, and how much high it is? 5% is the standard rate, however if they have taken 20% or more than that how they justify BW return? which is:
     – 12-16% annual , for two years its 24-32%
     – 25% on exit after two years
     – 15-20% agent fee
     – BW sales fee
     – BW operational expense (Salary, Promotional expenses etc.)

     e. Official Email with Guarantee & Safe Investment: Square Yards approached me promoting bar works San Francisco in August2016, and I have invested $60K over your assurance, below is the email…

     Dear Sir,

     Greetings from Square Yards!!!

     According to the US Bureau of labour stats, by 2020, 40% of the American workforce would be freelancers, temps, independent contractors &
     solopreneurs.

     Keeping up with the ever increasing demand and trend, a lot of coworking
     spaces have started being offered at prime locations in the US.
     Bar works is one such fast expanding chain of vibrant & affordable coworking
     spaces.
     Investors are snapping up the Bar Works investment because it offers excellent yields which are paid monthly.
     The price is fixed – No extrasNo
     surprises.
     Below are highlights for the San Francisco , Coworking
     Office Space:
     San Francisco Office space fixedreturn
     opportunity
     6000 Sq Ft
     150 Fixed memberships
     Income payable monthly from point of purchase
     Invest from as little as $30,000
     No hassle, hands off investment
     Full documentation and title provided
     -Each unit is fixed at USD 30,000 with GUARANTEED returns starting from 12.5%
     -Rental Returns to be reviewed only upwardly every 5 years

     Investors purchase a work space on a 99year
     lease with a guaranteed fixed monthly income and lease it back to Bar Works Management thereafter.

     The minimum returns are fixed at 12.5 % and are revised every 5 years.
     Exit options possible after 2 years with assured returns of 125% on capital investment.
     Attached the brochure and the application form for your reference.

     Thanks & Regards
     Araj Mittal
     Marketing Manager
     GCC – Square Yards

     f. Cheating History Of Square Yards
     – Square Yards being charged in Singapore for similar fraud. Below is the link
     http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/square-yards-slapped-with-fine-six-month-ban
     – Square Yards being charged in India for fraud in India, below is the link
     http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/court-orders-fir-against-real-estate-firm-for-fraud/article2144756.ece
     – https://repdigger.com/reviews/squareyards
     – https://www.complaintboard.in/complaints-reviews/squareyards-l612308.html
     – http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/square-yards-partners-us-based-barworks-inc-investus-property/articleshow/53722644.cms
     – http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/court-orders-fir-against-real-estate-firm-for-fraud/article2144756.ece
     – http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/square-yards/nationwide/ms-square-yards-tanuj-shori-ceo-anupam-rastogi-gulf-head-misleading-investor-pro-1382006
     – Square Yards is more than an agent for Bar Works :-
     http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/square-yards-partners-us-based-barworks-inc-investus-property/articleshow/53722644.cms

     Key People Responsible :

     Contact Persons / to be Arrested Immediately
     Mr. Tanuj Shori – CEO (Hong Kong: +852 60423233, India: +91-959910750, UAE: +971-526111183)
     Mr. Anupam Rastogi – Gulf Head (+971-526377771)

607. New article by Konrad Putzier on The Real Deal:

     Black’s money: A bizarre co-working scheme and the global rise of online real estate fraud

608. The Financial Conduct Authority prosecution of Renwick Haddow starts on Tuesday 11th July 2017:

     See https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/court-lists/list-cause-rolls

     COURT 16
     Before HIS HONOUR JUDGE MCCAHILL QC
     (Sitting as a Judge of the High Court)
     Tuesday, 11 July 2017
     At 2 o’clock
     TRIAL LIST
     HC-2016-000531 The Financial Conduct Authority v Capital Alternatives Ltd & ors

609. Thanks @marksie!

610. Thanks Marksie…

611. any 1 frm new delhi ….india ???????

612. All duped investors in bar works are spread over various countries, request you all to make a facebook group and whats app grp. to be in touch and be able to do something legally to get our investments back

613. X FRANCESCO: SONO ANCH’IO INVESTITORE ITALIANO , PURTROPPO NON RIESCO A SCRIVERE COMMENTO SU FORUM, SE LEGGI MESSAGGIO CONTATTAMI SU ; [email protected]

614. Hi Fabio, are you investor or agent? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA0KJbYfEZ4

615. I’m just an investor, I tried to work with my investment advisor for a short time a few months ago … I’m not here to tease anyone, let’s help

616. hiii marksie any update ??????

617. @Ravnit, if you are talking about the FCA court case it is early days. The court has allowed 10 days for the evidence. The first couple of days are normally taken up by legal arguments/ procedures. Then they get into it properly.
     I heard that Mr Kapin, the attorney representing the group of Chinese investors, is looking for 100 people to launch a second class action. He is charging $1,000 each + 5% of whatever is recovered. If it is simply a repeat of the Chinese action one has to wonder what benefit there would be for this group. The SEC has all the accounts locked up and will not release any money until their legal action has completed. It seems to me that the SEC case is that the whole Bar Works fundraising breached their regulations. If they are successful in their prosecution this would mean that the money was obtained illegally. It isn’t possible for any group to claim a stake in money that was obtained illegally even if they win their case.
     If a man owes me money, steals it from somebody else and puts it in his bank account, I have no legal right to any part of that money. The law says that the money isn’t rightfully owned by that man. This is no different in the Bar Works/Haddow case. If the SEC prove that the scheme was illegal then the money doesn’t belong to Bar Works/Haddow.
     I think Mr Kapin would know that and it seems a bit surprising that he is looking to put another $100k into his company’s bank account. I know of at least 5 attorneys who are keen to get investors together for a class action and I know of 5 more who have said that it would be a waste of money trying to get any money out of Bar Works/Haddow if the SEC are first in the queue.
     I thought it was not very professional of Mr Kapin to write to investors on Monday and give them until Wednesday to confirm their involvement in a new class action. That seems to me to be a hard-sell tactic. It makes me wonder if the Chinese group have said that they are not prepared to pay any more money. I don’t blame them. I dropped a lot of hints weeks ago that the authorities were involved and a class action would be a waste of money.
     Investors need to be careful because attorneys are not always as honest as they should be. Before paying Mr Kapin’s firm any money I would ask for their legal opinion on why they feel a claim against the same entities as the SEC are prosecuting would be successful and override the SEC prosecution.
     If Mr Kapin is planning an entirely new class action against new entities then that is a different matter. In that case I would ask whether there is any evidence against those entities or is this just a fishing trip to see what he can find. If it is a fishing trip then investors might feel that $1,000 each is too much to pay without there being any clear evidence.
     I can’t help feeling that this is likely to be $100,000 wasted. I understand that people want to do something, but trying to beat the SEC to the money is a fool’s errand. Let the SEC do their job.
     My opinion is that investors should save their money and wait to see what the investigation turns up. The SEC is interested in prosecuting fraudsters and closing down their operations. They are less interested in the supporting cast. These supporting groups may be legitimate targets for legal action and they have deeper pockets. Efforts are being made to identify areas where these groups may have broken regulations but it is a long process. We only want to launch an action when we are satisfied that there is a case to answer. Being patient is one of the hardest things to do when you are itching to get even.

618. Hi Marksie, thanks for the post! I have been saying the same all time long about the perspectives of the class action. And even yesterday I raised the same question before my agent when he asked to sign that Kapin’s paper: what would be the actions of Mr Kapin? what is his program or roadmap? The agent replied: for now it is only that fact that we all will be in the list of victims and SEC will not forget about us when distributing what is found. My second question was why should I pay same price to Kapin as other investors who invested more than me? Where is the justice even in this? His answer was brilliant – he doesn’t understand what justice is.

619. I’ve just seen on ABC news, not sure about the date of this release, that 11B out of 17B dollars lost by victims in the Madoff Ponzi scheme have been recovered and will be returned to investors.. And those who invested 1.16M will get 100% compensation.
     http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/officials-big-payout-coming-madoff-victims-34592874

620. @Alfred – Thanks. That ABC news piece was broadcast on 20 October 2015.

621. I hope Haddow has got his running shoes on !! He has the FCA prosecution in Court 16 and a bankruptcy hearing in Room 7 going on at the same time !

     https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/court-lists/list-cause-rolls

     DAILY CAUSE LIST
     BANKRUPTCY & COMPANIES COURT
     HEARING ROOM 7
     FIRST FLOOR
     ROLLS BUILDING
     Before
     MR REGISTRAR BAISTER
     Friday 14 July 2017
     Unrobed
     At 10:30AM
     BR-2015-3266 Renwick Haddow

622. The Real Deal’s Konrad Putzier talking about his investigation into Bar Works and Renwick Haddow:

623. Have checked this link from @marksie https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/court-lists/list-cause-rolls

     There is no name of Renwick Haddow

624. I lists FCA V Capitol Alternatives

625. @Diana, it is a list of the day’s hearings and it updates every day. If Haddow has disappeared it means that his case has completed i.e the bankruptcy hearing. It was a formality – he is already a bankrupt and was due to have that lifted because the time period was up but, in light of the income he will have received from Bar Works, the Official Receiver decided to apply for an extension of the bankruptcy period. I expect it was only a formality for the Judge to agree the extension.

     On the other matter of FCA vs Capital Alternatives, Haddow did not turn up to trial. He requested that he give his evidence by skype but that was denied. Instead he receives a copy of the day’s transcript emailed to him each evening and he responds by email.

     Thursday and Friday was taken up by the defendants cross-examining investors who had made statements for the FCA giving their version of how they came to invest in Haddow’s schemes. One of the investors being cross-examined was 83 years old.

     So far it has been declared that Haddow withdrew around $5.5 million from the companies in an 18 month period while the FCA were investigating them. His ex-girlfriend (who was also the lawyer for Haddow’s companies and is a fellow defendant) bemoaned the fact that she only received around $1 million during that time and if she is found guilty she will have to sell her house. That statement failed to gather much sympathy with investors in the public gallery.

     No information was given on how much of that money had been found and had either been recovered or was in the process of being recovered. I expect a similar situation occurred with Bar Works because it is clear from the FBI and SEC filings that they had been investigating for some time before their investigations were made public.

     Next week the lawyer, Marcia Hargous, is scheduled to be cross-examined for almost 3 days. She will be followed by Robert McKendrick and Alan Howard Meadowcroft (the African Land defendants). They have been scheduled for 2 days.

     McKendrick and Meadowcroft are representing themselves i.e no barrister. They are claiming that they can’t afford one. Hargous was also pleading poverty but the FCA barrister responded that she can’t be that poor because she has enough to pay for a barrister. Hargous did not respond when asked who was paying for her barrister. There was a suspicion amongst some in the gallery that Haddow is paying for her defence. She was the person to whom all money was sent and she controlled the distribution which included payments to agents, sub-agents, Haddow’s offshore accounts and the accounts of the other accomplices. If she goes down then Haddow is sure to go down too. It is in his best interests that she has a good barrister.

     Haddow has not appointed a barrister to represent him. He is representing himself by email. Again, the opinion of some persons present was that Haddow did not want anyone knowing his whereabouts, not even a barrister.

     The expectation is that the trial will complete sometime in the week beginning 24th July. In the first case against them the verdict was delivered around 12 weeks later.

626. Right in the heart of this are Dubai based fraudsters “Crowngate International”. Crowngate came to Kuwait a few years ago under the guise of “Cornerstone International” and scammed a lot of Kuwaitis out of deposits for U.K. property, some of which never even had planning certificates and the rest was sold on the promise that they would resell the property for the client for a profit on completion, this never happened and a lot of people here lost their money.
     After this they were contacting us trying to sell us the “Barworks” investment (some of us bought and have lost all our money again) and then they quickly switched over and started selling “Ourspace” almost immediately (see the link there) and another office investment which I cannot remember the name of and I believe from what I am hearing a lot of people have lost a lot of money to this company.
     I was on their website recently and they are back in Dubai now trying to sell shares in a hotel in one of the cheaper areas there for $50,000 !!! which they claim on their site they are constructing !!

627. Hey guys where we stand , any news from SEC & FBI ?

628. Crowngate also trying to sell “Chinese Business Center ” in Dubai , same model. One of the partners of Crowngate is also partner I believe in Ourspace Capitol

629. Hi Marksie,

     I would have thought that if he’s communicating by email it would not be beyond the wits of the FCA & the Serious Fraud Squad to trace & haul the p**** before the courts?

     He took the money we invested with CA & siphoned it to another of his scam companies Plantation Asset Management (PAM) & given the FCA are not interested in investments made in that company, it appears those of us that invested in PAM do not stand a chance of getting anything back, unlike the CA investors! An absolute scandal of the highest order, and it will not rest until justice prevails!

630. Hey guys(marksie n chris ) where we stand , any news from SEC & FBI ?

631. @ravnit – These things take time. If I hear anything I’ll post it here. I’m sure that goes for everyone else on this comment thread. Have you contacted the SEC? (See this comment from @Marksie, 2 July 2017.)

632. @Tim Edem, all of Haddow’s emails and those from Bar Works are routed through servers in Russia. I would guess that the FBI are looking into these things because they are the ones who have a warrant out for his arrest.

633. @marksie younare the best
     still i would suggest you to kindly remove your last post as its not good to share these kind of information on public portal.

634. I invest because Bar Works in New York, United States of America. I thought every investment in USA is scam free, transparent and legit. It a shame and I am so disappointed.

635. @Ravnit, if you are referring to the FCA case against Capital Alternatives it is a public hearing. There is no restriction on reporting what is said in public.
     If you are referring to my comment that the email servers are located in Russia, Haddow has had this arrangement for a long time. It goes back to Voiptel, a scheme that Haddow established and controlled, which is mentioned here http://redd-monitor.org/2014/10/22/more-scams-sterling-and-bond-voiptel-international-and-velvet-assets/. It is no surprise that he used that for Bar Works.

636. @Diana I made the same mistake too based on the above assumption, but it is vividly clear now, that USA and UK are the beehives of fraudsters and they perpetuate it daily under the nose of the so called authority. Sad

637. Mr Laing
     I sent a post yesterday. Was this received as it has not been uploaded? I do hope you are not holding onto to this to protect your relationship with Marksie as this will have a very damaging impact on the independence of your site and further back up my findings which I will be posting else where if you ignore these.

638. same here diana …….

639. Hey marksie any news from SEC & FBI ?

640. @Ravnit, it will be a very long process with very little news at times. I’m sure that when anyone has new information they will post it on here. I know it is difficult to be patient but you could compare your situation with that of the Capital Alternatives investors. The first court hearing on that case was July 2013 and it is only now coming to a close 4 years later (well almost a close because whoever loses the case is likely to appeal). I think the Bar Works case will be quicker because it is more straightforward.

     I was reading through the Sterling & Bond / Voiptel blog and realised that I first drew attention to Haddow’s involvement with Incrowd Equity and Bitcoin Store in 2015. It’s incredible how time flies.

     If you wondered what Haddow looks like there is a photograph here. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/2m-17m-now-27m-price-10782732

641. Hi Marksie;

     I know SY acting innocent to you, talking all rubbish that they are also one of the victim and all that bullshit…

     Here we are , he accept his mistake openly , but he dont wana pay for that… what kind of rubbish is that…He simply became part of the chain without knowing anything… Read below link… (My story is there in this list )

     https://therealdeal.com/2017/07/10/blacks-money-a-bizarre-co-working-scheme-and-the-global-rise-of-online-real-estate-fraud/

     And bottom line is SY even lied to Konrad saying that SY was a sub agent in promoting Barworks , If you read below link, this clearly indicates that Square yards had direct tie up with Barworks.

     http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/square-yards-partners-us-based-barworks-inc-investus-property/articleshow/53722644.cms

     Konrad : You missed to read this link, you could add more value to your article…Hats off to your article…thanks a lot for your research , hope this will help us in legal battle in future…

     Still if anyone has doubt : Square Yard was using Barworks office in NYC (I think we all knew it) , So why they will go through other agent , they can directly deal this with Bar works.

     =========================================================================

     I would urge all the UAE investors to get united now, Specially those who screwed by Square Yards…and we all can do more than alone…

     [email protected]

642. Another legal action in New York

     https://therealdeal.com/2017/07/18/71-chinese-investors-sue-bar-works-and-its-execs-over-alleged-ponzi-scheme/

643. and another one….

     Zavattiero et al v. Bar Works, Inc. et al

     https://dockets.justia.com/docket/new-york/nysdce/1:2017cv05386/477560

644. how many total investors of SY all over the world ?

645. hey marksie plzz update d complaint list of investors thrgh SY

646. @Marksie you mentioned that going through legal route hiring lawyer just a waste of money, but why there are many parties go that route? So they are wrong? doing pointless things and wasting money?

647. Could @fightbarworks get in touch at the following: [email protected]

648. @Demian, you will have to ask them why they do it. I don’t know.

     It is my opinion that it is a waste of money but it is their money and they are free to use it as they choose. Let’s look at the facts.
     With just a few minor differences all four actions are going after roughly the same people and organisations.
     There is likely to be a fifth action soon with Michael Kapin’s second group (it is going to be interesting to see how he can form a second group without having a conflict of interest with his first group). With the four actions this makes a combined total of around $15m of investors chasing whatever they can find. Kapin may add another $3m – $5m to that pack so we could be looking at $20m.
     I have seen a newspaper article stating that the SEC has frozen around $5m of Haddow’s assets, but that hasn’t been confirmed by the SEC (as far as I am aware). The SEC statement says that Haddow transferred around $5m to offshore accounts, the implication being that these were his accounts. Then it says that they have imposed an emergency freeze on his assets. That doesn’t mean that the $5m was still there when the accounts were frozen because I note that the SEC has not confirmed a figure for the amount they have frozen.
     A person who attended the FCA trial of Haddow on a day I wasn’t there told me it was said that the FCA are still confiscating Haddow assets around the world and found more cash in May. Whether that included any of the $5m remains to be seen.
     If there is cash around it will be in accounts controlled by Haddow and/or Kyselova and/or trusted long-term associates on behalf of Haddow.

     There are three major stumbling blocks to any legal action against Haddow. The FCA, the SEC and the FBI.
     The FCA already have confiscation rights over Haddow assets and they have no obligation towards Bar Works investors. They have their own group of investors to look after.
     The SEC has locked down the Haddow accounts they found. They have no obligation to favour any of the private legal actions and would come in for a lot of abuse if they did. They are prosecuting under Sections 17 & 10 in relation to the Securities Act. This appears to suggest that Haddow/BW were selling unauthorised securities. They have not indicated how they would disburse any money they confiscate.
     The FBI have issued a warrant for the arrest of Haddow for wire fraud. This is an offence under Title 18, Section 1343 and 2. This appears to suggest that they intend to prosecute him for fraud. If they do, how will they treat any money that is recovered ? Will they claim that all money obtained by fraud is ‘the proceeds of crime’ and should be returned to investors ? Obviously this would mean that every investor would receive a pro-rata payment, whether they were involved in a legal action or not.
     Does an FBI conviction for fraud override an SEC conviction of securities violations ? Do any of the legal actions override the FBI and SEC actions ?
     There are so many unknowns. I have no doubt a few more will arise in the weeks ahead. This is a very long road with many more twists and turns.

     I have one further point. I started an action on behalf of a small group to test the response from an organisation. We didn’t publicise it. This is the first of a number of potential low-cost/free options. It cost the investors nothing. Joining a legal action against Haddow/BW might jeopardise an investor’s rights to take action against other targets and entitlements to compensation because your target might respond by saying that you can’t have a claim against them if you are involved in an action to reclaim the same investment from another party i.e how can you hold us liable when you are involved in an action which claims another party is liable ? This is something you should ask your attorney before you instruct him/her to go after Haddow/BW i.e are you jeopardising other potential recovery claims. I don’t know the answer to that. Make sure you get a clear answer from them in writing because you might need it in future.

649. SEC USA is already into the case and have already issued a notice to that, individuals who are getting into lawsuits on their own may not gain anything although it will definitely provide solace since that is the last thing anybody can do in this unfortunate situation.
     SEC has told that if there is any information about the funds distribution it will be available on their website.

650. Hey guys i’m in the same situation as most of you…The information on here is very helpful and will hopefully lead to the SEC and FBI catching this heartless fraud and we can get our investments back…I’m in the uk and if anyone has set up a facebook page or whatsapp group i sure would like to be part of this

651. I am also in the UK send me an email at [email protected] and we can chat

652. hey marksie any news from SEC & FBI ????????

653. hey marksie any news from SEC & FBI ????????????????????

654. @ravnit – I’m sure Marksie will post a comment as soon as there is any information available. (See this comment.) I understand that you are worried, but constantly asking for updates is not helping.

655. news piece today suggests that Haddow has been arrested in Morocco and is currently being held and extradition being considered

     am guessing that he had left from Spain by boat and was entering the port of Tangiers – but that’s just my wild guess

     http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/morocco-arrests-british-bitcoin-dealer-wanted-in-us-20170727

656. at last some good news…i have checked a couple of sources and it seems that he is in prison IN Morocco and awaiting extradition and hopefully prosecution in the US…

657. hey marksie cn u give sm light on haddow’s arrest ???????

658. Simon Hi
     Information is conflicting , its not haddow who has been caught in Morocco.
     Morocco arrests British Bitcoin dealer
     AFP | Published — Thursday 22 June 2017

     Moroccan police have arrested a British Bitcoin dealer in the US. (Reuters file)
     TUNIS: The leader of a protest movement in northern Morocco was “severely” beaten and verbally abused by police during his arrest, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said Thursday.
     Nasser Zefzafi — leader of Al-Hirak Al-Shaabi, or the “Popular Movement” — was detained on May 29 in a village 50 km from the city of Al-Hoceima along with two fellow activists

659. @marksie, what is your comment about Renwick Haddow detained in Morocco?

660. Haddow was arrested in morocco according to local media: https://telquel.ma/2017/07/27/recherche-interpol-trafiquant-britannique-bitcoins-arrete-tanger-maroc_1555602

661. And it is all over local news[a[ers

662. marksie ???????????????????

663. It looks like RH may have chosen Morocco as his hideaway because it has no extradition treaty with the USA.

     The UK court case brought against RH by the FCA ran out of time on Friday. The barristers need 3 days for their summing up so they have agreed to return to court in October.

664. (y)

665. I heard SY has fired many key management people because of BW investment mainly in Doha, Qatar and Dubai, UAE, this a scadale that will make authorities taking things seriously… They are facing hard time with people filing cases against them. According to last info, their UAE office might face suspension till eveything is cleared out.

     Again, firing people who have sold barworks won’t make it on them.. every employee at any company is not representing themselves but they company they worked for.. That means if someone has done something wrong after his departure company will be liable for any mess done.. While in this case SY as an entity brought this scam and without due diligeance sold 500 units.. They SHOULD HAVE USED BRAKE SYSTEM AT SOME POINTS “Such as stopping sales in March, April, May 2017”.

666. hey marksie any update abt renwick haddow ??????

667. @ravnit – Please stop asking @Marksie for updates. He has consistently posted comments in this thread whenever he has any news. I’m sure he will continue to do so. In the meantime you could check out this link.

668. The National News UAE

     https://www.thenational.ae/uae/uae-investors-caught-up-in-bitcoin-and-bar-works-financial-scams-1.616095

     Square Yard must provide resolution to their client for putting their investment on risk before they get into heat…

669. The National News :

     UAE residents have described losing their life savings after being caught up in a financial scam that sold bogus workspace developments across the globe.

     The collapse of Bar Works and the high-profile arrest of New York-based British businessman Renwick Haddow has exposed how investors paid millions into a suspected Ponzi scheme.

     At first glance, it looked the perfect opportunity to secure their retirement plans, pay for their children’s education or help buy their first home.

     Just months after handing over their life savings, as many as 150 investors are facing huge financial losses following the collapse of a US start-up company selling bogus workspace developments around the world.

     Losses of $15 million (Dh55 million) are estimated from UAE investors alone, with global debts expected to top $40 million (Dh147 million) after hundreds of investors piled money into Bar Works.

     Engineers, doctors and lawyers have all come unstuck from their investments, including Kamal Singh, who works in Abu Dhabi.

     The father of two stands to lose $150,000 (Dh550,000) – money he had been saving to build a family home back in India.

     “I was working in a nearby building in Abu Dhabi and saw this big Indian company selling investments, so I went in to take a look. It was the worst mistake of my life,” he said.

     “We exchanged business cards, and later received an email asking me to invest in Bar Works. It looked a good opportunity.

     “The returns were about 12-15 per cent a year. On exit, either after two years or ten years, we were to receive a further 25 per cent. We were told the plan was bomb proof.”

     The hotel seminar Mr Singh attended was one of hundreds of similar events held around the world in Singapore, India and Hong Kong, selling similar investment opportunities into Bar Works.

     The American company claimed to provide workspaces in old bars and restaurants, but in fact primarily sold leases coupled with sub-leases that together functioned like investment notes.

     The man behind the alleged con is Briton Renwick Haddow, a New York-based businessman with a murky track record in nefarious financial dealings.

     Haddow, 49, was arrested in Tangiers this week after a notice was issued by Interpol.

     His is charged with securities fraud in the US for allegedly cheating investors in what turned out to be a fake Bitcoin trading platform, and the Bar Works business model.

     Whilst detail of the Bar Works case may read like the latest international crime novel, the reality is scores of investors stand to lose their life savings.

     Mr Singh was sold two units in San Francisco, at a cost of $60,000, and a further nine units in Istanbul, taking his total investment to $150,000.

     “So many others have fallen into this trap,” he said. “We only knew of the involvement of Renwick Haddow after the problems started.

     “The $90,000 I have invested is a bank loan, so I’m paying back Dh8,000 a month.

     “It’s a huge commitment. Everyday I go to work I don’t think I’m working for my kids but to pay back this loan.”

     Richard D’Souza, an investor living in Karama and working in the paint industry, invested $55,000 with his wife.

     “Some friends of mine in the US did some due diligence and said Bar Works was a similar scheme to others that had been very profitable,” he said.

     “I was getting a monthly return until January, about $292 a month.

     “In December, they called again and said the California operation was up and running and asked if my wife would like to invest. It was all of our savings for retirement.”

     When the payments dried up, Mr D’Souza tried to contact the broker who had sold him the deal. He called and left messages, but nobody replied.

     “I finally got hold of one of them who said they had left the company as they had been working without a visa,” he said.

     “Then I realised something was wrong. I asked for a meeting and when I arrived, there were about 150 people there all asking the same questions as me.”

     A Syrian doctor who works at a major Abu Dhabi hospital, who asked not to be named, lost $30,000 – money he had saved to educate his four children.

     “They said It would be a good investment, and they tried to push me for more money,” he said. “I’m glad I only lost $30,000.”

     Jocelyn Houghton, 29, worked in Dubai for Emirates airline as cabin crew and managed to save up $50,000 to put towards her first home.

     She was warned off investing in other notorious scams in Dubai, such as Exential and UTMarkets, but was persuaded to pile all her savings into Bar Works.

     “My money was sitting in a bank account in Dubai, and I wanted to invest in something,” she said.

     “I was approached by an agent, and I told him it had to be a sound investment.”

     As a trained lawyer, Ms Houghton did her own research into Bar Works and it seemed legitimate.

     “I became cabin crew as I couldn’t find work as a lawyer in Dubai,” she added.

     “The money was my life savings. I was told I would get 125 per cent return on my investment over three years.

     “The agent became my friend, we would go out for coffee or lunch, and he was developing this bond to get me to invest.

     “It was very attractive, so I signed up. It was everything I had in the bank, I thought it was all legitimate.”

     —————————————————————————————————————————–

     Though There is no name in above article ,but loud & clear its about whom…

670. If Working Visit VISA is a crime than SY committed that…

     ——————————————————————————————–

     A Mumbai broker says he was flown in by a company to sell real estate in Dubai, but later told to drop everything and sell Bar Works because it offered the firm huge commissions.

     Sanjay arrived in Dubai in June last year and was soon cold-calling customers.

     “When I arrived here I was only given a visitor’s visa and told by the company to call a guy in the UK called Julian to find out about selling Bar Works,” he said.

     “He had been selling airport car parks in Europe and I was experienced in real estate, so I was interested to hear what he had to say. Julian gave us a presentation over the phone from the UK, and told us what Bar Works was all about.

     “He said Bar Works would pay our company 20 per cent commission to sell their product, and as brokers we would get a Dh2,000 bonus for every sale.”

     The incentive encouraged his bosses at the brokerage in Tecom to encourage as many new investors to buy in as possible.

     For developments in the UAE, units were being sold for $30,000 each, while those in Istanbul were being sold for $10,000 each.

     “My bosses went completely bullish on Bar Works and asked all 80 or so brokers to start selling as many as possible,” Sanjay added.

     “They didn’t know fully what the company in America was all about, just that we had to sell as many investments as possible.”

     The brokerage would stage events in hotels to encourage investors to pile in their savings.

     Two teams of brokers were taken off their usual job of selling Dubai property to overseas investors and told to sell as many Bar Works investments as possible, with hefty bonuses awarded to the most productive sellers.

     This went on for almost three months until October last year, when the owner of the brokerage decided to sell investments into his own scheme.

     “I had a strong feeling this was a shady product,” said Sanjay. “My forte was selling real estate and I have worked for some big companies in India.

     “I wanted to leave and realised this had been the biggest mistake of my life. In November, I decided to move on as I didn’t feel comfortable with what they were asking us to sell.

     “The commissions were unusually high, and this was suspicious. They should have asked questions but didn’t want to jeopardise the huge payments they were receiving from Bar Works.”

     https://www.thenational.ae/uae/uae-bar-works-agent-quit-after-realising-what-they-were-asking-us-to-sell-1.616092

671. The National News

     https://www.thenational.ae/uae/suspect-of-scam-involving-uae-investors-had-history-of-financial-fraud-accusations-1.616094

     Above is about barworks “monster mind”…

672. @Ravnit: as add-on to Chris’s last reply: if you find anything else besides the link Chris gave you, feel free to post it here as an update as well; this blog is good for lots of info, but I’m sure there is more out there.
     @Marksie: Thanks again!

673. Dear All;

     I urge from you all to share below two links as much as possible, ask your friends and family to share this so that we get more people to support…

     https://www.thenational.ae/uae/uae-investors-caught-up-in-bitcoin-and-bar-works-financial-scams-1.616095

     https://therealdeal.com/2017/07/10/blacks-money-a-bizarre-co-working-scheme-and-the-global-rise-of-online-real-estate-fraud/

     Thanks for the needful in advance…

674. @UAE-investor I don’t understand what are you waiting for to sue your agent. Here is how you approach it in the UAE.
     Prepare a letter to the general attorney of Dubai or Abu Dhabi in English and go with it the prosecution.. hey you don’t need to gather people with you. That’s your money and do what’s right, many more will follow you.. here is the steps:

     – A letter that tells your whole story and how your agent SY or any other guaranteed the success of this investment (It could be a promotional email directed to you in your email)
     – proof of money transfer
     – Proof of reception by your agent
     – All emails congradutaling you and confirming that you own X number of offices
     – Translate the main letter in Arabic and get an Arabic person you know to read and to confirm if it does make sense.
     – Go with it the public prosection, drop it at the G. Attorney secritary
     – They will direct it to rights service.. Police, court, blabla.. wherever it is applicable
     – Wait they call you and call your consultant/ agent general manager to hear from both iof you. Then they decide, anyone not happy with the decision. Hire a lawyer to take it the course for deeper look and stand.

     Good luck

675. UAE Investor asked for docs related to investment when i mailed to him/her there was no reply from that side after knowing that i did not invested through SY .Regarding suing SY case didn’t seems to have any solid basis as they are only the agents .

676. OURSPACE

     “Ourspace” initially conceived from the Barworks business model and talks between the two entities will be the next co-working investment to go under. Ourspace initially entered the market and lured potential investors in promising them 11%+ annual returns on the premise that they would open 50 co-working locations worldwide within their first 5 years of operation, to date nearly 18 months after conception they have opened one tiny failing location in Marbella, Spain of all places, hardly the business capital of the World.
     So far the company has raised $11,000,000 plus in investment, the business model is one which states that the large investor returns will be paid for by the sales of memberships in the thriving locations, 50,000 members within the first 5 years. Working on these numbers you would have an extremely successful business model, however, wait for it, Ourspace had until recently 60 (yes SIXTY) members worldwide, I say until recently, because they haven’t gained any members but have managed to lose some, they now have a grand total of 40 members worldwide (and trust me I know this for a fact)
     Now in order to service a debt of $11,000,000 at 11% (thats being conservative) you would need to be paying back $1,210,000 annually, thats around $100,000 per month, Ourspace currently generates around $8000 per month in membership revenue that leaves a monthly shortfall of $92,000 !!!! and in around 45 months time they have organised a guaranteed buyback with their clients at 120%, therefore they need to find $13,200,000 in 45 months to fulfil their obligations !!!!

     The man currently in charge of the Ourspace ponzi is a man called Kevan Halliwell, a man who doesn’t like paying anyone anything so lets be honest there is absolutely no chance that he will pay out $13,200,000 in 45 months time nor will the money be there to do so as the money is currently going out much faster than it is being raised.

     Do not invest your money here, this is guaranteed failure and the likelihood is that Mr Halliwell will be in the cell next to his old friend Renwick Haddow.

677. @Puneet.. I think you are with SY… You are not the UAE authority so let the people sue whoever they think they are implicated. SY sold Barworks end of April.. You think that is not so imprudent from them.. Futhermore, there is no consistency in the process from one investor to another.. so this will drag them to hell.. By the way, go google SY now. You will be horrified.
     UAE has very strict laws against any fraud.. That’s a strong basis.

678. @Brian – Sorry, your comment landed in the spam folder. There’s no trace of your previous comment, I’m afraid. Could you re-post it, please?

     Incidentally, I have no relationship with @Marksie – any more than I have a relationship with you. Both of you are people leaving anonymous comments on this website. @Marksie has left rather more comments that you have.

679. @skikdi21 I sympathize with you if you invested through SY.
     Request you to read my comment again.
     Did I say that laws in UAE are lax.what I said is i didn’t invest via SY, so how come I’m with SY.No need to judge and this is a platform to share personal views and most of us have lost our hard earned money.
     I invested through a agent in UK do you think US and U.K. Have less strict laws than UAE.
     SEC is already into the case. Ofcourse SY shouldn’t be allowed to operate.
     My agent has changed his company name from unitedpropertyinvest to united property direct so even if I sue them that Im not going to get my money back although it may harm them.
     Same with SY
     What all want is their money if it’s possible now and for that SEC is already into it and let’s see .

680. United Property Invest who sold Barworks just so happen to work out of non other than Ourspace Marbella

681. SY also worked out of BarWorks in NY

682. @Puneet.. You just talk as any agent and I doubt you are an investor. You cannot conclude anything without a case is filed and judgement spoken. If your agent changed the name, this will become more suspecious and then how you compare that with SY.. I think they did not change their name. In last emails squareyard just mentioned exactly same thing regarding proposed solution which is laying entirely on SEC. Let me tell you something. When I return my money straight from SY.. I will let you know bro. This is not going to take too long. You will hear about it too cause you are one of SY employees assigned to bring up some updates from here.

683. @SKIKDI21 send me your email i will send the documents to you also , you are being too harsh and judgmental without reading what i am writing, I m in uae itself , if you get your money back i will be more than happy and before reading this blog i did not knew who is SY .
     If you still are in disbelief you are free to remain so but please dont associate or tag me with SY when you dont know me and what else information you want about me i can provide including barworks lease which stands useless for me .
     And how are you sure that the company i invested through has not changed their name are you working for that company itself in the same note if i ask you.

684. Skikdi21 I am also keen to pursue SY. I think I may have some other clues too. Get in touch if you like.

685. I had to smile when I read this piece https://www.law360.com/articles/948168/legal-adviser-denies-being-lackey-to-wanted-fraudster

     I love the part where one of the companies used to siphon off money was named after Haddows dog !!!

686. What is the update?
     Has Renwick Haddow been extradited to US?
     Will we recover our money?
     Does @marksie has any new important information to share?

687. The legal process is likely to take a long time. Haddow may decide to return to the USA willingly or he may fight to remain in Morocco. If he fights then it could be a very long process because he has not yet been convicted of any crime. Morocco is the kind of place where decisions can be influenced by having friends in high places.

     I doubt that he will be held in prison. It is more likely that his passport will be confiscated and he will be released on bail. I think it would be interesting to know who will be financing his lifestyle while he is in Morocco. My feeling is that Haddow will have made plans and most likely transferred some money out of his accounts to a friend before his bank accounts were frozen. In that way he would have some cash available to him which isn’t covered by the freezing order.

     There may be some minor public announcements, court appearances etc that reporters will publish to keep people updated, but the two main players are the SEC and the FBI and neither of them is going to provide any meaningful information on progress whilst they are building their prosecution cases.

     The FCA website recently updated investors on the status of the UK prosecution. This is what they said:

     “We are continuing our High Court claim for money to be returned to investors in the African Land and Capital Carbon Credits schemes. We maintain that the defendants made false and misleading statements to investors in these schemes…..

     The High Court decided in February 2014 that the schemes were collective investment schemes which could not be lawfully operated by the defendants. Some of the defendants appealed. In March 2015 the Court of Appeal rejected the appeal, confirming that the schemes were collective investment schemes. On 28 July 2015, the Supreme Court refused to give the defendants permission to make a further appeal.

     Following these rulings, the Court gave directions for a further Trial to consider misleading statements, the extent of the defendants’ liability and the orders that should be made.

     The trial began on 11 July 2017 and was expected to conclude by the end of July 2017. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to complete the hearing of evidence and closing submissions in the time originally anticipated. We now expect that the Trial will conclude in October 2017, with Judgment being handed down a few months after.”

688. Quite amusing that Lorna Moore has the temerity (that means ‘cheek’ Lorna) to claim that “….Mr Lang is not a journalist, has barely a qualification at GCSE level…” whilst she self-proclaims to be “…a Managing Director at Invest Smarter Seminars Ltd….a business professional and entrepreneur with 21 years of experience in start-ups, management and board level positions….” after attending that finest of UK educational establishments……wait for it…….the University of Wolverhampton (a.k.a. that dressed up poly in the Black Country) and continually associating with/aiding and abetting fine such fine and upstanding individuals as Renwick Haddow and Chris Rathbone…………….ROFL!

689. @CeeMac,

     Lorna Moore is Renwick Haddow’s sister. One of my team spoke to someone who knew both of them very well and she confirmed that they are brother and sister. You can see the family resemblance in these links.
     Photo of Renwick Haddow
     http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/2m-17m-now-27m-price-10782732 .
     Video of Lorna Moore
     http://www.onenewspage.com/video/20160921/5549888/Why-Britain-amp-apos-turning-phone-boxes.htm

690. I have read in the last weeks now every Comment until July 1 and will read the Rest in the next weeks.

     https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2017/comp-pr2017-123.pdf is not ANYWHERE speaking about REIMBURSE US – the Victims!

     Do I see that right that WE have to pay HADDOWS Court Bills and Fines on Top of our lost money or from our Investments?

     I am reddy.

691. good morning … No one has any news about Barworks? Does anyone know if Renwick Haddow is just the steward of all this?

692. @Kerry Manolas, Haddow was the architect of the scam but he could not have done it without assistance from at least a dozen others. They all knew what he was doing and were willing to go along with it in return for a share of the money.

     Since my last posting there has been another court hearing in the UK in relation to the FCA prosecution of Haddow and others. The hearing was moved from London to Birmingham to accommodate the Judge’s timetable. The testimony from the final two defendants was heard.

     The next court date is now scheduled for 3rd October in London. The court has allowed 3 days to hear the closing arguments from both the prosecution and the defence. The case should complete on 5th October and the Judge is expected to give his verdict around the end of the year.

693. Any news about Renwick Haddow or progress of the case?
     Is Renwick Haddow still jailed in Morocco?

     Seems everyone down now, no more news and not eager to pursue our loss anymore. It just looks like useless and waste our time to pursue. It is just sad, we loss our hard earned money.

694. Theire are 2 things more I not understand:

     1. Why I not saw ANY Complaint from any of the people that bought a Membership? After all the Barworks closed down they been scammed as well. Or have not any Membership been sold and all the people that you have seen sometimes at Barworks been Haddows Soldiers selling more worthless lease and sublease Agreements?

     2. If your house have been taken from an Nature Catastrophe their are Organisations that help you or even Goverment Programms. Are their also Orgganisations or Programms that help Investors that lost everything by Scams?? Or is their at least a way to obtain an work Visa if you lost everything on the Ground of the US thru a Scam?

695. As we all know that action against main culprit of Barworks “Renwick Haddow” are in process, All all must also start considering & discussing our plan of action against agent who are equally guilty in this scam as :

     1. They did it for quick money : Agent get their 20% or more , as soon as investors transfer their money to Barowrks, and this is what drived them to market and promote this aggressively.

     2. Agents like Square Yards, Atom Alternative, who has global presence heavily promoted this without doing due diligence, they really dont know who was Jonathan black in reality , and keep sharing , forged agreement documents with their investors.

     3. Most of the investors chosen Agents considering agents must have done reality check and its safe to go through them, but we were not aware the agents like SY are real crooks who are least bothered about their investors, for 20% they have given 80% of investor money to a scammer.

     Below can be systematic approach of explaining role of Agents :

     1. Lack Of Due Diligence : Promoting a fraudulent investment in UAE and other overseas country without doing thorough diligence, which turned out to be a scam now Jonathan Black (Ex COO Bar Works), who in reality does not Exists, Square Yard & other agents has no clue of this man and they says that they have done due diligence before promoting Bar Works. So Square Yards & other agents took risk on investor money to get higher & quick commission, and now since it turned out to be a scam, they must refund investor money as part of the penalty to their mistake or held accountable for all this.

     2. Illegal & Unsecure Overseas Investment Promotion: Square Yards have not done due diligence whether investors investment is protected with any insurance or not. Promoting such a risk exposed investment in overseas country while the license is for UAE business is illegal.

     3. Considerably Higher & Quick Brokerage: Considerably higher % of brokerage i.e. 20%, usual brokerage in real estate market is less than 5% ( I have an audio clip of sales manager Mr. Araj Mittal from Square Yards to prove that, He also shared lot of other info bymistake, He is the one who sold me & lot of others this plan).

     4. Official Email with Guarantee & Safe Investment: Square Yards approached us promoting bar works , and we all invested on his assurance. (Promotional email with assurance on Bar works return by Square Yards are available as part of proof)

     5. I have email showing sense of urgency for loan clearance from ADCB by Square Yards, Why it was done? When you are not promoting something, how can you advice your investor to invest in that? Is not this cheating/fraud/scam? ( Email showing pressure from bar works is attached)

     6. Intentional Crime:
     a. “Intention” of agent need to be define here, whether they did through diligence or simply went for higher cut of commission, and how much high it is? 5% is the standard rate, however if they have taken 20% or more than that how they justify BW return? which is:
     – 12-16% annual , for two years its 24-32%
     – 25% on exit after two years
     – 15-20% agent fee
     – BW sales fee
     – BW operational expense (Salary, Promotional expenses etc.)
     Note: We came to know above from REDD Monitor website, can be approached on [email protected]
     b. Square Yards again approached me in March2017 for bar works Istanbul assuring its coming with higher return 15-16% , and this is done while Square Yards has their own convertible notes launched, but the focus was on Bar works. After all the assurance I invested $90K loan money, which I was planning to use to buy home. ( Email showing pressure from bar works are available)
     c. Investors On Risk: Tanuj Shori (CEO of Square Yards) told to Konrad (Real Deal Editor), that Square Yards is not promoting Bar Works since Jan2017, than why I & people like me have been put in trouble selling this in March/April 2017? Editor can be approached on below :-
     Konrad Putzier | Reporter | O: 646-514-9769 | [email protected] (Email is available for the same )

     Some Important Links ( Simply Click or Copy & Paste in Your Browser) :

     – Square Yards being charged in Singapore for similar fraud. Below is the link
     http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/square-yards-slapped-with-fine-six-month-ban
     – Square Yards being charged in India for fraud in India, below is the link
     http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/court-orders-fir-against-real-estate-firm-for-fraud/article2144756.ece
     – https://repdigger.com/reviews/squareyards
     – https://www.complaintboard.in/complaints-reviews/squareyards-l612308.html
     – http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/square-yards-partners-us-based-barworks-inc-investus-property/articleshow/53722644.cms
     – http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/court-orders-fir-against-real-estate-firm-for-fraud/article2144756.ece
     – http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/square-yards/nationwide/ms-square-yards-tanuj-shori-ceo-anupam-rastogi-gulf-head-misleading-investor-pro-1382006
     – Square Yards is more than an agent for Bar Works :-
     http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/square-yards-partners-us-based-barworks-inc-investus-property/articleshow/53722644.cms
     https://www.consumercomplaints.in/square-yards-promoting-fraudulent-investments-globally-c1623530

     Our Approach So Far Against Agents:

     1. We have officially logged complaint in many UAE authorities (will be shared to only verified investors, As we know bunch of crooks have close eyes here)

     2. We have approached The National News (UAE News Paper) and they published it

     3. We have been contacted by The Real Deal ( NYC News Paper ) and they published it

     We need more people from all part of the world, specially from India, UAE, China…we need to make aware other people to stay away from these scammer companies and also pushing authorities to help their people from such scammers…

     Email your :

     1. Passport front
     2. Agreement snap with both party signature
     3. Whatsup No.

     at [email protected]

696. OURSPACE, BARWORKS AND CROWNGATE INTERNATIONAL
     THE BIG SCAM

     As I said previously, Crowngate International came here to Kuwait originally to sell properties in the U.K. to Kuwaitis. These were sold on the premise that the investor pay 20% deposit on the off-plan property and once completed Crowngate would sell the property for the investor at a premium, we were told that Crowngate were agents for the developers. This obviously never happened and numerous Kuwaitis lost their 20% as Crowngate could not resell and obviously for many mortgaging in the U.K. from Kuwait was a real issue. Crowngate then moved on to selling firstly Barworks, Then the “CBH” (something which has been completely removed form circulation) and Ourspace to investors here in Kuwait (on investigation it seems that they had a stand in Avenues mall promoting this) again acting as agents.

     The amazing thing is that now that Ourspace have established a U.K. corporation one of the directors at Crowngate is indeed also a director of the new U.K. Ourspace entity, a man named Gavin Smith- see the link, the Ourspace stand at the Avenues and the listing on the new U.K. company. On top of this Crowngate are now advertising a new Hotel in the UAE (RAK of all places) which they claim to be constructing, they are advertising this for sale on the website, however, they are also claiming in the literature that “previous projects” they have completed the majority of the U.K. property they missold in Kuwait when at the time they were only claiming that they were agents for these projects !! This is extremely bad as I have family who lost money with the U.K. investment and further more close friends who were stung with the Barworks, they set up in Kuwait claiming they had close links with a very influential family here, however, it now appears that they left a member of this family in trouble as well and he is apparently now taking legal action.

     There are clearly ties between all of the entities here, Barworks, Ourpsace and whatever else and these guys seem to be right in the thick of everything

697. Why is United Property Invest not listed on Serius Fraud?

698. Hi holger
     That surprises me too
     When I tried to raised this issue some people thought I’m here as an agent from another tainted agency SY from whom majority invested in bar work s.
     I’m sure united prop invest has duped a larger number than SY as they have changed their name website etc

699. I reported to SEC, FCA, Actionfraud and got a letter from General Attorney of the State of NY that Eric T. Schneiderman “received my correspondence”. They will contact me “in the near future” (File 1361038

     I contacted surely also Honey Meek and Moneycorp that transfered the money after “tests that it is #NOT# money loaundry. No response.

700. Below is what i have written to UAE & USA authorities , I have tried to explained things at my best and sharing with you all victim on this forum if it helps u in anyway…

     This fight against scammers, they have looted our hard money for which we spents years to earn, the money which belongs to our kids…

     We all must standup and raise our voice against it, if we bring any of these agents to justice, this is help to all who are in queue to lose their hard money, if we dont report it…

     Reporting it to authorities is equally important and they can do anything until its reported…

     “” Dear Team SEC (USA);

     We have not heard anything so far on progress of the ongoing case against Renwick Haddow, We also wanted to know when we can get our funds back.

     Appreciate your quick revert on above…

     Attachements :

     – FBI Complaint File

     – SEC Complaint File

     – USA Attorney Announcement

     Dear UAE Government;

     We expect a lot from UAE government having strict law against frauds. This investment which is turn out to be fraud now, had been marketed by many UAE real estate firms, and one of the largest contributor in this Fraud is “Square Yards”.

     Main victim Renwick Haddow is facing charges in USA, we expect his supporter ( UAE agents i.e. Square Yards) should also be held responsible and bring to justice.

     1. Charges Against Square Yards :

     – Lack Of Due Diligence : Promoting a fraudulent investment in UAE and other overseas country without doing thorough diligence, which turned out to be a scam now Jonathan Black (Ex COO Bar Works), who in reality does not Exists, Square Yard has no clue of this man and they says that they have done due diligence before promoting Bar Works

     – Considerably Higher Brokerage: Considerably higher % of brokerage i.e. 20%, usual brokerage in real estate market is less than 5% , I have an audio clip of sales manager from Square Yards to prove that ( This I will not attache it here, will only handover if authorities approaches me.)
     – Investors On Risk: Tanuj Shori (CEO of Square Yards) told to Konrad (Real Deal Editor), that Square Yards is not promoting Bar Works since Jan2017, than why I have been put in trouble selling this in March2017? Editor can be approached on below :-
     Konrad Putzier | Reporter | O: 646-514-9769 | [email protected]

     Attachment

     Barworks Investment Related

     – SY Promotion Email

     – SY Ack. fund received by Bar Works.

     – Confess of USA reporter “Konrad from TRD” about SY CEO Mr. Tanuj Shori

     – Copy of my agreements

     2. Square Yards “A History Cheater” , I won’t like to write much here its already written & published globally, all I am doing just sharing links & attached to help you understand more about this Fraud Setup :

     http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/square-yards-slapped-with-fine-six-month-ban

     http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/court-orders-fir-against-real-estate-firm-for-fraud/article2144756.ece

     https://repdigger.com/reviews/squareyards

     http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/court-orders-fir-against-real-estate-firm-for-fraud/article2144756.ece

     http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/square-yards-partners-us-based-barworks-inc-investus-property/articleshow/53722644.cms

     3. Initiative actions taken against agents in UAE

     – We have written email to all the fraud authorizes marked in cc, there is no positive response or invite for interview

     – We have approached “The National News” UAE and they published the news, below are the links for the same :

     https://www.thenational.ae/uae/uae-investors-caught-up-in-bitcoin-and-bar-works-financial-scams-1.616095

     https://www.thenational.ae/uae/suspect-of-scam-involving-uae-investors-had-history-of-financial-fraud-accusations-1.616094

     https://www.thenational.ae/uae/uae-bar-works-agent-quit-after-realising-what-they-were-asking-us-to-sell-1.616092

     – We have approached “The Rea Deal” USA and they also published the news, below are the links for the same :

     https://therealdeal.com/2017/07/10/blacks-money-a-bizarre-co-working-scheme-and-the-global-rise-of-online-real-estate-fraud/

     – Official complaint is logged & case is opened in CID Abu Dhabi ( Case No. 3061 / 2017 ) – In progress & No Update

     We expect UAE & USA authorities coordinate with each other to help their residence, If this is being not stopped these companies will keep doing such illegal things…

     Thanks for the needful in advance…”” ”

     Imp. Emails :

     [email protected]
     [email protected]
     [email protected]
     [email protected]
     [email protected]
     [email protected]
     [email protected]
     [email protected]
     [email protected]
     [email protected]

701. Any news about Renwick Haddow wife? Zoe Miller or Zoya Kyselova? and the baby?

     How can Zoya Kyselova living free? She was one of the CEO also, Zoe Miller.

702. The UK trial of Haddow and accomplices has completed now and we await the verdict which is likely come in November, December or January.
     In the USA there have been some default judgements made against Haddow and others but no money has been found in any of the available accounts.

     I have had a lot of emails asking about different investments so I’m going to put my opinion up here for all to see.

     Gerry/Carole, I have tried to reply to your emails but my reply keeps bouncing back. Yes, Jared Stamell did offer a no win no fee deal but I know from a lot of investors that he has gone cold on the idea. He hasn’t replied to them for a long time. The people who have been contacting your group quoting replies from Stamell do not look genuine to me so beware. If Stamell had written those responses he must have had a few drinks. Those replies did not come from him. I do not know what they expect to gain from deceiving you but eventually they will ask you for money or will try to sell you something.

     OURSPACE – this company has the same model as Bar Works. It was formed by people who were originally partners with Bar Works. It does not have enough members to pay the returns to investors so it will inevitably collapse. Form your action groups now and don’t wait for the collapse.

     HOTEL ROOMS and CARE HOME ROOMS – total waste of money and an outright scam. Massively overpriced rooms with no independent valuation on your room. Stop believing the hype and use your brains. Would your bank give you a mortgage on that room ? NO. Why not ? Because your room will be worth pennies if/when the hotel or care home goes bust. It will definitely go bust. Both of these industries have high rates of failure. How much do you think one room in a closed hotel or closed care home will be worth ? Seriously, think about it. The rooms are worthless.
     Your “guaranteed returns” have exactly the same guarantee as Bar Works i.e as long as the money keeps rolling in they will pay it. When the money stops your guaranteed returns will stop.
     Then there is the promise of a guaranteed buyback. Where is that money coming from ? Does the company have the money to buy-back ? NO – it does not. It is a worthless promise. Ask to see the evidence that they have the funds to buyback.
     If you ran a hotel company or a care home company and it was successful and doing well you wouldn’t sell it to investors in this way. You would go to the bank and borrow the money at 7% interest rate. But no, these people aren’t doing that. They are selling through agents paying 20%+ commission on room sales. Then they say that they will pay each room owner 10%+ rental. It is ridiculous.
     A bank would demand security over the whole property but you do not have that. You have no security. You have no right to sell the hotel or care home as an entire property to recover your money. You just have a room somewhere on the premises.
     The bottom line is that these developers have got investors to fund their start-up business without giving them any equity in the company. As investors you have paid for the entire property, plus the refurbishment of the entire property, plus some working capital for the company, plus commissions to agents and you do not own a single share in the company. In one case I have seen the developer also owns the refurbishment company which means that he can cream off investor’s money claiming it was used to refurbish the property. These start-up businesses are very, very high risk investments and it is highly likely that the sale of these investments breach FCA regulations.

     CAR PARKING – the latest scam to be touted to investors. Check out the development company. it is less than 6 months old. It has one director who owns all the shares. It’s an outright scam. I’ve seen documents confirming that one agent is offering 20% commission to sub-agents for the first few sales. After that it will increase the commission ! if it is offering that to sub-agents how much do you think the development company is paying this master agent ? 30%, 40%, more ?
     On top of this the company is claiming that the plots are being sold 20% below RICS valuation. That’s rubbish. Take the commissions into account and this developer is apparently selling his valuable plots at half price ! The reality is that he can’t get a mortgage on the land. You are massively overpaying for your plot. If you want a valuation go and ask your bank for a mortgage on your plot – they will refuse to give it to you because the risk is too high and the valuation is rigged. i am involved in a legal action where we are taking the valuer to court because he inflated a valuation. it turns out he was an old buddy of the developer and was very well paid for inflating the valuation.
     I won’t go over the same points again about guaranteed rentals, guaranteed buy-back etc because it is the same as the hotels and care homes.
     Once again investors are actually funding a very high risk start-up company without owning any shares in it.

     Sadly, the reality is that the FCA and Action Fraud rarely take action. This failure on their part allows these schemes to prosper for a couple of years before they are prosecuted, if at all. Once a prosecution starts the money is long gone. Storage spaces, cemetery plots, aquaponics and so on are all based on the same dodgy principles.

     Myself and a few colleagues are talking to the UK government about pre-emptive strikes against the promoters and developers of these schemes but these things take time to establish. We will be collecting details of investors in these schemes and forming them into action groups. If there are any lawyers reading this, or there are investors who know lawyers who might be interested in joining, and who are prepared to help investors on a largely no-win no-fee basis please make contact on [email protected]. Believe me when I say that the list of scams is long and covers many countries.

     if you are receiving emails or phone calls offering new investments it has not come from us. We are not in that business. Your details will have been taken by employees of Bar Works and they are selling them on. People who work at dodgy companies like FJP Investments, United Property Invest and others are joining new companies and taking your details with them. Quite a few of you have joined Whatsapp groups relating to Bar Works and those groups were infiltrated by agents who now have details of a lot of investors. Some of you will have forwarded emails from your action group to your agent thinking the agent was on your side. The unscrupulous ones will have made a note of the distribution list and will be sending investments out to those people. There are some genuine and honest agents out there who refuse to sell the bad investments and they should be commended for putting investors first.

703. Anyone considering the car parking investment or who has already invested in it would have nightmares if they read this list:

     ASTON DARBY LIMITED
     10664655 – Incorporated on 10 March 2017
     Units 19 & 20 Manchester Road, Bolton, United Kingdom, BL3 2NZ
     ASTON DARBY CAPITAL LIMITED
     10810272 – Incorporated on 8 June 2017
     55 Clarendon Gardens, Bromley Cross, Bolton, Lancashire, United Kingdom, BL7 9GW
     ASTON DARBY CLARK53 PROPERTY LIMITED
     10812109 – Incorporated on 9 June 2017
     55 Clarendon Gardens, Bromley Cross, Bolton, United Kingdom, BL7 9GW
     ASTON DARBY CONSTRUCTION LTD
     10851849 – Incorporated on 5 July 2017
     55 Clarendon Gardens, Bromley Cross, Bolton, United Kingdom, BL7 9GW
     ASTON DARBY GLASGOW LIMITED
     10669250 – Incorporated on 14 March 2017
     Units 19 & 20 Manchester Road, Bolton, United Kingdom, BL3 2NZ
     ASTON DARBY GLOBAL LIMITED
     10810277 – Incorporated on 8 June 2017
     55 Clarendon Gardens, Bromley Cross, Bolton, Lancashire, United Kingdom, BL7 9GW
     ASTON DARBY GROUP LIMITED
     10674154 – Incorporated on 16 March 2017
     Units 19 & 20 Manchester Road, Bolton, United Kingdom, BL3 2NZ
     ASTON DARBY HARBOUR PARKING LIMITED
     10809073 – Incorporated on 8 June 2017
     55 Clarendon Gardens, Bromley Cross, Bolton, United Kingdom, BL7 9GW
     ASTON DARBY HARBOUR PROPERTY LIMITED
     10810234 – Incorporated on 8 June 2017
     55 Clarendon Gardens, Bromley Cross, Bolton, United Kingdom, BL7 9GW
     ASTON DARBY STERLING LIMITED
     10809545 – Incorporated on 8 June 2017
     55 Clarendon Gardens, Bromley Cross, Bolton, United Kingdom, BL7 9GW

     10 companies all formed in the last 6 months.

     The directors of these companies are either a man called Roderick Bailey (acting as sole director) or Leigh Heywood (acting as joint director alongside Roderick Bailey).

     Leigh Heywood, in the past, has been a director of THE STEP (MILTON KEYNES) LTD. This company was liquidated. OK, no problem with that. There are many acceptable reasons for liquidating a company. However, this company was the subject of an official investigation which resulted in one of the directors, a man called Gregory Heywood (the brother of Leigh Heywood), being disqualified as a director for 7 years commencing January 2011 and completing in January 2018.

     That is obviously a concern but is gets worse when one looks at the main company in this list – ASTON DARBY LTD. It has only one shareholder and that person is Gregory Heywood.

     The car parking investments are a scam orchestrated by Gregory Heywood using his brother and Roderick Bailey as front men. If I was able to find out this information in 30 minutes one has to ask why the agents selling this rubbish couldn’t do it. Their due diligence is non-existent and they are blinded by high commissions.

     If anyone wants to form their own action group or wants help recovering their money contact me on [email protected]

     We’ll continue this offline because it isn’t anything to do with Bar Works and we should keep this blog focused on BW. If Chris starts a new blog we’ll go over to that but if not we’ll progress things offline.

704. Hi Marksie. thanks for the last two comments. In UK there are investment companies that advertise investments into real estate in cities like Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and so on. That property is being built, its new, and it varies from Hotel rooms to student accommodation. The investment scheme as the following. You sign a contract, make a small deposit, then a lawyer from a legal company contacts you by skype to complete due dill process and then sends you his legal opinion regarding the property, its history, property rights, describes your risks, the risks of the developer, his track record and so on. It is like 50 page documents with all the details. You invest step by step after each construction stage is completed. After the building is built and put into operation you start receiving your guaranteed return between 7-10 % per annum depending on the project. A little bit more than a Bank interest but he pays when it is operational. The developer also has an option to buy back with a premium in several years. Option, not an obligation. When the building is being built for 1-2 years you get nothing. The developer saves interest payments that he would have paid had he gone to the Bank. Do you think it is also s scam? Does it look ridiculous?

705. 1. Awesome post by Marksie.
     2. David, there are numerous projects in the uk which are NOT scams but there is a difference between what Marksie mentions and what you mention.

     Personally, I would avoid any project which claims a buy back as the developer has no idea on what the future price will be, market wise. The buy back was introduced to cover your exit as that was or should be the first question an investor asks. Secondly you mention that the developer has the ‘option’ which I can ‘guarantee’ will be in his favour, not yours.

     Property and the ownership of that asset is hugely different to having a license with BW or a room in a care home or a car parking space (give me strength) which I think is the point Marksie is making.

     I would wager that 90-95% of agents have never met the developers behind the projects they push.

706. @David,
     Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow sound like fine places to invest. So did New York, Miami and San Francisco.

     The lawyer who calls you and who provides the 50-page document is acting on behalf of the developer. He/she is not acting on behalf of the investor and although he/she may sound very nice and helpful, if the investment goes tits up the investor will find that they have no comeback against the lawyer because there is no contract between them. I have no doubt that the Bar Works lawyer would have made a great case for Bar Works i.e “successfully completed the sale of 12 sites in New York, Miami, San Francisco, Las Vegas with plans to open in London, Dublin and Dubai. Rental payments are paid monthly starting from the moment you purchase your workspace with thousands of satisfied investors all around the world etc etc…..”. It’s not what’s in the brochures that counts. It’s what is left out that is most important and, as can be seen by my 30 minute research above, none of that is mentioned by “investment companies” selling the Glasgow car park investment.

     A lawyer using skype rather than a telephone ? Interesting. It’s quite easy to record a telephone call. It isn’t possible to record skype calls unless you’ve installed third party software. Lawyers aren’t always trustworthy as can be seen by the fact that one of the people being prosecuted in the UK alongside Haddow is the company’s lawyer.

     Student property is a well established investment proposition among blue-chip investment funds. Normally those off-plan properties would be backed up by forward-looking valuations from a respected firm like Savills. This would show local property prices, local rental yields etc and they would reference each statement they make to show the respectable sources which support their opinion. I don’t know if this happens in the projects you describe. Perhaps it does.

     Hotel rooms and care home rooms are promoted as low risk investments which they patently are not. If an investor is buying a room off-plan in one of those developments i.e where the property is yet to be built then they are being sold an unregulated collective investment scheme. If they have not completed a SCSI form or HNWI declaration then the product should not be marketed to them. Investors should always be very careful about signing one of these forms if it isn’t true because they are signing away a lot of rights to prosecute if they were misled.

     It is not possible to build an investor’s room in a care home or hotel without building the entrance hall, reception, kitchen, stairways, lifts and a lot of other features necessary in these properties. Therefore a portion of every investor’s money is being used to pay for this construction which means “collectively” they are paying for parts of the building that they don’t own and have no rights to. The room is worth nothing without those other parts being there.
     Also, the rental they receive can only be generated from the income received from the business i.e the hotel business or the care home business. If the operator is poor the business will close. It is at that point that the true value of the room becomes clear when the investor tries to sell a room in a closed hotel or care home. I doubt that the £60,000 room would even fetch £6,000. The simple truth is that the investor is not buying an asset. He/she is actually buying into a business. That may not be what they wanted to do but that is the reality and it is a business that is very high risk. Developers tend to gloss over this and are not too keen to back up how they will generate the guaranteed income. If you take Bar Works as an example it is easy with hindsight to see why this could never work. If this had been a genuine business and not a ponsi scheme the returns to investors were completely and entirely dependent on memberships. Everyone, myself included, did not pay enough attention to how many members it would take to pay the promised returns and whether Bar Works had the skills to grow memberships and manage workspace properties. The same is true of hotels and care homes.

     The benefit of off-plan is that you don’t pay everything upfront. You do at least get to see progress and you can stop paying if you want. You might only lose 50% of your money if you do that. I understand why developers sell off-plan but there are plenty of failed, half-finished off-plan property ventures.
     The 7 -10% guaranteed return for a couple of years is as old as time. You inflate the price of the property by 20% and then give the money back over 2 years at 10% per year. The investor thinks the investment is doing well but they are just getting their own money back.

     It would be wrong of me to say that all off-plan property investments are bad because I have invested in one. It was delivered two years late but it was actually delivered in the end. There was no guaranteed rental or buyback arrangement. The bottom line is that the guaranteed rentals, the commissions to sales brokers (which are way higher than that of an estate agent) and the money that the developer takes out upfront (because he will want to bank some for himself should it all go wrong) has to come from somewhere. That somewhere is out of the pockets of the investors which means that valuations have been inflated.

     A few years ago a major UK “investment company” told me that to ensure they were being truthful when an investor asked them how much they made in commission on the sale, they would keep the commission down to 5 -10% but they would take free properties in the development as a top up. The first properties they sold off-plan to their investors were the free ones they had been given. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Somebody had to pay the developer for the loss of those properties. Every property sold had been marked up by a few thousand to cover the developer’s loss.

     The brochures I have seen in relation to hotel rooms talk about “this is a red hot, low risk investment. The company already has [3, 4, 5] hotels and interest in this new site is very high”. When you go to the company’s website you can only book rooms in one hotel. The others are not mentioned, yet investors in all hotels were receiving income. Doesn’t this sound a lot like Bar Works ?

     Hotels and care homes (off-plan or not) are very risky. Student property is less so but still high risk. Buying off-plan increases the risk even further because the property hasn’t been built. The only benefit of buying off-plan is if you are genuinely getting the property at a substantial discount. As I have shown that is rarely the case. If you want a student property go and buy a studio flat close to a university from a high street estate agent. If you want a hotel or care home investment ask yourself why. Is it because you believe the brochures and the salesperson ? If that is the only reason then you need to adopt a new investment approach. You need to believe that whatever you are sent by the company or the agent is a pack of lies. You need to say to yourself “I will not believe it unless I am able to independently verify every statement. Before I invest I will discuss this with some close friends that I trust. I will not be influenced by statements like – if you don’t buy now the chance will be missed”. Adopt that approach and I guarantee you will save yourself a lot of heartache.

707. Scotty, thanks for Your reply. Yes I know that there are different projects in UK. I am not that naïve. My post was more of an anxiety since that project in UK was brought to me by the same guy who brought to me BW. I explained how it as in my situation, all the steps. The legal company does exist, its Ackland and Co in Cardiff, UK, they answer telephone calls, google maps explicitly shows their office with the logo, also I see that the building itself is growing up as planned. After BW I am too much stressed and fear that even in UK was scammed.

708. Deals are out there for those who do their own research or use a ‘real’ sourcing company instead of simply a marketing agent where commission is driving their selection.

     Commission level on each of the following purchases you ask? 3%.
     Not 10 or 20 or 30%!

     Recently sourced

     * Type – Residential
     * 27 tenanted apartments
     * Location – South Coast, UK
     * Rent Roll – £154,217 per annum
     * Sold price – £980,000
     * Yield – 15.74%

     * Type – Change of Use
     FORMER 12 bedroom Care home facility with private swimming pool
     * Location – South West
     * PP approved – convert into 6 luxury 2 bedroom apartments
     * Acquisition & Renovation Cost – £1,200,000
     * GDV – £1,800,00.

     * Type – Commercial/ freehold office
     * Town Centre, Fully let
     * Location – South West, UK
     * Rent Roll – £27,500 per annum
     * Price – £225,000
     * Yield – 12%+

709. Hi David,
     Are you able to state which project or developer or agent you dealt with?
     Am I reading it correctly that you invested into both BW and the project you mention?

     My comment by the way about different projects was more to do with different types of projects and how they are structured or put together.

710. @David,
     The website for the law firm is rather odd http://www.acklandslegal.co.uk.
     The website says that the firm handles handles conveyancing, investment property, employment law, personal injury, negligence, civil litigation etc, yet it doesn’t give any information on any of the solicitors in the company. That is quite unusual because law firms generally like to give information on who works there and what their areas of expertise are. We don’t even know if there is an Ackland involved in the company.
     Also, on a number of occasions it describes itself as ‘Ackland & Co Solicitors’. Nowhere on the site does it mention whether it is LTD, LLP, LLC or other such entity, not even on the ‘Contact’ page. The ‘About Us’ page doesn’t actually say anything about them.

     Acklands & Co Solicitors is registered with the SRA and that site also doesn’t describe the legal status.

     This is the contact page from the website:

     CONTACT INFO
     68 LLANDAFF ROAD, CARDIFF, SOUTH GLAMORGAN, CF11 9NL
     [email protected] 029 2064 1461
     INVESTMENT PROPERTY
     029 2022 6668

     It is rather strange for a law firm to have a separate phone number for investment property. Also, it doesn’t have a skype address on the contact page which is another oddity.

     There is nothing to suggest any impropriety but I am surprised that a large development company (if that is what your developer claims to be) is using a very small firm working from an end-of-terrace house.

     I think we should draw a line under this topic because this is a blog about Bar Works and we should keep it focused on matters relating to that company.

     You can drop me a line at [email protected] if you want to discuss further.

711. Some people have been receiving emails from this company https://www.condictorsolutions.com/ . They are asking investors to pay an upfront fee because they claim to have evidence against some of the people involved in selling the Bar Works product. I don’t know anything about the company but the comments they have made are not true. They are designed to get you to part with your cash. I am aware there are things happening behind the scenes so my advice is to be patient and wait for a while longer.

712. Thank you @Marksie.

713. The latest on Renwick Haddow https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://telquel.ma/2017/10/17/renwick-haddow-petit-madoff-retrouve-au-maroc_1565108&prev=search

     His US attorney, Edward Little, looks to be a big player. Very competent and probably very expensive. I’d like to know who is paying his bill https://www.hugheshubbard.com/attorneys/edward-little

714. Another court action listed in September: Almozairee et al v. Haddow et al

     Defendants – Haddow + Kyselova + 14 Bar Works companies.

     Plaintiffs – 58 named individuals (investors).

     That makes 5 private legal actions + the SEC action + the FBI action.
     Haddow is named as a defendant in each one. The companies will have no money or assets. Only Haddow, Kyselova and some carefully selected friends will be hiding the money.

715. Marksie thanks sharing valuable information.

     Is there any way, we can know whats is the status of BW legal suit, and what SEC / FBI r doing?

     Is there any one responsible for public interaction / queries in SEC / FBI related to this BW case ?

     How do we know that we are part of the list of investors SEC/FBI referring for this case ?

     I am sure there should be an information system for victims to know the status of legal suit!!

     Can we discuss any course of action can be taken against Agents ? After all there are agents like Square Yards, who are more than agent for Barworks :

     http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/square-yards-partners-us-based-barworks-inc-investus-property/articleshow/53722644.cms

     Square Yards & Agents like them let their investors die knowing the future of this investment just for instant high commission…

     I would say SY is well managed cheaters hub, still are able to keep BW people isolated…

     If we all from who invested through SY can get united , I am sure we can do a lot, and most importantly if we will not take action against square yards, they will keep doing what they have done…So please lets get united [email protected]

716. I was approached to act as an agent for Barworks in Jan 2016. dismissed it very quickly as didn’t stack up. I was advised that Sean Phillips a former founding director of Fitness First was on the board. I more recently saw him promoting Our Space – were these the same company or did they form as an off shoot? You can see a video of him here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5O7vHuJWLk

     Perhaps he was never on the board or perhaps he was being used as well.

717. Lucy likes to keep her eye on things related to Haddow. Here is a news item relating to Robert McKendrick. He is a defendant alongside Haddow in the FCA court case in the UK. They were business partners who defrauded UK investors of more than £20 million in African Land Ltd and Capital Carbon Credits Ltd (both companies are also defendants).
     McKendrick also ran the Liberian timber project in which investors lost everything and which has not yet been prosecuted.
     When all the plots on the African Land farm had been sold Haddow’s company sold another 2,000 plots that did not exist. It brought in an extra £4 million. When McKendrick found out he threatened legal action against Haddow and the company. It looked like he was actually doing a decent thing to force Haddow to return the money to investors. He wasn’t. He stopped the threats of legal action when Haddow gave him half of the money. The people who paid the £4 million have lost their money. Haddow and McKendrick are both crooks.

     Haddow has connections to russian money. This article shows that McKendrick also has connections to russian money. Since the beginning we have said that these people are dangerous.

     Don’t feel sorry for McKendrick’s wife. There was an offshore bank account in her name which received money from the investors. Her jewellery and lifestyle was paid for by ordinary investors.

     http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5037091/Married-tycoon-s-Russian-ex-recruited-gang-raid.html

718. Story short, I never wanted to follow all these fancy non-sense Renwich stories you are posting and I told you since the very beginning to file a lawsuit against the agent who sold this scam in your country of residence espcially if paiment was done from March onward (By then it was very obvious something was wrong and still they sold the sh*t).. ..

     Well… We did it against SquareYards from our side, group of investors and we won!!.. Money returned to some investors and others are waiting for settlement, as the authorities order them to do .. They have 60 days to make payment!

     I have to really say it… WHAT A CHEAP AND DISORGANIZED company…A real disgrace.. it turned out to be a real mess with no asset or capital, except for what they collect from people (Scamming investors).. Furthermore, we heard a new that company called 360 is spreading acorss GCC and it’s full of Square Yard former employees… Most probably they are thinking to close SY.

     Wish you all good luck, but my advice is same, if somebody take your hard end money, you need to watch them suffer and sake as the titanic. It’s personal, don’t let them have luxuary with what’s supposed to be for yourselves and your loved ones.

     Cheers!

719. Hi Skikdi21;

     Thanks for sharing this, really happy to know that finally Square Yards getting what they deserve!!!

     I am also associated with this group since April2017, when barworks was sinking titanic…

     I have ongoing case against square yards in UAE CID, on a very slow track…

     Appreciate if you can share the contact detail, we have a group of 10-15 people who invested through square yards…

     I lost $150K through square yards, 90K was loan amount insisted by Square Yards…

     Appreciate your support if you can share the ref. of justice made, document or laywer contact detail, where this law suit was filed ?

     You quick support in this regard shall be highly appreciated…

     Please feel free to whats up me +971-557346526, would look forward to hear from you…

720. More news on Bar Works from The Real Deal and Deal Breaker: https://therealdeal.com/2017/11/06/bar-works-victims-sue-jpmorgan-for-allegedly-helping-ponzi-scheme/

     https://dealbreaker.com/2017/11/chinese-investors-coworking-scam-jpmorgan-chase-renwick-haddow/

721. I just had a conversation with a NYC law firm who has filed a suit against JPMorgan Chase on behalf of several foreign investors. They are looking to add additional investors. To qualify you must have wire transferred or mailed your initial money to BW’s Chase bank account. They are creating an investor spreadsheet/questionnaire to record dates, amounts, units purchased and locations, etc. None of that information is need today. My reason for writing is to find out how many qualified investors would be willing to join this suit. I am not asking for any of your personal information just “Are you a player in this suit?” The one thing I will need to know is your total
     investment. Once I have this information I will relay it to the law firm. When the spreadsheet is ready they will send me word on how to request a copy and where to send it once you complete. This is a contingency suit so you would not have any upfront expenses. It’s a win-win deal. The contingency is 20% plus expenses. I look at this way………if I get 15 cents back, that’s 15 cents more that I have today.

     Don’t care where you live in the world, If you have a records showing your investment money went directly to BW’s NYC Chase account you qualify.

     You can email me at [email protected] Please don’t post to this site I won’t be able to track the responses.

722. @Rich – Thanks for this, but why do you need to collect the information? Why can’t people communicate directly with the law firm in New York?

723. I do not believe that a 20% + uncapped expenses is a good deal to go with. JP Morgan is to be fined because of knowingly cooperating to a scam, just like in the previous case(s?). That means the judge can decide to give a compensation to the victims + whatever the lawyers cost + whatever the state determines as a right amount to ensure they will not do it again (and again and again…). It’s a different case to bring for lawyers…

724. RIGHT!

     That is what I always think, that the attorneys should get the money fromthosewho supported the damage – notfrom the Victims! But this is an upside down Wourld where the good People pay the Penaltys of the bad ones…

725. anybody else contacted by H. Richmond Bond and Richard Pierce about a lawsuit agains JP Morgan or am I ending up in a James Bond movie?

726. yes I have been contacted, only because I replied to his post and we have been coresponding

727. Is Renwick Haddow still in Morocco? How can we get back our loss money?

728. Robert McKendrick, one of Renwick Haddow’s accomplices in the illegal projects prosecuted by the FCA, is in the news again.

     http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5160569/Bunny-boiler-Russian-businesswoman-jailed-10-years.html

     His wife mentions her expensive cars and holidays (she bought a brand new Porsche while her husband was on trial for stealing investor’s money). They mention having to sell their property portfolio (paid for with money stolen from investors). The article doesn’t mention that some of the investor’s money was hidden in an account in her name in the British Virgin Islands.

     At no time has Priya McKendrick or her husband shown any remorse or expressed any sympathy for the hundreds of people who were tricked into investing and lost all their money. It is worth remembering that McKendrick was selling plots of land to investors for around $3,000 an acre and claiming that this was a bargain because the true value was 25% higher. The actual true value was $5 per acre because that is what he was paying the landowner each year.

     He was so greedy and immoral that he was even ripping off the landowners who were some of the poorest people in Africa. The court was told that the landowners had a clause in their contract which forbid any sub-letting of the land without their permission. He never told them what he was doing. He just paid them $5 per acre and shared the rest of the money with Haddow and others. The investors never got the land they had paid for because McKendrick had no legal right to sub-let it.

     Many of those investors cannot afford a Porsche, expensive jewellery or Jimmy Choos. Some of them have lost all their savings.

     There is no judgement yet in the FCA case against McKendrick, Meadowcroft, Haddow, Hargous and others. It could be delivered any day now or it could be as late as February. Let’s hope that justice is done for all investors.

729. Maybe the process won’t be as long as initially thought. Indebted to Lucy for her vigilance as usual….
     https://financefeeds.com/us-govt-process-extraditing-bitcoin-fraudster-renwick-haddow/

730. thanks @Marksie for the good news that Haddow is finally being brought to USA for prosecution.
     @Victim Of Square Yards & Barworks Scam – UAE what happend to the case filed against BarWorks agent in abu dhabi. Did you receive any update from CID?

731. @Eric

     No output from CID so far, but we have good progress from Public Prosecution, After Skikdi21 advise…There were lot of people in Qatar who complained against Square Yards, and in return they got their investment back…

     Thanks Skikdi for all ur support…

     Our case is in public prosecution and we are expecting some resolution soon..

     We all count on SEC to help us and they are doing good so far, But Square Yards and Agents like them are more responsible for our loss, for a quick 20% cut, they become butcher, and did not realize future consequences…

     – SY hv not done any due deligence. (They were unaware about the fake man Jonathan black)
     – SY sold it to investors with Guarantee & Commitments. ( So if you are giving Guarantee, you should be held responsible, We have that email and they r liable )
     – They even keep selling in March April when it was clear that something is wrong with BW, and rents were delayed…
     – SY is history cheater – Search the google https://repdigger.com/reviews/squareyards
     – SY already returned money to Qatar investors, they must return it back to us also…

     Square Yards, Has full list of investors from UAE, but they dont wana share with us, and this is one of the weak link , and part of their strategy to keep people isolated…

     Very few out of those i know are able to raise their voice against Square Yards, all we need now to get united and approach authority, its not about us, its about those who are going to loose their blood money through Square Yards in future… So please join me to fight for our right and help others [email protected]

732. Haddow and his company’s, Bitcoin Store, and Barworks have lost their court case with the SEC and are adjourned from all investment activities in the United States. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was the plaintiff in the case and was awarded $1.6 million. The judgement was filed Jan 18th, 2018. http://forexloss.com/cryptocurrency/bitcoin-store-hit-1-6-million-judgement-sec/

733. NY Court imposes penalties in excess of $83m on companies run by Bitcoin scammer Renwick Haddow
     By Maria Nikolova, Finance Feeds, 19 January 2018
     The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has secured an important victory against Bitcoin fraud. On January 18, 2018, Judge Lorna G. Schofield of the New York Southern District Court signed a number of orders granting SEC’s applications for final default judgements against three entities run by Bitcoin scammer Renwick Haddow.

734. Life is do it yourself
     What are you waiting for

735. @Chris ..Any idea how is SEC going to return the money.
     @Victim Of Square Yards & Barworks Scam – UAE…. I heard CID has dropped the case saying channel partners are not responsible for scam done by principals.

736. Hi Eric;

     I have no such update that CID had dropped the case against agents, In fact they logged the case after going through the entire story, and affirmed that there is a case against agent, Dont know from where you come to know all this, Either my fraud agent knew about CID Or myself, How do you know ???? there is no publication of CID so far…

     If you read my blog above, there is a valid case against SY, and this is why Public Prosecution also agreed to open a case against SY, normally if there is no case these authorities wont entertain such complaint, they are really tied-up…

     FYI – The reason i approached Public Prosecution Court because of slow progress from CID & lac of clear feedback on status after 2-3 months…

737. @Victim Of Square Yards & Barworks Scam – UAE i was told about it by someone i know. he probably heard about it from someone else. Anyway, best of luck for your case mate.

738. So quite around here huh… where are your stories Marksie (no offense) remember when I was telling everybody here do not waste your time with the non-sense stories and file cases locally each in his/her country or do like the Chinese group, a file a real case rather than SEC, Renwick moves…. Well just a comment. Just a tigger to everybody, do not lose hope.. keep trying, file cases against your agents.

739. The Judge in the FCA trial of Renwick Haddow has still not delivered his verdict. Surely it must come any day now.
     Perhaps he had been waiting for this verdict in the case of Agri Firma (one of Haddow’s projects involving wheat farming in Australia and Lithuania). This was announced today.
     https://www.gov.uk/government/news/15-year-disqualification-for-australian-wheat-investment-scam-boss
     I particularly like the line about Haddow being known to have “recently resided” in Morocco. He probably means he had a house there because I doubt that he views a prison as a residence. If he does then hopefully Haddow will soon “move his place of residency” to New York Penitentiary for the next 40 years.

740. @Skikdiki,

     I think it is unwise for people to file cases against their agents unless they are certain that the agent has broken the law. The group in the Middle East had evidence of wrongdoing and they knew which law in their jurisdiction had been broken.

     The rest of the investors do not have a strong case because ALL judgements against Bar Works and Haddow have been obtained in the USA. To have a strong case investors need a judgement in their own jurisdiction. For example, let us say that UK investors appointed a lawyer to take on their sales agent. The lawyer then writes to the agent saying “you sold my investors unregulated securities and a ponzi scheme. We know that is the case because a New York court and a Miami court says so”. The agent’s lawyer writes back and says “We are not in New York or Miami. Those judgements mean nothing in the UK. Show me the verdict of a UK court.” The result is that before investors can even get involved in taking on their agent they have to first take on Bar Works in the UK. They would win of course because Bar Works will not turn up, but they will have to pay to take it to court. Then, if they get a UK judgement, they will have to go to court again to take on the agent. Most investors do not want to take the risk and most lawyers will not do it on a no-win no-fee deal because if they lose they would have to pay the costs of the other party. It is not as easy as you think.

741. @Marksie,

     I think all these updates won’t mean a penny to people here.. are they going to get their money back. Regarding Middle East cases that won against agents, yes there was huge wrongdoing cause they never got the agreements to clients which means there was absolutely no direct dealing at all between clients and BW… So agents were announced guilty, even their own sales witnessed against them to stay out of it.. by the way I’m talking here about SY of course.. good for them to learn.

     Now how about the others, is there a chance to get their money back,. Nobody cares of how many years he will spend in prison.By the way, in Islamic religion they cut hand to these people so no one will steal from others again. These human made laws are made to be broken.

742. I think you are missing the point which I think Marksie is making and that is this; if you were involved through an agent where the law protects the investor against said agent in that jurisdiction then fine but if you live or have gone through an agent outside of the US, it will be nearly impossible to sue the agent.

     The other big difference is that some ‘agents’ have a client base who literally entrust the agent to place funds or invest into various schemes and structures on their behalf. In this case then yes the agent should be accountable.

     However the majority of investors will probably have received an email enticing them to ‘click’ or provide their details in order to get the information. This is termed by the agent that the client has ‘opted in’ to receive the information…… they are two very different approaches and in the second one, the agent will simply state ‘the investor opted in to receive the information, we don’t offer investment advice and we are just a marketing company’. This is how some agents cover their backsides when/if anything goes wrong.

     I don’t think you should knock someone who is trying to help others or guide them through the process and also make a suggestion to save them money.

743. Well it seems the case against banker of BarWorks is gaining momentum with investors having total investment close to $17 billions joining a single law suit!

     https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/22927241/ZHAO_et_al_v_JPMorgan_Chase__Co,_et_al

     @Skikdi21 – the cases you are mentioning against this agent, can you possibly point in the right direction where we can see more details say a judgement copy, court order or something similar. It will surely help in understanding what sort of possible case may be built against agents.

744. Exactly. But now skikdi may implicate that you are not an investor and acting in behalf of the agents as he/she did when I tried to put the same point .SY in UAE has done a different type of deal in which their involvement was not ending even after the start of the lease contract. But other agents like the one I dealt in uk united property invest were just acting as a intermediary.

745. To be honest, skikdi would be right to say that as I am not an investor, as I have stated all along. I am also not an agent involved with Barworks. Thankfully when it was offered, I smelt the rat and having heard of the rat running it, put commission to one side and made the easiest decision, to not touch it with a barge pole.
     I would have thought investors would see the benefits of having someone like Marksie offering updates and help and others giving knowledge of how this industry works?
     Unfortunately for you Puneet, as with hundreds more, the agent you went through is not based in the uk but in Spain so taking any action against them will prove near on impossible.

746. Hi Marksie, myself and quite a few other UK Barworks investors have just received an email from a company claiming that you are working for them. They are called ‘Safe or Scam LLC’ and they claim to be in the process of taking to court for enabling Bar Works and their scam in a similar way to how JP Morgan are being taken to court. The website looks terrible – safeorscam.net. Can you confirm or deny that you are affiliated with such a company?

     Thanks

747. Hi Jan, I can confirm I am working with Safe Or Scam. They aren’t going to be happy with your comment about the website but I have to agree with you somewhat.

     It is a genuine letter and there is a solicitor involved. Nobody has to pay anything until they are absolutely certain that they want to work with the solicitor. It is just an effort to gauge interest at this stage.

     PLEASE can nobody mention because it doesn’t pay to have your targets warned before you take them on as a large group. That’s why the email went out without being announced on RM.

748. no one beside me been contacted by Richard P. Marsden V.P. M&A Snr. Director SYIG?

     IN MY understanding OnlY barworks could pay back. HOW they could get the money from them

749. Hey guys…i have also recently recieved an email from safe or scam in regards to BW…Marksie has confirmed he is involved so that’s a good sign hopefully…Is there anything i can be doing as an induvidual to help the process along?
     On another note i was hoping the American Justice System had a strong case v Haddow and his cronies and we could recover our monies this way but it seems like a very slow process, can any of you guys shed some light on this matter on whether this is likely or just wishful thinking.

750. Did you guys also get an email from someone named “safe or scam llc” …about barworks etc?

751. @Francesco – Thanks for this. So far, (apart from yours) there are three comments that mention Safe or Scam:

     19 February 2018 – JAN NOVAK;

     19 February 2018 – Marksie; and

     24 February 2018 – shahid.

752. Yes, I believe it’s from Mark, regarding , I don’t think it’s fair the lawyer wants 2.5% upfront and then, they what aprox 20% if they win. He should do I deal of 25% no win no fee.

753. @Mick,

     If you can find a lawyer who will work on that basis that would be good. I can tell you we haven’t found one despite a lot of searching. The no-win no-fee element is the lowest this solicitor has ever agreed to.

754. Dear all, I and my family are investors from Kazakhstan, and we have no idea what should we do and who to inform about our loss. Should we write to SEC or somewhere else? Or we have to wait the end of the story and that someone will contact us?

     I was also contacted by Richard P. Marsden from SYIG, who made a very attractive offer to us, but as I can understand now, they are also a fraud company. What should we do?

755. DK – Can I ask what offer he made?

756. @DK,

     The SEC may contact you at the end of all the actions if they have a complete list of all investors. However, to be on the safe side you should register yourself here https://www.sec.gov/oiea/Complaint.html. if you do that you should not be missed off when everything is finally resolved.

     There are a couple of actions you may be eligible to join. You will find some details if you go back through all the posts on this blog. Alternatively, drop a line to [email protected].

757. @Scotty,

     I expect DK received this rubbish below. It’s from the same person. THIS IS A SCAM.

     We have been hired by a large Chinese Company( which will be going public shortly in Hong Kong and the USA) to facilitate the exchange of the failed investment you purchased through BARWORKS MANAGEMENT INC. for shares in what will be one of the largest IPO offerings the financial world has seen for a long time.

     Our clients aim in doing this is to establish a Shareholder list in the United Kingdom in order to inter-list their shares on the London Stock Exchange . As such they will have in effect, United Kingdom Shareholders (mainly the clients of BARWORKS MANAGEMENT INC.). This will make it much easier for our client to inter-list on the London Stock Exchange.

     In addition, our Client Company, is willing to facilitate this exchange at NO ADDITIONAL COST TO THE INVESTOR (YOU). In fact the full remit once the exchange has taken place is for my company to buy back the exchanged asset from you at a minimum of $35.00 dollars on the Share price.

     This will of course add in a second element of good will in the UK Financial markets for our client as investors will get back, at a minimum, what they put in to the failed Investment purchased through BARWORKS MANAGMENT INC.

     With reference to the aim of this exchange being to inter-list on the London Stock Exchange, and in the knowledge that you are not a UK Shareholder, under financial regulations we have a fiduciary duty to present the same opportunity to yourself as to the UK clients, we cannot show any preferential treatment whatsoever, and with that in mind if you decided you wanted to move forward on this we would process your application.

     There is no obligation on your part to move forward here, but if you are indeed interested in finding out more about this transaction, I suggest you get in touch with me as soon as is feasible, as the time-frame on this exchange is 60 business days, and since our Client Company needs only 50 clients in order to achieve their purpose, this offer will not be open for an extended period of time.

     Please provide me with a working telephone number that I can contact you on, and a convenient time to call so that we can discuss matters further.

     Please also see my business card attached to this email.

     With my best regards,

     Richard Peter Marsden

     VP, Mergers Acquisitions
     Minority Shareholder
     Director, Member Audit Committee

     Shanghai Yuan International Group
     Shanghai City Time Square Office Tower, Annex P.H.
     Huaihai Zhong Road, Luwan District
     Shanghai, PRC 200021

     Phone: +862 151 167 174
     Web: http://www.shanghaiyuan.cn.com
     Email: [email protected]

758. RECOVERY SCAM!!!
     What a big pile of rubbish that is!!
     Speechless ????

759. @ Marksie

     Thanks Marksie. Exactly. My problem is that I’ve not understand that it is a scam from the beginning and sent them the copies of our certificates with a signed permission to check our actives. But after that, they sent me an agreement with all the promises to return our money and suddenly I found your article. And I didn’t sign it. Now they are calling me and I don’t now what I have to do. I also hope that they can not use my signature for their need.

760. @DK,

     I know it may be hard for you to do but you can relax. As long as you haven’t given them your bank account details you will be fine. These people are in it for the money. At some point they would have either:
     1. asked you to pay something for “admin, legal or accountants fees”; or
     2. said that they had sold your investment and have money waiting for you. All you need to do is send them your bank account details; or
     3. would have got you to sign over your investment to them so that they will get any compensation payment from the SEC or FBI in future.
     You might get threatening phone calls from them saying they have incurred costs and they are going to sue you unless you refund them and you might get emails from fake solicitors claiming that legal action is due to start unless you pay their client. They will say that the debt is increasing every day (I’ve seen all this before). Just ignore all of it. Nothing will ever happen. You have done nothing wrong and they have no claim over you.

     The best thing to do is to tell them straight that you know it is a scam and be EXTREMELY RUDE AND UNPLEASANT about it so that they really get the message. I recommend that you make a note of as many swear words as you can and make sure you use them when they call. That tends to make them stop because they won’t waste their time with someone who makes it clear that they know their game. They will only pester people who they think might eventually cave in and give them something.

761. @Marksie

     Thank you so much Marksie. Good to know all this stuff. Can’t believe that it could happen with my family for the second time. I almost lost my father when he knew that we’ve lost these investments in May of the 2017. How can these people live after all?!

762. @DK – they are thieves without any morale compass whatsoever.
     Marksie is right though, give them as much s*** as you can if they come calling again!

763. FinanceFeeds’ latest report on the court case against JP Morgan (15 March 2018):

     Defrauded Chinese investors insist JPMorgan provided substantial assistance to Ponzi scammer

764. Judgement in the UK case brought by the FCA against Haddow and fellow defendants began today (Monday 26th March) in Birmingham. Completes on Tuesday 27th March. We will know the details of the verdict in the next few days.

765. Haddow and fellow defendants found guilty.

     https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-wins-case-against-capital-alternatives-limited-and-others

766. Great news, they did catch up with RH & his cronies at last as I hoped they would! Unfortunately small comfort to those of us who’s investments in CA got got moved to PAM (Palm Oil In Sierra Leon) as it’s not in the list of defendants. But I won’t give up as my money was given to CA & it’s they that have scammed me!

767. Hi everyone,
     I could do with some help please…as i have already been burnt by barworks i’m still really undecided whether to go with this safe or scam venture or not…who else has decided to go down this route ? and how can we be sure that it’s not another con ?…i know some of the people that comment on here seem to be quite savvy about this stuff so please any comments/advice

768. Hi everybody, I have registered with SEC but have never received a formal acknowledgement from a real person to confirm that my registration has been logged.
     Can anyone confirm that they have ever received such confirmation from them and / or give me a name and email address of somebody within SEC that I can write to to request such thing?
     Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

769. At the moment I am not to sure about SOS and would not pay them an upfront fee it’s not fair on investors. SOS is a very new company and not FCA aproved. M Cotter on the other hand is a reputable lawyer. If I were you I would call M Cotter at Setfords law firm and speak with him. SOS will always promote this as they want aprox 2 to 3 % of your investment upfront and no refund is offered. Setfords would need to get your money before they take aprox 25% from each investor which is fine if they win. Please bare in mind SOS and Setfords work together. They are trying to help but they also need to make money to live.

     Just on something else the Kaplin case and J stamell case against JPM are not asking for an upfront fee which is fair.

     Hope this helps. I am not here to offend SOS or Setfords

770. Hi Shahid,
     Not to sure about SOS also,?? Need to do more research better contact the law firm in SOS emails

771. @Fightback, the SEC never respond to investors. You will get a reference number to show that the complaint has been registered and that is all.

     @Shahid has been contacted offline because he had already made contact with SOS. We gave him the same advice as others on here i.e contact the lawyer and speak to him yourself.

     @Jason, no offence is taken because we are both here to help investors, but you are wrong about Kapin and Stamell. Both of them charged fees to investors to take on Haddow and Bar Works (against my advice on this blog because I knew it was not going to get investors any money). Both won and in both cases their clients got nothing. Not a cent.

     One of them I would not trust because of who they are working with.

     It was only after attorneys had been paid for what they would say was a successful case, but which I’m sure the clients feel was a waste of money, that they changed tack and decided to offer a new no-win no-fee deal to go after another target – JP Morgan bank. That is a fishing trip but I wish them luck. They might land a massive fish. I hope I’m still alive to see it. It could take a very long time.

     @Jason, you are also wrong about the 2% – 3% going to SOS. This isn’t a one-time fee for making an introduction. I know that is how a lot of organisations work and it is easy to think that SOS is like them, but that isn’t the SOS philosophy. Our aim is to recover money for investors. We are very upfront about that. If we can catch the crooks and put them behind bars that is a bonus, but in many cases it won’t get the money back and getting the money back is our primary focus. We stay involved until the end. The fee is split and paid to both parties (SOS and the law firm) because both have different roles and are working together over the course of the action to keep strengthening the case. Both SOS and the law firm believe we have a strong case already but we are still uncovering small nuggets every now and then that makes the case stronger. In simple terms, SOS provides the bullets and the law firm fires them.

     We have a strategy which we believe will not only lead to a judgement in favour of investors but will also result in substantial compensation. There is no point getting a judgement if investors get nothing out of it.

     We are definitely not on a fishing trip. We have spent a long time accumulating the evidence and we are still beavering away at it. By this time there is a lot of the same old stuff but every now and then we find a nugget. It can be one simple sentence in amongst a mass of emails but it turns out to be pure gold. That is why we insist on seeing everything.

     It would be nice to be able to share our information with everyone but unfortunately we cannot. We have to give our opponent the opportunity to pay the claim in full in return for a gagging agreement so that they can carry on their business relatively unaffected. It is part of the negotiating strategy. If every client gets their money back we would happily sign a gagging arrangement. If the opponent doesn’t accept the position they are in and decides to fight then the gloves are off and we have a strategy for ensuring that information about the action is spread far and wide, including here on redd-monitor. The lawyer will be able to explain that to them in very polite terms so they can reconsider their position.

     Nobody can ever be sure about the outcome of any action. If anyone knows a lawyer who will give a 100% guarantee of success point them in my direction. I really want to work with that person !

772. You should have received a confirmation email which has a reference number Starting with OMB

773. Marksie
     Apologies for the 2%-3% not sure the amount your charging, my point being there is an upfront charge, i believe the charge depends on how much the investor invested so the more invested the more you charge, this sounds unfair and all investors should have the same upfront fee where as Kaplin and Stamell are not charging any upfront fee for the JPM case this I am not wrong.
     I noticed you mentioned you would not trust one of these lawyers, It would be good for investors to know which one please.
     At I guess I would think you’d say Stamell, reason for me coming to this conclusion is because I took the time to read all your posts and noticed you mentioned quote “ looks like Stamell has had one to many drinks”.
     Not sure why you had a dig at him, he is trying to help.
     In these types of cases I don’t trust lawyers as there moral compass always points to money in there pocket,

     If SOS are so confident then why not waiver the fee until you win.

     I don’t want investors wasting more money, some have loss their life savings,
     I hope SOS are good people but at the moment I am struggling to find anyone to back this up apart from yourself.
     I do have faith in SOS but not blind faith

774. I am of a similar mind to Jason in terms of the upfront fee required for the action. It doesn’t make sense that it should be a percentage of the original investment if, as we’ve been told, the upfront fee is to cover preliminary administration costs. A percentage of any amount recovered on a ‘no win no fee’ basis seems fair but to penalise those that have lost the most with a larger upfront fee certainly does not.

     Marksie, please help us understand why the upfront fee has been set at a percentage and address why this makes sense when people, who have already lost so much, and who would like to come in on the action, may not be able to with the upfront fee in the format it currently stands.

     Surely, considering the preliminary paperwork load would be hardly different from one person to the next, the upfront fee should reflect that.

775. @Jason,
     I refer you to what I said previously – US attorneys charged investors for the first action. They were paid quite handsomely and yet their clients did not recover a cent. If I was one of those original clients I wouldn’t be happy. You are entitled to your opinion but the fees are what they are and a lot of people are involved so they must think it is worth it.
     The US action is hoping to discover evidence. The UK action has already gathered its evidence. There is a big difference.
     I spoke to the lawyer this morning and he is keen to get moving. He is confident he will get a financial settlement for the group. The group closes today so things will now go quiet for a while.

776. @Jan and @Marksie

     Well Said, Jan,
     As a person who likes to see people treated fairly, I would ask all investors to negotiate a small equal deposit with Setfords.
     Reason being that if SOS and Setfords, have 100% proof, then they should be more that confident with a small deposit. And get the rest after, please remember this would be a big payout for the lawyers and SOS, these are the ones who would make profit. Where as investors you will still loose out. Investors should stick together. Thank you redd-monitor for this platform and thank you Marksie for all your work.

     Just one more thing I am bias towards investors and Marksie would be bias towards SOS, hope this is not to harsh.

777. Interesting evolution which I believe is positive for us, investors . According to the link below it seems that R. Haddow
     appeared in U.S. District Court on Friday, 13th of April.

     http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20180413/REAL_ESTATE/180419921/mysterious-mastermind-behind-co-working-ponzi-scheme-makes#utm_medium=email&utm_source=cnyb-dailyalert&utm_campaign=cnyb-dailyalert-20180413

     Regards

778. Haddow has been extradited to the USA. Here’s a 13 April 2018 press release from the Department of Justice:

     British Citizen Extradited From Morocco For Defrauding Investors Of More Than $36 Million

779. good morning. does anyone have any news about this affair? will they succeed in making Renwick Haddow solvent in any way? is the jpmorgan always under investigation for this situation? I hope that the SEC will succeed in the right way to work for the best even in the interest of us scammed investors and that maybe even pay the consequences for the corrupt agents who have made all this possible.

780. It would appear that this helpful blog has now metamorphosed into a commercial endeavour under the ‘safe or scam’ umbrella, hence the halt in communication. And with that taken all our data, opinions and energy.

     The SECC are more intent in asking anybody who sends them an email (asking if they can acknowledge our registration as a victim of this scam) whether we would like to complete a questionnaire helping them improve their (non existent) services. Big business wins again, us investors will get nothing – fat dogs win, and those that are in bed with the fat dogs will continue to rape and pillage. This chat group is history ???? Best possible outcome is somebody on the inside knocks Haddow off

781. @Fightback

     ……. and the worst possible outcome?

     Frankly speaking you have hit the nail squarely on the head.

782. I had heard but I never thought that the SEC after the sub-prime mortgage scandal had undergone a strong restyling and had done a nice cleaning inside. evidently so it was not. The few goods that Haddow and his “confraternity” let loose perhaps if they are already divided by duty. Regarding la.JP Morgan apparently has closed more than one eye for all the transactions that saw them pass under the nose

783. Do you mean “SafeOrScam” are just using this blog to make money, I do believe it is a very useful blog for Barworks scam investors to keep in touch or help other scam investors, We should get a payout from SEC, if anyone has evidence to suggest not please post.

784. @ Fightback – I find your comments amazing. if you look back through this blog at the amount of people who have tried to help the investors, the hours that have gone in to give advice by several, the knowledge shared of how the whole ‘system and process’ works to give you an insight to help in your fight to claim back, the risks people have taken etc, you come across as someone who is frankly, rude and ungrateful.
     Ask yourself this, how informed would you have been if you were on your own and alone in this fight?
     Your choice of course, whether you want to believe or not but posting remarks like you have won’t help anyone.

785. @Fightback – Just to clarify: REDD-Monitor is not as you suggest, “a commercial endeavour under the ‘safe or scam’ umbrella”. REDD-Monitor has no links whatsoever with Safe or Scam. And REDD-Monitor has not passed any data to Safe or Scam (apart from what is written in the comments – which is available to anyone with an internet connection).

786. the important thing is to have the certainty that it is the guarantee that the investigations are in any case continuing regularly and tirelessly for the good, especially for investors

787. @Fightback,

     I’m sorry that you feel this has become a commercial blog. I understand that you lost money in Bar Works and that makes you angry. There have been no adverts or promotions by SOS on this blog. All I have ever done is respond when somebody makes a misguided comment or deliberate falsehood about the group.

     You comment on this having “taken away your data, opinions and energy” is a bit rich. You have not contributed any of those three things to this blog. You have given no data that could be of use to anyone. Your opinions consist solely of moans about the SEC and SOS (and we don’t even know you), and you have only ever submitted two posts so if that is your idea of energy you must be easily exhausted. You are not really living up to your tagname.

     SOS will undoubtedly come under attack in the future because we are exposing more and more scams. It is not possible to do what we do without making enemies, but you have absolutely no right to complain about us. I hope I have not put you off posting because if you have something of value to add to this blog about Bar Works you should put it up. This blog is about Bar Works and Haddow, not SOS, so let’s keep it focused on that and on finding ways to help investors recover their money.

     The reason why this blog has slowed down is for three reasons. The first is that there are actions being taken by several groups in several places. These are all designed to try to try to recover investors’ money which, as it stands today, appears to have been almost totally lost (notwithstanding the fact that the SEC and FBI may be able to eventually distribute some of it). It would be very reckless of anyone to post anything to do with their action on this blog or any other public forum. It could jeopardise the chance of success. The second reason is that there are now several blogs about Haddow running on this site. Comments are spread between all of them. The third reason is that there isn’t a lot to report. Haddow is in prison in the USA. Various private actions are taking place. The FCA case against Haddow has run its course and we are waiting to hear if the defendants have appealed the decision not to allow them to appeal (it’s complicated !). When I have information that is useful I will still post it on here.

788. Thank you for that Chris, before you replied I did look into “SafeOrScam” and asked a few barwork victims about SOS, it would appear this company is asking for a none refundable fee to proceed with Setfords case, some investors have been billed more than the lawyers upfront fee,the investors only have first name and gmail account to get in touch with SOS, this is not very good and investors need solid reassurance before paying SOS, Setfords seem to be legitimate, but Setfords can not assure any responsibility for SOS not sure about SOS, does anyone have confidence in SOS???

789. @Nick,
     Please get your facts right.
     @Chris, sorry about this. We didn’t want to use this blog to promote ourselves. That is why we hadn’t put our website up on the blog but people like @Nick make statements which just have to be challenged. They are inaccurate and false. So here is our website and people can make up their own minds http://www.safeorscam.net
     If you want to see a few more of our websites you can go to http://www.europeanpropertycoin.club / http://www.stheliercapital.com / http://www.binaryscams.net / http://www.essexandlondon.com / http://www.careroominvest.co.uk (also http://www.hotelroominvest.co.uk) and http://www.ourspace.info. This last one is likely to be of interest to Bar Works investors.
     @Nick, We don’t use a gmail account for normal communications. The people you have spoken to should have told you that they were not receiving emails from a gmail account. We use .net email addresses and .co.uk email addresses.
     When we are working on specific investigations we set up a gmail or gmx account and ask investors in that project to send information and communicate to that specific account. This ensures that everything relating to that investigation goes to the right place and doesn’t get lost. We have so many emails to our main accounts on so many different projects that it is easy for things to get mixed up.
     At the moment we have between 15 – 20 projects we are working on so we have 15 – 20 separate gmx/gmail accounts. One for each project. For example we have one large action where 97% of investors joined and they sent everything to a gmail account. I am not going to discuss the Bar Works group except to say that not one person has advised us they will not be joining the action and the take-up is more than 80% so far. There are some stragglers still coming in. We expect a few people will not join in the end because take-up is never likely to be 100%.
     We would have preferred that the advance fee was all paid to Setfords and they paid us, but they would not do that. In fact, they would not even give out their own bank account details to investors. Investors have to phone Setfords and pay by credit/debit card and they limit the amount to £1,000 per day. For some very large investors based outside the UK that was a major problem. Many investors ended up paying the full sum to SOS i.e the Setfords payment too and we then made a bank transfer to Setfords for them because we have their bank account details.
     The reason why the SOS invoice was higher than the Setfords invoice was because SOS has provided a 153 page evidence document to Setfords which took 10 months to put together. We have done the work and Setfords recognised this. Had Setfords done this level of work the advance fee is likely to have been much higher.
     Your comment that “investors need solid reassurance before paying SOS” is simply not true. It may be true in one or two cases, but they are in a minority and we can never please everybody. 97% of investors in one action joined the case and paid SOS. More than 80% of Bar Works investors who were on the list have already paid SOS.
     We have many investors who have paid SOS for individual investigations into their investments and have recovered the investments for several of them. We have quite a few investors who have received our reports and have then paid us again to investigate their other investments.
     We do not mind if nobody else joins the Setfords action. In fact we would prefer to get on with it. The group is already large enough.
     As I said, we can never please every person so those who are in – great. Those who are out – great too. That’s their choice.

790. I apologise if I offend SOS,
     Below are the facts that brought us to this conclusion.

     1.No investors can pick up the phone and talk directly to any person at SOS

     2. Your websites are not secured example. https

     3. No investors have a legitimate contact at SOS. It’s either I guy called Mike or Marksie which could be the same person.

     4. Not one investor has replied to this blog stating SOS are doing a good job.

     5.SOS are in this for the money first, then maybe recover money for investors, Because you present a 153 page document, should not mean you charge investors more money because they lost more money, this is greed, please be fair to people who lost there life savings

     These are some of the facts, please do not be offended.

791. Two recent articles on FinanceFeeds –

     15 May 2018: JPMorgan seeks to dismiss claims it helped Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow

     16 May 2018: Discussions in US case against cryptocurrency fraudster Renwick Haddow to continue

792. SOS are doing a good job. I am a low level investor who was involved in other group efforts to try to get our money back. The legal firm in the UK who are handing the case are top level, with an excellent online profile. They have been comminicative and detailed in their approach and we think in general they have a good chance of achieving something

793. I wonder if Nick is either new to this ‘forum/blog’ or if he simply hasn’t read the entire thread or seen how invested Marksie is and on the side of the investors?

     #baffled

794. @Scotty – “Nick” has commented more than 12 times on this post. He’s used at least six different names and at least six different gmail addresses.

     @Nick – using a pseudonym is fine, but please stick to “Nick” in future to comply with REDD-Monitor’s comment policy.

795. @ Chris – now there’s a shock!
     ????

796. Thank you for your input, does not answer the 5 fact stated, your comment is duly noted

797. @Nick, not offended. Would just like you to get your facts right. In answer to your points:

     1. You are wrong again. Some investors can phone us. Those that we trust 100% not to breach confidentiality. That is a very small group of people. You have no idea of the threats we face, both legal and physical.
     2. I don’t know much about the technical stuff. I’m assuming that websites that take money should have the security. The only one that takes money is the main one. The others are just information sites but I will ask for it to be checked out.
     3. It could easily have been Mark or Keith or Simon depending on which project is involved. Our investigation into binary options scams has just revealed that some of the big ones that might appear to be separate are actually controlled by different Romanian citizens living in London. This suggests an organised crime group. Not the sort of people one would like to meet in a dark alley. There is a reason why we keep a low profile. Don’t forget that Haddow’s team included people who have been convicted of murder and another who drove his Russian mistress into kidnapping his family. We are not dealing with nice people.
     4. This blog isn’t about SOS. @Fightback turned it into that by complaining that things had gone quiet. If you want testimonials they are on the website. We haven’t got a cent back for Bar Works investors because the claim hasn’t started yet. Maybe in a year’s time we will have quite a lot of testimonials from BW investors. We certainly hope so.
     5. You are wrong again. You resent the fact that larger investors are asked to contribute more to the action than smaller investors so you have come up with your own reason claiming it is unfair on the larger investors. You don’t know the facts. There is a simple answer to this. If everyone paid the same the smaller investors would be priced out of the action and that isn’t right. The larger investors need the smaller investors for two reasons:
     A). Some of the smallest investors have provided some of the strongest evidence. They tend to ask more questions than the larger investors. The larger investors will reap the benefit of that evidence. The largest investor in this claim invested more than 30 times more than the smallest investor. A smaller investor has the right to ask why they should pay the same as the larger investor when the larger investor stands to recover 30 times as much as them.
     B). This action has several stages. It is quite complex. We expect our opponent to close down once the claim is underway. This will be because once our evidence enters the public domain in a few months they could face an avalanche of claims so we believe they will pay what they can to this claim and then liquidate. They may choose to reopen under a different company but that is irrelevant. Nobody can claim against a new company. We now believe investors will get only one shot at this and that shot will be fired by this group’s lawyer. We could be wrong. They might be able to pay out the claim in full and then carry on but we think their lawyers will say pay, close and start again.

     Let us use some round figures and look at an entirely hypothetical situation. Let’s say that the claim is for $2m and there are 20 investors. Four at $25k, three at $50k, two at $75k all the way up to two investors at $500k. The opponent company is able to pay $1m as a settlement i.e 50%. This means that the lawyer then has to go through the processes which he described to the group i.e there is a compensation scheme that can be approached to cover that $1m shortfall. That scheme is capped at $70,000 to each person.
     So let’s look at the position of the two largest $500k investors. You might think that they would get 50% from the settlement amount and then another $70k in compensation i.e $320k in total. That is not a bad result considering the position they are in right now.
     You might think that the $75k investor would get $37.5k from the settlement amount and another $37.5k from the compensation scheme and he would end up with a full refund.
     Sure, that is certainly one scenario if the claim is successful.
     But what if the lawyer decides not to allocate the money pro-rata to investors ? He may have that option because what if the agreement is one lump sum payment in settlement with no formal breakdown investor by investor ? The opponent’s lawyer will get that. He will know why it is being structured like that and he can be expected to willingly go along with it. It is no skin off his nose and it saves him some work. Now the investor’s lawyer has $1m he can distribute as he sees fit.
     What if he chooses to allocate NIL to the $25k investors, NIL to the $50k investors and only $5k to the $75k investors ?
     He would have 4 x $25k, 3 x $50k and 2 x $70k left in the pot. That makes $390k. What if he chose to take $360k of that and pay it to the two $500k investors at $180k each. That would mean that those two $500k investors have now been refunded in full instead of only getting $320k. That would be a fantastic result for them. It would all be thanks to the smaller investors taking NIL out of the settlement pot. Why would they do that ? Perhaps because they can claim $70k each from the compensation scheme and they would end up being refunded in full anyway. Every investor benefits.

     Now here’s one final twist. Let’s say that the lawyer is charging a 20% fee on the amount he recovers. On a $2m recovery that’s $400k. At the start of this hypothetical scenario I said let’s assume there are 20 investors in the group. So technically the group could have claimed 20 x $70,000 each in compensation which is $1.4m. Unfortunately they have already received a lump sum of $1m in settlement so the maximum they can claim in compensation is only $1m. But, did they receive $1m as a settlement ? Or did they receive $600k in settlement and $400k towards the lawyer’s costs ? Well, that is really up to the lawyer to decide how that money is distributed. If it was the latter, then the investors only had $600k so they can make the full claim of $1.4m for compensation. This would mean that not only have all the investors got a full refund, but they also don’t have to pay any lawyer fees because those have already been paid. It’s very unlikely that the calculations would all work out as clean as that but the purpose of describing it is to show that there are options to maximise returns to all investors.

     So @Nick, instead of getting your knickers in a twist about the fact that larger investors have to pay more you should understand that this has been priced to allow smaller investors to join. If everything works out as planned those smaller investors could be boosting the returns to the larger investors which would make those extra payments now seem like chicken s*** at the end.

     This is a purely hypothetical scenario. I am not running the claim and I’m not a lawyer. It makes sense though don’t you think ?

798. @Nick,

     My post was being written while these other posts went up. I assume your aim was to put doubt in the minds of investors. Perhaps you have a personal interest in one of the other actions. In any case, the UK action is very well supported and no harm has been done. You have blown your credibility though which is a shame for you.

     It also reinforces why we are careful to protect ourselves.There are a lot of Nicks around.

799. To Scotty, Nick,
     I have been care reading this blog for over a year, and without everyone’s help and comments I would be at a lost, I have nothing but good to say about Chris Lang, And Marksie, not sure about Nick, Maybe he or she just wants to stay Anonymous, and the comments seem to be in investors interest BUT Nick does raise some valid points as an investor I will personally take this up SOS and Setfords,

800. @Nick I’m not here to argue your motives , but what I would say is this, I’m not aware of any agency who does not declare who they are , company details , and full contact details.

     My experience also says if your the investigator you are 100% candid and open from the start as to who you are , what you do and your legal structure , for obvious legal reasons down the road.

     Cloak and Dagger in the Investigstive industry simply does not exist , regardless of if someone is a client or not.

     Your website is vague , very vague, which gives cause for alarm, if you google any global financial investigation company in the world they give full disclosure .

     That is why I think people are reluctant.

     Personally I think you mean well , but do not have the experience to do what you claim to do , because if you did your website alone would give the right statement and legal commentary.

     Happy to discuss.

801. @Nick,

     Now that you have been found out don’t you think you should tell us the names you have been using on this blog ? Pretending to be at least 6 different people is very sneaky.
     Let us give you a chance to redeem yourself. Let us read all your posts so that we can get a better idea of the kind of person you are. All my posts have been written as Marksie. Are you going to come clean @Nick ?

802. @Matt,
     Nothing to discuss but thanks for the offer. We are not going to change.
     We go head to head with the people who run the scams. We don’t pull any punches and they don’t like it. If you want an investigation company that does things the nice way it isn’t us. People must like what we do for them because we have many repeat customers and more work than we can cope with at the moment.

     As for Bar Works, the first link by Chris suggests that JP Morgan are up for the fight.
     As for the second link, not quite sure what Haddow has as a plea bargaining chip with the FBI. Maybe he will put other people in the dock alongside him. The FBI will have found 99% of his money/assets. Perhaps they might be able to recover some more cash from the ones that got away.

     The appeal process in the UK was deferred until 31st May because one of the defendants asked for more time. Could only have been Haddow because he has had his hands full recently.

803. Any idea how to recover the money? I’ve invested via an agent in UAE
     @Victim Of Square Yards & Barworks Scam – UAE

804. Good evening Marksie, you now if are there any news on the barworks case or refunds on a case report related to renwick haddow? Tks for reply

805. @Fabio,
     The focus in the USA is on the FBI criminal case as confirmed by the latest news.
     https://financefeeds.com/ny-court-grants-us-govt-request-stay-sec-action-ponzi-scammer-renwick-haddow/

806. tks , Marksie

     I wish to myself and to others like me that investors can come to a positive conclusion from all this

807. @Awadh

     Agents are the real culprits in Barworks scam and acted as hands of Renwick Haddow. They sold offshore barworks investment globally for higher & quick commission which they hardly get from real estate business without doing proper due diligence…

     Criminal case could not be initiated however we have been advised to file a civil case (which is a lengthy process) . There are many points against agents which can be defended but we are lacking group of people who can join the fight against agents. Its been damn slow, out of 6 in UAE, only 1 in abu dhabi agreed to join the fight for Criminal case, which unfortunately could not be proceeded after initial review by attorney. I am still hoping some people will come out and join this fight against agents like Square Yards in UAE.

     So far, agents did not shown any moral responsibility toward their clients. They are pretending to act as broker and get away from any damage, but what they have done during the barworks sell process was beyond act of a broker and can drag them to court :

     – My agent square yards have provided official commitment for guaranteed returns, during initial promotional discussion which will go against them, as a broker does not commit behalf of developer until unless they are sure, and if agents have committed something in written they must abide that, as it proves wrong due diligence by them which costed investors their live saving.
     – My agent officially responded to USA news agency that they are not selling and promoting Barworks since Jan2017, But they sold me Barworks in March2018 with a lot of pressure for booking, i have all official email evidence to defend above statements.

     We in UAE are lacking legal support, everyone trying to take advantage of situation…

     Send me your detail on [email protected] along with copy of passport and agreement as proof of varification, accordingly we can add you to a group of verified investors

     Lets hope for the best…

808. Yes your right people should unite regarding agent who are involved we should list them here:- by full name and company making future investors aware. I would like to start the ball rolling if Chris from Red-M, does not mind listing the agents that are involved.

809. JPMorgan aims to refute claims it had knowledge of Haddow’s scam
     By Maria Nikolova, FinanceFeeds, 14 August 2018
     As the lawsuit launched by victims of Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow against JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. continues at the New York Southern District Court, the banks have sought to beef up their opposition to the claims that they aided and abetted the fraudster.
     On Monday, August 13th, the banks submitted a reply in further support of their motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ complaint or, in the alternative, strike certain allegations.

     Case Against Bitcoin Scammer Renwick Haddow Granted Continuance
     By Kyle Lan, Journal Transcript, 16 August 2018
     The U.S Government has for a one-month continuance in the case against Renwick Haddow. He was charged for his involvement in Bitcoin (BTC) scams as well as Ponzi schemes. The continuance which will be held until September 12, this year, will enable the Government to file any additional information regarding the case including an indictment. [R-M: Subscription needed.]

810. Thank for the update guys much appreciated

811. @UAE Investors.
     Advise for those who want to raise a criminal case if the prosecution doesn’t take, you haven’t for sure made your complaint clear, so get a lawyer to do it for you.
     Sorry for you guys there are lots of cowards within Squareyards investors.

812. even for these investment companies we recommend that you take legal action if you have not done so yet: Dream homes investments LLC and investments.com , especially for cheated Italian investors

813. Falcon Capital Partnership Ltd, should also be named and shamed, Daniel Marsh and Olov Henrik from Falcon Capital Partnership

814. I`m in UK invested in bar works and my agent was FJP investment , any one else used the same agent .

815. Yes mine was FCP which stands for Falcon Capital Partnership

816. Fabio, did you get all the money back by taking legal action against Dream home investment LLC?
     Because for now they gave me back the 2000€ they took for the “extra cost” of that investment…but still nothing about the 20.000$ of the investment

817. I officially deny any reimbursement made by these companies “dream homes investments” and “investmentz.com”, indeed they are still under investigation. They have also used the collaboration of an Albanian suspect who still lives in Italy and has collaborated with them and favored the Barworks investments and also the Albanian suspect whose name I can not have received abundant rewards through wire transfers to his company owned in Albania

818. Marksie / Chris :

     I have few clarification, Appreciate if you can respond back :

     1. Is there any pool of Barworks Victims, Other than this blog where exchange of comm. can be made ?
     2. Is there any way USA SEC can be contacted to know the status of ongoing case, there is a big disconnected b/w SEC and Victims. How i we know that i am listed with SEC as one of the victim ? Because after number of online complaints, there is no response from SEC.
     3. Irrespective of % refund, If refund happens what would be the resolution process ?
     4. How SEC will approach us ?
     5. What would be expected time frame for resolution of this case considering your deep insight into it ?
     6. There are few private law suits filed by group of investors, Would SEC allow them as first priority in case refunds happens ? I understand being a govt. body SEC shall consider all the victims equal and manage the distribution in proportion to lost value.

     Thanks for the needful in advance…

819. @Victim, to answer your questions:
     1. Don’t know and not sure what use it would be now anyway. Haddow is locked up and hopefully singing like a canary to help the FBI put all his accomplices in the dock.
     2. You will never be told anything by the FBI, SEC or FCA until their case has completed and appeals have run their course. It is just the way they work. They always ignore investors until the end. You have to understand that there are generally hundreds of investors and they do not want phone calls and emails every day. They would never be able to focus on their work. It may sound harsh but it makes sense. If you reported it and you got a reference number then you are on the list. Even if you haven’t done it they have confiscated all the files and that will include all the investors.
     3. I think you just have to wait and see. They will contact you when the time is right.
     4. Email probably but it is likely to be a long time. The FBI are first in line.
     5. That is a good question. Haddow is doing a deal with the FBI. This means the case should be a lot quicker than normal but who knows how long that will take. He could suddenly appear in court next month having agreed a deal with the FBI. He could plead guilty to all charges and take the sentence they all agreed. Alternatively, the FBI might want to keep him on ice until they have checked out all his information. He might sit there for another year or two. It is anybody’s guess.
     6. No. Nobody gets priority just because they have a judgement against Haddow/Bar works. The only time this would be of any relevance is if the SEC lose their case or drop the charges. Then those with a judgement come before those who haven’t. It doesn’t matter anyway because the FBI are first in line. They are likely to claim that all the money they find was obtained by criminal means. It is not possible to distribute stolen money in settlement of a court judgement. The money has to be returned to the people it was stolen from. It is impossible to calculate whose money was spent and whose money is still in the accounts because it was all mixed together. The most likely scenario is that all investors will get a share pro-rata to their investment level. If Haddow and the FBI come to a deal it is likely that Haddow’s lawyer will insist on a clause that all charges raised by the SEC must be dropped. There would be no point in the SEC continuing anyway. Hopefully the FBI deal will include Haddow getting a long sentence and being declared bankrupt again. All the money they can find will be in the hands of the FBI. There would be no point in the SEC prosecuting him other than just to give him a longer sentence which would be welcomed by thousands of people around the world.

     On a slightly different note but still linked to Bar Works, we are looking into the activities of OurSpace. They were exactly the same as Bar Works and involved some of the original Bar works people. They operated out of Dubai and have stopped paying investors too. Anyway, a guy called Jim Moore was one of the brains behind Ourspace. He is mentioned near the start of this blog. He was also the top salesman for Bar Works in the early days. He was recently prosecuted in the USA on an entirely different matter and pleaded guilty to fraud. His sentence is due any day now.
     Last week the SEC raised a new case against him. Our friend Haddow got a mention. Here is the link to the new case https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Securities-Fraud.pdf
     The bottom line is that Moore is being prosecuted for his part in promoting Bar Works. The SEC claim that he knew Jonathan Black was really Renwick Haddow right from the start. Let’s hope this is the first of many actions against the people close to Haddow.

820. I hear Ourspace not paid investors , staff not paid and rent due ( last one paid late ) and Kevan Haliwell the owner missing not in Dubai

821. Marksie how do I contact you outside of here ? Do you have an email address ?

822. Thanks Marksie;

     Just a thought, If jim moorey can be prosecuted for promoting Barworks, than why cant Square Yards and other Barworks distributors who blindly promoted for quick and high commissions ?

     Can you please share more insight on Jim Prosecution, as you know there are plenty off investors misleaded by Square Yards in UAE and other part of world, but everyone looking at USA now…

     Thanks for writing back…

823. Interesting to see Mr Moore being taken to task over the Barworks fraud, those involved with “Ourspace” must be panicking now. As “stopthecon” stated none of us “Ourspace” investors are being paid out and it is very easy to prove Jim Moore’s involvement, very easy.
     Moore won’t see daylight for a long time and Halliwell, Rice etc will follow. Ourspace is a timebomb waiting to erupt, and if Halliwell is silly enough to think that fleeing to the UK will save him then he is very wrong. Once again this is very fraudulent misselling and to the tune of tens of millions. Their day is coming no doubt……

824. Still no indictment in criminal case against Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow
     By Maria Nikolova, FinanceFeeds, 5 September 2018
     The US criminal proceedings against notorious Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow have not yet led to an indictment, the US Government said on Tuesday, September 4th. The update was provided in relation to a civil case launched by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Haddow, which has been stayed since July pending the conclusion of the related criminal case.

825. The difference between going after Jim (James) Moore and going after other agents is that JIM MOORE unequivocally knew Renwick Haddow was involved and hid Renwick from the public eye.

     The vast majority of agents did not know there was a Renwick Haddow until around February or March of 2017.

     It was at this point that the name Renwick Haddow started appearing on blogs and it is at the point agents started turning off from selling Bar Works.

     The story goes like this:

     Renwick and Jim Moore fell out – Jim Moore then went off and setup Our Space with United Property Invest. Jim Moore funded the marketing for Our Space and United Property Invest carried out the actual selling/recruiting of agents.

     When it all blew up with Bar Works…. United Property Invest simply rebranded as Signature Capital Invest and went off to sell the Signature Hotel / Signature loan note investments.

     The group behind United Property Invest are the same behind Signature Capital Invest: David Kennedy and James Robinson.

     David Kennedy and James Robinson are the evil of the evil. They were in at the very beginning with James Moore / Bar Works and then with Our Space.

     The problem is Signature Capital Invest / United Property Invest is a machine that travels the world signing up agents, extremely effectively.

     The group have simply moved on and are now partnered with Lawrence Kenwright of Signature Living and running the sales arm called Signature Capital Invest since they got rid of the name United Property Invest.

826. You missed off Kevan Hallwell, Ed Rice and Malcolm ( name escapes me ). All involved from the beginning, and way back when they were linked to Greyfriars Investments who had now been suspended by the FCA.

827. ONtheBALL is completely…….. on the ball!

     ‘Back of the net’

828. One thing that baffles me till date is the ease at which these gangs of scammers move around the developed world scamming people from everywhere across the globe right in the face of so called “regulators” in the UK and USA….these con artist had ripped several people of their earned money left right and center in billions and they don’t even get a mention in the mainstream media like their kid brothers in the Nigerian scam syndicate how come?if not for this blog, many people do not know who these guys behind this multimillion scams are ! Yet they move freely and carries out their illegitimate businesses right in the UK !

829. @ Jude. Its a fair question to be honest with you but I think you could also ask how drugs are still being run from country to country or how terrorists infiltrate certain countries. Yes he was known to the authorities but if people are using aliases etc its quite tricky to track them down. The FCA and SEC are quite reactive in my opinion too as opposed to being proactive but you have to understand two things here.
     1. People like Haddow move from place to place, country to country so it makes things difficult. They also, as has been proven, have separate and multiple bank accounts in various countries which again makes tracking money trails harder.
     2. They are not actually the ones at the ´coal face´. They will conjure up a project/idea and then gently disperse it out to a few. Those few release it to a few more. A master agent is found and they in turn find hundreds of agents to advertise it. Even the Master Agent, in some cases can be 3 or 4 steps away from the ´head´ of the snake and I can guarantee that the majority of the sub agents would not have known about Haddow´s involvement until these types of blogs came out. Some of the sub agents might not have even heard of Haddow until after this blog came out. Add into this that a certain ´Jonathan Black´ was heading it all up and it becomes even harder to trace back, for anyone involved.

     Some knew for sure but I would guess that the majority did not.

     I am not defending the agents here, far from it but their own due diligence may not have turned anything up. The agents who simply did it for high commissions are guilty of greed but it is a vicious cycle.

     Think of it as a drug cartel in Bolivia who then has multiple layers of mules who sell on to multiple dealers who in turn sell on to multiple street dealers in Florida…….does the street dealer know the person in Bolivia who is supplying? Very unlikely. Its no different. These guys are king pins in the underworld, its just that their product is different.

830. @ourspacefraudsters, please contact me on [email protected]. I am part of a team that is taking on OurSpace. I don’t want to use Redd-monitor for self promotion so just email the above address and one of the team will make contact. You are right that OurSpace is a scam and you are right that they have stopped paying all investors. We know where Kevan Halliwell lives, we know all about his family, we know his henchmen / key allies, we know the full story of Jim Moore’s involvement, we know the details of the other key players (a number of whom have contacted us to declare their innocence), and most importantly we know how to bring him to justice. We know a lot more that I cannot publish.
     @stop the con, @hammad, @dontlikeourspace please contact me on the email above.

     @ontheball – would really like you to contact me. We were not aware of Jim Moore’s involvement in Signature Group. We are also looking into Signature and all the associated subsidiaries (dozens of them). This is a very big organisation with an alleged balance sheet of several hundred million dollars. We believe investors are going to get a huge shock in the next 6 – 12 months. There is going to be a collapse because it is a scam and investors will face huge losses. We are trying to act now to mitigate those losses for investors. Any information you have on Jim Moore’s involvement with Kenwright, Kennedy and Robinson would be appreciated.

831. I’m ashamed to say that I worked with some cruel individuals similar to those mentioned in the above threads, I also had the displeasure to meet with Jim Moore at one point during what has been a short career as a broker in the murky world of property sales.
      
     I was told about this article last year and whilst I have never commented to this point, my spouse has compelled to comment to make others aware.
      
     I must say that the normal brokers like myself that are set targets and fed the spiel on a daily basis, are sold the properties with conviction, so this is then relayed to clients when we speak to them. At no point are we made aware that the projects may be scams, in fact quite the opposite.
      
     Agencies should know that when properties are offered with such high commissions, this should be the first red flag, as usually this is main incentive to get high number of sales into any one project. I don’t believe that all agents are the same, but get the feeling it’s a high percentage that don’t care about the well-being of others.
      
     Currently high commission products doing the rounds are Goodwin Capital, Halcyon Developments and High Street Group. Julian Tzanev mentioned in these threads as a direct Bar Works employee who signed up Square Yards, now known as Youlian, moved onto the High Street Group along with Thomas Williams from Enlightening Media, former Park First employee from Miami, not sure if there is a connection with Jim Moore, but seems like a big coincidence.
      
     Working with these individuals has Impacted my future outlook on an industry that I was excited to get involved with after leaving my last job, but now dread the thought of having to make phone calls to clients I’m not sure will ever see their money again.
      
     When will the world realise that it looks too good to be true, then it probably is. It is so sad to see people take advantage of those less fortunate and heart-breaking to see those lose their hard earned money to these crooks.

832. I have invested in OurSpace, and was declined a refund recently, and they have been ignoring my emails.

     Below is the email received recently from them. Any other OurSpace investors here?

     Dear ******,

     Important – Urgent Action Required

     I am writing to you today as one of our Ourspace debenture holders as we have a critical situation that I must inform you of, that requires your urgent attention.

     Background

     Since its inception in March 2016, Ourspace set out to become a global player in the co-working industry and set about raising funds to achieve this objective which it successfully did in the amount of around $20m. The smallest debenture amounts are around $25,000 and the amounts rise from there to well in excess of $1m in the case of our largest debenture holders. We have around 250 unique debenture holders in total, including myself. I am personally one of the biggest investors in the business and I sit alongside you with a strong vested interest.

     In late 2016 and through 2017, we started to deploy the funds raised in delivering the business plan. We developed, fitted out and delivered our 7,200 sq ft pilot location in Marbella, Spain, which opened in February 2017. We developed, fitted out and opened our global flagship 20,500 sq ft centre in Lamborghini Dubai, which opened in May 2018 and which some of you have visited and experienced. We further secured leases and developed ready for immediate fitout sites in Miami, Manchester and Leeds, and have over 10 other sites clearly identified and ready to develop. In the latter category is an exciting opportunity to partner on very good terms with one of the UAE’s leading property holding companies on a site in Abu Dhabi.

     Marbella and Dubai are now both fully open and generating revenue and are excellent, state of the art assets to be proud of, valued by our auditors at c$27m.

     Marbella is now operationally cash positive and Dubai is growing strongly and will be operationally cash positive in November 2018, just 6 months from opening. Despite summer being a notoriously quiet period for businesses in Dubai, our team have generated over $620k (annualised) of new business during July and August and have had an equally strong start to September, targeting over $400k (annualised) of new business this month. Breakeven for the Dubai site is $2.5m per annum so the run-rates are good.

     In late 2017, it became clear to management that while the quantum of fund-raising from “Stage 1 Angel Investors” was good, there was a mismatch between the raising of funds on a piecemeal basis, and the large scale contractual commitments that the company was required to enter into, in particular to acquire leases and fit out sites. We therefore set out to raise institutional capital.

     In early January 2018, we entered negotiations with an institutional investor, who fully understood our product and offer having signed up two of their group companies to be based at Lamborghini Dubai.

     On 21stMarch 2018, Ourspace (advised by Addleshaw Goddard) signed a dealwith this investor (advised by Freshfields). This deal entailed short term funding of $4m combined with an agreement to raise and deploy up to $250m to roll out the global plan of the group. Importantly, this commitment included an agreement to fully refinance the existing debentures (including principal and rolled up interest).

     Between January and June 2018, having secured an exclusivity right for 5 months from 8thApril 2018, this investor conducted commercial, financial and legal due diligence. They invested an initial $2.0m and a further $0.5m of the $4.0m commitment however when further amounts of the commitment were requested for drawdown in line with the signed agreements, they declined to fund.

     Having declined to fund their full short-term commitment, the investor attempted to re-negotiate the deal, not only refusing to re-finance the debenture holders but proposing instead to extricate them altogether. At this point, we halted discussions with this investor.
     I will not speculate on the reasons that brought about the investor’s attempted last minute re-negotiation of the agreed deal, however I can reassure you that Ourspace acted properly and were transparent through the entire process and all due diligence information was accurate and provided in a timely manner.

     As all documents, including Interim Funding Agreement, Debenture Settlement Agreements, New Convertible Notes, Joint Venture Agreement and Shareholders Agreement were negotiated and agreed, and all due diligence was completed satisfactorily, we trusted that the investor would follow through on their contractual commitments. Regrettably, this was not the case and the result of this that the company is now facing a very serious cash flow issue. We will run out of cash if we do not find new funding by the end of September 2018.

     Management of Ourspace has of course sought professional advice in order to find ways to continue trading.

     Ourspace Proposal

     Having read and digested the above, you will see that we need to take swift and decisive action to preserve our operational assets and stabilise the balance sheet. The “do nothing” position will result in a total loss of investment for us all.

     As you know, the debentures are a fixed return instrument with an internal rate of return of approximately 12% on a blended basis. Without a solution to urgently repair the short and medium term cashflow, regrettably, these debentures will be worthless as a result of the current cash position of the company.

     I currently hold 100% of the equity of the group. In order to stabilise the balance sheet and bring the business to breakeven, we need to raise $6m immediately. I therefore now propose to offer all debenture holders the opportunity to invest in our equity, pro rata with their existing holding of debentures. This equates to approximately 30% of the debentures’ aggregate face value. I am ready and prepared to dilute my holding thereby enabling debenture holders to acquire 60% of the equity of the business in return for participation in this raise.

     We would welcome debenture holders offering more than 30% of their face value debenture holding on the understand they could be scaled back depending on take up of the placing. We are offering to all debenture holders pro-rata in the first instance.

     As mentioned, the Marbella site is cash flow positive and the Dubai site is close to breakeven. Our auditors have valued the combined sites alone at c$27m. There is a very substantial difference in value of a stable business on a going concern basis as opposed to a distressed basis and this accounts for the potential value up-lift for those debenture holders who take up the share issue.

     I am convinced this is a better plan than attempting to re-open negotiations with the investor who let us down. I have also opened up discussions with other potential investors but have been advised that the existing debenture holders would be wiped out by any funding from those sources. My strong preference therefore would be to continue to work with our current investor base.

     Once the balance sheet is stabilised and the company producing profits it would be our intention to fund raise to continue the global roll out of the Ourspace concept and while this should create considerable value, I will endeavour to secure for our investors an exit at that point should they wish full or partial liquidity.

     I remain as excited by the Ourspace concept as I was at the start and I and the rest of the management team are committed to making this project a great success. The rapid take-up of space both in Marbella and Dubai as well as the enthusiasm of industry participants to partner with us, has convinced us of the viability and long-term value of the business.

     I understand there will be lots of questions to answer so please address any questions you have in relation to this proposal to [email protected]

     Please note that due to the volume and urgency of this task, we will only be able to respond to questions directly related to this rights issue.

     The deadline for commitments will be Monday 24thSeptember 2018 and we will move to complete the funding as soon as possible thereafter. We will of course continue to negotiate with outside investors as a Plan B.

     I must take responsibility for the disastrous outcome of the recent funding deal and apologise unreservedly to you all. I refused to complete a deal that would not have been in your interests and I fully intend to use my best endeavours to put matters right.

     I look forward to hearing from you at the earliest.

     Yours Sincerely

     Kevan Halliwell
     Group CEO

     Reply Slip (Please tick as appropriate)

     NAME: ____________________________________

     YES – I WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE RIGHTS ISSUE AT 30% OF FACE VALUE OF MY DEBENTURE

     YES – I WOULD LIKE TO FURTHER PARTICIPATE IN THE RIGHTS ISSUE AT BEYOND 30% OF FACE VALUE OF MY DEBENTURE. I PLEDGE THE EXTRA SUM OF US$ __________________

833. @Chris, I wonder if there is a separate page just for OurSpace investors, I think we need to take actions to recover the investment. It looks to me an upgraded version of Bar Works.

834. I am also an investor in ourspace or should I now say ‘scamspace’.
     It is true in that investors have stopped receiving their ROI payments. In my case
     the payments stopped after March 2018.
     @Emma, I received the exact same email from them earlier this week which clearly sent alarm bells ringing.
     I also recieved an email today from Safe or Scam LLC, claiming to be investigating ourspace and connecting them with the Bar Works scam.
     I then did some digging around online and then ultimately stumbled upon this thread. I have read through the comments thoroughly and it’s good to see the criminals involved with this organisation are slowly being brought to justice.
     However, there is still no assurance that the investors will still get all their money back, if anything at all.

     @Marksie After reading all the evidence I have no doubt that ourspace is a copycat of the Barworks outfit. Can I ask have any
     ourspace investors already come forward and replied to the email you sent out today in regards to this situation yet?

835. I have published a report on Ripoff,

     https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ourspace-co-working/dubai-united-arab-emirates/ourspace-co-working-ourspacework-fraud-investment-ponzi-scam-dubai-united-arab-emirate-1461939

     And there is a reply:
     ‘I’m an investor and would encourage all the investors to email
     [email protected] to start a group class legal action against Kevan and ourspace so we can get our money back. So if you are an investors please email immeiately and let’s bring justice to the table.’

     I am not sure if I can trust this, but anyway I have emailed to them.

     I found some info about SOS, I don’t know if the money they charge upfront is reasonable to pay, or if it is another scam.

836. Same here, i’m another scammed investor by ourspace, Safe or Scam contacted me too today. I wish they will manage to get my money back. I contacted Marksie too, waiting for his answer.

837. I’m ashamed to say that I worked with some cruel individuals similar to those mentioned in the above threads, I also had the displeasure to meet with Jim Moore at one point during what has been a short career as a broker in the murky world of property sales.

     I was told about this article last year and whilst I have never commented to this point, my spouse has compelled to comment to make others aware.

     I must say that the normal brokers like myself that are set targets and fed the spiel on a daily basis, are sold the properties with conviction, so this is the relayed to clients when we speak to them, at no point are we made aware that the projects may be scams, in fact quite the opposite.

     Agencies should know that when properties are offered with such high commissions, this should be the first red flag, as usually this is main incentive to get high number of sales into any one project. I don’t believe that all agents are the same, but get the feeling it’s a high percentage that don’t care about the well-being of others.

     Currently high commission products doing the rounds are Goodwin Capital, Halcyon Developments and High Street Group. Julian Tzanev mentioned in these threads as a direct Bar Works employee, now known as Youlian, moved onto the High Street Group along with Thomas Williams from Enlightening Media, former Park First employee from Miami, not sure if there is a connection with Jim Moore, but seems like a big coincidence.

     Working with these individuals has Impacted my future outlook on an industry. I was excited to get involved with property sales after leaving my last job, but now dread the thought of having to make phone calls to clients I’m not sure will ever see their money again.

     When will the world realise that it looks too good to be true, then it probably is. It is so sad to see people take advantage of those less fortunate and heart-breaking to see those lose their hard earned money to these crooks.

838. Hello again, after the message that Emma posted regarding Ourspace asking for 30% of the investment , i wrote them asking for explanations and this is what they answered me:

     A number of debenture holders have responded and asked for further information on how the mechanics of the proposed rights issue will work.

     I set out below a simple working example to give a clearer explanation of the process which should assist your understanding and assessment of whether you wish to participate.

     The proposal is that we do a rights issue that you may subscribe for at not less than 30% of your existing debenture value in exchange for a corresponding amount of equity in the Topco and therefore direct ownership of the company. Over and above your right to subscribe as above, you may apply to subscribe for any additional amount, up to the full $6m available and if the issue is oversubscribed, we will scale back applications equitably. If the issue is undersubscribed after offering to all debenture holders, we will use our best endeavours to try and bring in fresh investors to top up to the required funding amount.

     Following a successful completion of this process, your existing debenture would be cancelled and you would convert to your subscribed equity in the Topco. The $6m that we are looking to raise will be compensated with 60% of the shares of the company. Given the asset valuations that we have in hand amount to c$27m (on a going concern basis), I am putting up $16.2m of value for the benefit of the subscribers in exchange for $6m in cash, giving a value uplift of 2.7x upon subscription.

     As an easy to understand example;

     Say your existing debenture holding is $1m.

     To participate, the hurdle subscription would be $300k, which is guaranteed to be allocated (subject to sufficient subscriptions overall) and in this example, 5% of the available shares would be allocated to you (300k/6000k = 5%), which is equal to 3% of the entire company, having an asset value of $810k.

     On top of the $300k, you can choose to apply for any further amount up to the full amount of the issue ($6m) on the same basis as above.

     I realise that we are extremely short on time here and I apologise for this. It is due to the urgent and critical situation that the business has been placed in, as detailed in my last communication to you, so I would appreciate it if you could please let us know how you would like to proceed at the earliest. I trust you will find the above helpful in arriving at your decision.

     Best regards,

     Kevan Halliwell

839. To Whistle56:

     Yes your right Thomas Williams is not on the level, he also has close contacts with Daniel Marsh and Olov Henrik from Falcon Capital Partnership Ltd. Who promoted Barworks with big commission.

840. I did’t get the email that Dan got from Kevan. In the email, it seems like OurSpace wants to swap the debenture to equity, which means investors will not be paid guaranteed interest/ROI any more, and the value of the investment depends on the value of the business. Correct me if I am wrong.
     In another word, this email is same as asking us to surrender the funds we have invested as the value of $27m is just a number they made up, they could make it nill tomorrow.

     I am not quite sure about SOS, my friend emailed to them. And a guy (his name is Mark) replied and asked for upfront charge which is 2.5% of the investment. Mark did not even disclose his last name, phone number, etc. How can we trust him then? We don’t want to get involved in another scam, it is the money we earned from hard working.

     @Marksie, is it possible to get some qualification info of your company, so I can ask my friends in the US to verify you? In my country, legal practitioner or policeman have registration ID which we can verify online.

841. How does he get a valuation of $27m , on a loss making center with debt and about to run out of cash.

     Even now he lies and try’s to defraud.

     I wonder if he will share the following to investors

     * what will the cash be spent on
     * what is the current balance sheet looking like?
     * what is the legal structure of the company?

     TopCo owns no assets so how can it be valued on $27m , man is a born liar.

     All he is saying is change your investment or we shut and you loose it all.

     Rent due I Dubai this week, and he is not here .

842. @Chris lang

     I can feel the pain of Ourspace investors, as i am living in it since April2017.

     However, I understand the this blog was created for “Barworks” updates.

     Appreciate if you can create other group for Ourspace Victims where they can discuss the topic in detail, and let this group for Bar Works related matters…

843. @scamspace, Yes quite a few investors have responded. There was already a core group we were working with before the latest announcement from Kevan Halliwell. Things are progressing.
     @Emma, send another email with Emma in the text so that the company can reply to you. We get a lot of emails. SOS is not a law firm or policemen.
     The latest email from Halliwell seems to suggest that Ourspace has run out of money. Using his figures it would mean that they have blown $20m and have only two leased sites with hardly any paying members to show for it. Forget Leeds, Manchester, Miami etc. Those are just red herrings designed to make investors believe the company has a future. It doesn’t. He says in emails they had actually blown the $20m by the end of 2017 and the company was being financially supported by an unnamed investment fund to the tune of $2.5m in 2018. So in reality he has spent $22.5m.
     Halliwell’s email claims the business has been valued at $27m, yet the liabilities are only $20m. If that were the case he would sell the business, pay everyone back and ride off into the sunset with $7m in his back pocket. There isn’t a cat in hell’s chance the business is genuinely valued at $27m. The business was formed by a convicted fraudster (Jim Moore) and run by willing accomplices who acted as front men knowing that Moore’s involvement needed to be hidden. There isn’t a serious, honest investor in the world who would back this team. The company and the people involved in it are toxic.
     Halliwell’s email is another smokescreen designed to pull in money from investors. My feeling is that he is trying to raise money to defend court proceedings which he must surely know is inevitable. It is just a question of when. It takes time to build a strong enough case to justify a legal action. I’m not a fan of jumping into legal actions without having a sound evidence base to back up the claim. There are some non-litigation, low-cost options which ought to be followed first and might yield results.
     Finally, Bar Works investors who are part of the action co-ordinated by SOS will be pleased to know that the opponent has replied to the lawyer representing the group. We haven’t seen the response. We have just been told that it has been received by the lawyer. He is away until 1st October so we expect to have a meeting when he returns. SOS has prepared the complete evidence package for the lawyer to present to the Financial Ombudsman as the next step in the process.

844. Hi Marksie, are you from SOS ?

845. I would be interested to know if anybody here has taken up the service of SOS to help investigate and recover their investment?
     The reason I ask is that I have been tricked in the past by recovery scams claiming they can get my investment money back if I pay them a small amount first. This in no way implies that SOS aren’t who they say they are but having further evidence or testimonials from investors who are currently working with them would give me more reassurance.
     They seem rather secretive and not willing to disclose any information about themselves other than what is displayed on their site.
     I looked up the registry of the site and it has only been registered for 9 months which to me is a red flag.
     Asking for money up front for a service is also dubious considering that they are also wanting 24% of settlement sums received if there is an eventual payout to investors. In that instance, has anyone from the Barworks pool of investors had any good things to say about SOS or should I not bother?

846. @scamspace – I am sure there will be replies from many regarding SOS to support what they are trying to do for the investors and I am sure that a direct post might be made. Of course there will be people who are nervous or dubious but it is not a ‘recovery scam’ and of course it was only set up recently in an effort to group together investors and information after the Barworks situation arose. I would also add that when you are dealing with people of this nature (BWorks and OSpace not SOS), a certain amount of secrecy and anonymity is vital not only to protect potentially the lives (seriously) of those involved who are investigating but also so as not to forewarn anyone reading these comments who might be involved from within the organisations that SOS might be building evidence against.

     Think of this, if you were trying to build a legal case against someone would you let them know all of your information? If you read through the entire thread, the SOS guy has routinely proven that he is extremely knowledgeable about the situation and is trying to assist investors. I think it only fair that the work load and commitment is not done for free.

     By the way, does anyone know the address for the Ourspace office in Spain which is apparently part of their 27 million (chuckle) valuation?

847. James Moore, alleged co-founder of OurSpace and alleged accomplice of Renwick Haddow, began an 18 month sentence on September 24th in the USA. He was convicted of concealing knowledge of a loan fraud in the Grand Palisades condominium project in Orlando.
     Moore has also been charged separately with concealing knowledge that Jonathan Black was really Renwick Haddow in the Bar Works case. The charge alleges that from 2015 onwards Moore received $1.4m in exchange for his involvement. Not bad considering he left Bar Works relatively early in order to focus on selling OurSpace, an organisation many people believe was co-founded and financed by Moore.

848. @ Scotty & All

     I personally have been contacted by many law firms, claiming they can help me get my money back this & that…and at the end requesting for initial transfer to manage their administrative expenses. They also ask a good % of commission.

     Learning from Barworks, so far i have not accepted any such proposal, counting on SEC to come to conclusion.

     The old groups of fake law firm scammers are more alert now after Ourspace Scame, and they wont leave any investor without contacting…

     The way these guys present themselves will give you so much confidence that you will get ready to put your money…same as you did it for Barworks or Ourspace.

     So stay safe, make your own call carefully, don’t waste good money for bad…

849. Marksie, i have a question, how did you manage to get the emails of the investors of Our Space in order to contact us?

850. @Dan Dan, I didn’t contact you. One of the team did. We investigate scams and we are very good at what we do. You have an email address for us. Use it. I don’t give out information that helps scammers.
     I agree with @Victim of….. this is a Bar Works thread and shouldn’t spread into other scams. There are a lot of BW investors wanting to be kept up to date. Jim Moore is relevant to Bar Works along with United Property Invest and Honey Meek because they were with Bar Works at the start. We know Moore then started OurSpace and then, when Moore went to the USA to defend the allegation of fraud, Honey Meek went over and joined OurSpace. She has a lot to answer for and we won’t let her off the hook.
     @Whistle56, Youlian Tzanev (aka Julian) was a key man at Bar Works. His role was to bring sales agents into the company and to keep them happy. He made a lot of money out of it. So much that his wife was able to buy the Funky Tapas Gastro Pub at Nueva Andalucia, Marbella, Spain.

851. @Marksie – Here’s an article about the Funky Tapas Gastro Pub in the Olive Press, 6-19 December 2017:

     

852. To all the Our Space investors,

     An investor has set up a Google Group to contact other victims. He is not asking for personal details or requesting any payments. The sole purpose is to gather as many investors together to discuss an approach to possibly recover our investments.

     https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/ourspace-support-group

     There are 5 investors already in the group. Feel free to join.

853. Julian Tzanev and Thomas Williams are at it again!!!! I have been told that Enlightening Media are now not paying investors, which was their brainchild. Im sure it wont be long before the latest thing, the High Street Group investments go belly up with these two involved.

854. Any online victim group for Bar Works? I need updates and some warmth…

855. Hi Maria, please write to this email,[email protected] you will have more updates and more.

856. Sorry MAria, i correct myself that group is just for Ourspace , not barworks.
     regards

857. Dear All;

     Any update on RH ongoing case ? what would be future road map ? do we have any hope of getting anything back ?

858. any news here ?

859. Bar Works suspect accused of losing UAE clients millions of dirhams to face US court
     By Nick Webster, The National, 16 November 2018
     Prosecutors in the United States are considering what formal charges should be bought against a British man who UAE investors claim cost them millions of dirhams.
     Renwick Haddow was arrested in Morocco in 2017 and later extradited to the US to face two allegations of wire fraud.
     Legal officials in New York are currently deciding what charges he will face when he stands trial.
     Haddow, who is facing 40 years in prison if found guilty, set up elaborate investment schemes in Bitcoin and a US based hot-desking business called Bar Works.

860. hello i am an unfortunate investor of BARWORKS from UK .
     Is there anyone who can help me join a lawsuit please ?
     Any email or phone number of someone who can really help me ??
     PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

861. @Mattia,
     You contacted SOS in the past and we asked you to check your paperwork. Unfortunately we couldn’t help you because you told us that you had never had any transactions with Central FX, the UK company which provided the majority of currency exchange services to Bar Works. There is a UK action against this firm. We kept this fairly low-key to begin with but there has now been a report on this action in the UK newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, so it is now OK to speak about it openly.
     This action is only for people who had a financial arrangement with Central FX. You advised us that you didn’t, but one of the team has written to you today to ask you to send some documents and we will check them for you just in case you missed something. If not, we have also sent you the details of how to contact Michael Kapin in the US who is involved in an action against JP Morgan bank. The US action does not involve an upfront fee. The UK action does.
     The UK action is only for those people who had a financial transaction with Central FX. Many people DID have a financial transaction with them but did not realise it at the time. There are two scenarios. The first is that you completed the Application Form at the back of the Bar Works brochure and you sent your money to one of the six or so bank accounts listed on that page. Those accounts were CFX bank accounts. That is a financial transaction.
     The second is if you received any rental payments which contained any mention of either of the following: Central FX / CFX / Barclays Bank / Bar Works USA/UK Ltd.
     A great many people received their rental payments from Bank of America, JP Morgan and so on. They believed this was always the case. However, in January 2017 Franklin Kinard went to the UK and incorporated a new company called Bar Works USA/UK Ltd. In February 2017 many investors started to receive rental payments which had the references described above. These rental payments came from Central FX bank accounts. Investors did not realise because they were never informed of the new arrangements and the payment was the same amount as before. They just assumed everything was the same. The payments were made between Feb 2017 and June 2017. You only need one rental payment to have come from CFX between those dates for it to be regarded as a financial transaction between CFX and yourself.
     I have to say that it is very late in the day for people who might want to join this action but it may still be possible. If anyone finds they had a transaction with Central FX and would like more information please contact [email protected] .

862. The Telegraph article that @Marksie mentions is available here.

863. Can anybody give any suggestions as to what this might mean? -https://financefeeds.com/court-extends-stay-case-ponzi-scammer-renwick-haddow-seventh-time/

     7 orders of continuances to supposedly continue discussions between Haddow and the U.S. government. What disposition might they be hoping to reach? Do these elongated discussions suggest that Haddow is making a deal? Might this mean that he has money to bargain with? I’m trying to ascertain if all these continuances give me and other investors any hope that this disposition, whenever it happens, might include us getting our money back. It seems very unusual for a judge to grant 7 continuances. I’m also not entirely sure what to make of the fact that the US government vs Haddow case has taken priority over the SEC vs Haddow case.

     Can anyone give me their analysis please?

864. Yes I agree 7 continuances is a lot, not sure what’s going on there, it’s strange ???

865. I think it is likely to mean one of the following:
     1. Haddow wants to do a deal but his attorney is still trying to get the best terms he can from the prosecutor; or
     2. The terms have been agreed and Haddow is providing information. It takes time to check out the information he has given. They won’t agree a final deal with him until they know whether or not he is telling the truth so they have asked for more time; or
     3. Haddow has given information which has been checked out and as a result it has raised further questions that the authorities want answers to. They won’t agree a final deal until those answers have been given and have also been checked out so they need more time.
     The bottom line is that it is a good sign if you want his accomplices to be prosecuted and you want the authorities to recover more money. It is a bad sign for those who just want Haddow to be locked up for a very long time because he will undoubtedly be let off a lot of charges in return for his help.
     It was reported a few months ago that the SEC would park their case and allow the FBI case to proceed first.

866. Thanks Marksie. One additional question – do you think, once the FBI case has concluded, that the SEC case will reach conclusion very quickly? Or will that then be the start of another lengthy court process?

867. Dear fellow victims of BW scam.. any updates about the SEC case processing.. I personally lost hope in returning this money, I still have hope in life itself and hope in opportunities and hardwork to recover what I lost or make more.. what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

     Come on people, share how life is treating us and ur plans to recover your money loss due to BW scam

868. Don’t give up say strong, this scam was pure fraud, let’s have some faith in SEC

869. Hope is the only thing left for us now…

     I wonder why there is no comm. channel setup for Barworks victims by SEC, who has all the info about investment “Who & How much”…

     Its high time now, There should be direct communication to victims by SEC to give us a sight of relief we are waiting for…

     We don’t know exactly what causing back to back extension to Renwick Hoddow…

870. The latest news on the New York court case against Renwick Haddow – sorry, I’ve only just seen this:

     [USA] NY Court grants ninth stay extension in lawsuit targeting Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow
     By Maria Nikolova, FinanceFeeds, 14 January 2019
     The criminal proceedings against Renwick Haddow, known for his Ponzi and bitcoin scams, have been prolonged further. According to the latest filings with the New York Southern District Court, the stay of the lawsuit launched by the US authorities against Haddow has been extended once again.
     This is the ninth such continuance in this case, which has now been extended until February 9, 2019.
     The reason for the stay extension, as previously explained, is the ongoing engagement of the Government and the defendant in discussions concerning a possible disposition of this case.

871. NY Court grants yet another continuance in case against Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow
     By Maria Nikolova, FinanceFeeds, 13 February 2019
     Magistrate Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox of the New York Southern District Court has granted another request by the US Government to extend the proceedings against Renwick Haddow, known for his Ponzi and bitcoin scams.
     Earlier this week, the Judge signed an order to continue the case in the interests of justice. The order effectively grants the Government’s request for a 30-day continuance until March 13, 2019, so that it may continue the discussions with Haddow and reach a disposition of this matter. The Government expects this to be the last request for continuance.

872. Article in Law360 (behind a paywall) about Haddow:

     [UK] Scammer Gets 6 Months For Violating £14M Repayment Order
     Law360, 1 March 2019
     A London judge on Friday sentenced a man behind a land investment scam to six months imprisonment for circumventing a court order that aimed to recoup the more than £14 million…

873. Hi Chris, I haven’t paid to go beyond the paywall on that article but that sounds like some pretty cheap justice to me. I’m imagining Haddow is expecting similar leniancy in the US – and I’m hoping that they throw the book at him. Still, 6 months for dodging £14 million in repayments seems like a ridiculously low sentence. It doesn’t make me hopeful for those of us that lost so much on his Bar Works scam adventure. Wondering what Marksie’s take on this news is…

874. @Jan Novak – Law360 offers a seven day free trial.

875. Hi Jan can’t get the 7 day trial with my iCloud or gmail account

876. Does sound right 6 months, there must be more to it. Anyone care to share the full law360 article please

877. I have discovered the same. If someone with a business email is willing to sign up for free and share the content of the article that would be much appreciated!

878. Hey guys, I did a search & found this article. the imprisonment relates to African Oil & CEO Mckendrick & the. This is not behind a paywall!

     https://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/scammer-sentenced-for-breaching-14m-repayment-order/?action=lostpassword

879. @Tim – Thanks for this. The FCA statement is here.

880. Ok, so if I understand this correctly – No sentence against Haddow has been carried out and another man – an accomplice of Haddow on a previous scam – has been given only 6 months even though he deliberately tried to siphon his assets off through his wife in order to dodge a court order attempting to seize said assets. A comment under one of those articles sums it up quite nicely – if normal guy (me or you) robs someone of £14million we likely get 3 years prison minimum; if white collar criminal piece of s#$t steals £14 million, gets caught, is ordered by a court to divulge assets, then deliberately acts in contempt of that order – he gets 6 months – which includes some kind of abstract leniency from the judge.

     Can someone please explain to me what on earth is going on? How can this be considered justice on any level?

881. I am in the same frame of mind, 6 months is not justified
     Want was the Judge thinking, and Is it possible to appeal for a longer sentence if victims don’t get there money back?? Any one care to comment

882. It looks like the 6 months is for being “in contempt” of the court order.
     He will remain in contempt until the £14m has been paid.
     6 months could just be first of many.

883. @Bugsy I hope you’re right. I did also read that he has been declared bankrupt so I’m not sure what that means for the victims of his scam- any ideas?

884. @ Jan Novak
     The irony is that the woman who arranged tried to recover £1m borrowed by McKendrick got 10 years.
     This is beyond farce!

     https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/karine-solloway-jailed-robert-mckendrick-14014217

885. McKendrick got six months for trying to hide money from the court. He has declared himself bankrupt in order to avoid repaying investors. Marcia Hargous, the former lawyer for Capital Alternatives and the former lover of Renwick Haddow has also declared herself bankrupt.
     McKendrick is wanted in Liberia and Sierra Leone for stealing a ship which was impounded. We are not talking about a yacht or a small boat. This was a full-blown cargo ship. When imprisoned in Sierra Leone awaiting proceedings he became unwell and was released for medical treatment. He never returned and somehow made his way back to the UK. Sierra Leone doesn’t top the chart of corrupt countries for nothing. I expect the Chief of Police dropped him off at the airport just before he went to the bank.
     Although the FCA case has run its course and the confiscation orders have been issued, this is not necessarily the end. The offences can also attract criminal charges. Anyone who has read the 470 page judgement given by the Judge will note that he made it very clear that he was not considering any criminal aspect in the case. Presumably he did so to make it clear that those charges could still be brought. His judgement was so thorough that he practically laid out the criminal case for the Police. In parts he was very strongly hinting that the actions by some defendants could be considered criminal offences.
     Quite why no criminal charges have been brought is baffling. There are some who believe that the authorities just can’t be bothered. Others believe that the authorities might feel the financial penalties are punishment enough. Other people believe that they might be waiting to see what happens to Haddow in the USA. Their view is what would be the point of prosecuting him in the UK if he is serving 10 years or more in the USA ? I am genuinely surprised that Marcia Hargous, Robert McKendrick and perhaps one or two others have not been charged with criminal offences.
     If you were to list the eight defendants in the FCA trial in order of culpability there is no doubt that Haddow would sit at the top. He was the architect and founder of all the illegal schemes. Marcia Hargous would come a close second because he could not have done it without a corrupt lawyer. She held all the money which even now can’t all be accounted for. McKendrick was in third place. He got as much as Haddow out of two of the schemes but was not involved in some of the others.
     Haddow’s sister, Lorna Moore, benefited from the scams. She headed up Podworks. Haddow’s mother also received a very large donation of several hundred thousand dollars towards the refurbishment of her local village hall.
     We already knew that McKendrick’s wife, Priya McKendrick, had salted away several hundred thousand dollars from the scams into an account in the British Virgin Islands under the name of Rusalka. Robert McKendrick wasn’t even trying to hide it at the height of the scam. One of our associates was monitoring his house in Cheshire only to see him drive out in his new Bentley with the car registration number of RU54LKA. Priya had just taken delivery of a new Porsche paid for by investors. She was part of the scam but has not been held to account.
     Serious fraud it seems is very much a family affair.

886. Thanks Marksie

887. https://financefeeds.com/ny-court-grants-another-final-continuance-case-ponzi-scammer-renwick-haddow/
     …continuance until 12 April 2019

888. @bugsy – hopefully it is truly the last continuance. I wonder what is going to happen….

     Meanwhile in another article- https://financefeeds.com/jpmorgan-secures-dismissal-lawsuit-brought-victims-ponzi-scammer-renwick-haddow/

     It seems J.P. Morgan were the wrong people to try and blame.

889. Victims of Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow to appeal from judgment in case against JPMorgan
     By Maria Nikolova, Finance Feeds, 11 April 2019
     Less than a month after Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the New York Southern District Court dismissed a case brought by victims of Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow against JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and JPMorgan Chase Bank, the plaintiffs have stated their intentions to appeal from the judgment.
     In a notice filed with the Court today, more than 200 victims of the scammer say they are appealing to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from a final Judgment granting the defendants’ motion to dismiss the first amended complaint entered in this action on March 13, 2019.

890. It appears that Haddow has instructed a barrister

     http://churchcourtchambers.co.uk/uncategorized/yasin-patel-instructed-to-represent-international-fraudster-in-high-profile-case-in-usa

891. Guys, Do we have any update on Barworks?

892. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6366888/united-states-v-haddow/

     ..Order to Continue until 13th May

893. British Citizen Arrested For Conspiracy To Defraud Investors Of More Than $36 Million
     US Attorney’s Office Southern District of New York, 23 May 2019
     Savraj Gata-Aura, a/k/a “Sam Aura,” Participated in a Conspiracy with Renwick Haddow and Others to Make False and Misleading Representations to Investors in Workspace Sharing Company; Haddow Has Pled Guilty and is Cooperating with the Investigation.
     Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of an Indictment in Manhattan federal court charging SAVRAJ GATA-AURA, a/k/a “Sam Aura,” with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for engaging in a scheme to defraud victims by making material misrepresentations about the management and operations of a company called Bar Works Inc. and related entities (“Bar Works”). GATA-AURA was arrested this morning and will be presented later today in Manhattan federal court before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman.

894. Hi Chris, thanks for this latest update. It feels closer to home as I actually had direct contact with the crook who calls himself Sam Aura. Now that Haddow has been found guilty – are we, the defrauded, going to find out if the SEC has recovered any of the money we lost?

     Are we looking at another protracted period of time while Aura goes through the court process?

     When will we find out if investors in Bar Works are ever going to get any money back?

     Anyone got any ideas?

     Is there any documentation online that suggests any money has been recovered?

     I’ve read the court documents but haven’t found anything to inspire much hope.

     Still hoping this whole horrible debacle will find a conclusion soon.

895. https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2019/comp24479.pdf

     There were clearly other agents selling the Bar Works “investments”
     It will be interesting to see if there are more sealed indictments in the pipeline?

896. I believe Daniel Marsh and Olov Henrik from FCP (falcon Capital partnership) based in the UK are involved in misrepresenting Barwork investments

897. @M – Heron Global Partners is another. With an interesting follow up from Six and Flow, and the involvement of Sami Raja.

898. the DREAM HOMES INVESTMENTS LTD. will most likely be involved in the scam, assisted by the female consultant as well as the director of Inveztments.com who have promoted to the bitter end the investment above all here in Italy even when the bubble had already burst, and therefore recidivists. A greeting

899. Kevan Halliwell has 3 x Civil cases in Dubai over Ourspace .

     Non payment of rent
     $3m to another investor
     Non payment of wages to some staff

     And the contractor is waiting in the wings as he is owed $1m.

900. Has any investor in the UK managed to successfully claim back compensation from the Brokers?

901. Not yet, working on it,

902. @Marksie, could you give us any comment on this latest development please? Where do you imagine this case goes from here? And where does it leave investors?

903. Dream home investment in Italy gave me back the 2000€ something for “manage cost” that they charged me to complete the paperworks with barworks… but only that and not the 20K i invested…

904. What needs to happen is the commission, they received from bar Works should be refunded to investors. That would be fair

905. NY Court orders US Govt to update on proceedings against Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow
     By Maria Nikolova, FinanceFeeds, 6 June 2019
     Judge Lorna G. Schofield of the New York Southern District Court gives the US Government until June 11, 2019, to provide an update on the criminal proceedings against the fraudster.
     There has not been much information over the past several months about the United States criminal proceedings against Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow, who is known for his fraudulent Bitcoin schemes. The scarcity of information has been noticed by the Court, as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is also targeting Haddow in a separate civil lawsuit.

906. @Jan Novak,
     The case against Savraj Gata-Aura (Sam Aura) is good news. If it is successful then he will face confiscation orders and that will mean more money going back into the pot to pay investors.
     The fact that Haddow has pleaded guilty to the charges makes it much more difficult for other offenders to defend charges against themselves.
     Sam Aura was not really an agent. He was an integral part of the Bar Works operation and the allegations are that he knew Haddow was pretending to be Jonathan Black. That makes him a willing party to a fraud. It looks pretty clear cut that he did know this.
     If anyone has evidence that their broker also knew that Renwick Haddow was Jonathan Black then you have a strong case against both the company and them PERSONALLY as having been a party to fraud. If you don’t have that evidence then all you can do is charge your broker company with selling unregulated securities to you. You have a good chance of winning that case.
     The problem is that your case would most likely have to be a civil action against the broker COMPANY, not the individuals. The individuals are protected by the limited company status. That may be different in the UAE and some other jurisdictions so you would need to take advice. I would expect in most cases (if it hasn’t happened already) that the owners would withdraw all the money and close down the broker company the moment you filed charges against them. You would win a case against an empty or dissolved company. There would be no money to pay you.
     It is very unfair on investors but that is how these people work. They close down a company which is facing legal action and they incorporate a new one. They are back in business with a new company in less than a month.
     If it were my money I would not waste it on a civil action against a broker company. The only time it is worth going after a third party like this is if they genuinely care about their reputation and cannot just close down e.g a very large broker firm, or if they are covered by some form of insurance e.g a law firm which may have been involved in the scam because they tend to have PI insurance supported by a legal compensation scheme, or a financial services regulated entity like JP Morgan bank or Central FX because they are covered by PI insurance and a government-backed compensation scheme. In cases like these if the weight of investor claims forces the firms into liquidation there is insurance cover and compensation schemes that investors can claim against.

907. On 10 June 2019, Marcia Hargous was on the front page of the Daily Telegraph in Australia. If anyone has a copy of this article, please send it to [email protected]. Thanks!

     

908. US Gov to determine property forfeiture in case against Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow
     By Maria Nikolova, FinanceFeeds, 10 June 2019
     Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the New York Southern District Court has issued an order concerning the criminal proceedings against Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow, widely known for his Bitcoin fraudulent schemes.
     Shortly after the Court accepted the guilty plea of Haddow, the Judge has entered an order regarding forfeiture in this case.

909. US Govt says no sentencing date yet for Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow
     By Maria Nikolova, FinanceFeeds, 11 June 2019
     Several days after the New York Southern District Court ordered the United States Government to provide an update on the criminal proceedings targeting Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow, the US authorities complied with the order and submitted a Letter at the Court.
     The update does not say much, unfortunately, although the period of silence by the prosecutors has been quite long.

910. My agent (Square Yards) must return the quick 20% brokerage that they got from Barworks as courtesy to the mistake they made due to lack of due diligence in Barworks offshore commercial space investment plan.

     We have records of marketing emails and sales exhibition in Al wahda ballroom where you were pitching Barworks commercial space.

     I rely on you for your real estate expertise, and being from home town, i trusted you. You must return the brokerage part as you have no right to keep investors money while the investment is turned out to be a scam.

     Below are some of the media coverage includes Square Name :-

     The National UAE coverage :
     ————————————–

     https://www.thenational.ae/uae/uae-victim-of-bar-works-scam-doubts-he-will-ever-get-his-dh550-000-back-1.876057

     https://www.thenational.ae/uae/bar-works-suspect-accused-of-losing-uae-clients-millions-of-dirhams-to-face-us-court-1.792524

     https://www.thenational.ae/uae/scammed-uae-investors-demand-answers-over-bar-works-scam-1.617291

     Square Yards Exclusive Partner with USA Developer:
     ———————————————————————-

     a. http://www.moneycontrol.com
     http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/companies/square-yards-partners-us-based-barworks-inc-investus-property-972604.html
     b. Economics Times of India
     https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/square-yards-partners-us-based-barworks-inc-investus-property/articleshow/53722644.cms
     c. dailyexcelsior.com
     http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/square-yards-partners-us-based-barworks-inc-investus-property/

     USA – The Real Deal News
     ————————————-

     https://therealdeal.com/2017/07/10/blacks-money-a-bizarre-co-working-scheme-and-the-global-rise-of-online-real-estate-fraud/

     Singapore – Business Times
     ————————————–

     http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/square-yards-slapped-with-fine-six-month-ban

     India – The Hindu News
     ——————————–

     http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/court-orders-fir-against-real-estate-firm-for-fraud/article2144756.ece

     The Change.com
     ———————-

     https://www.change.org/p/tanuj-shori-square-yards-cheated-investors-selling-barworks-scam

     Qatar Living :
     —————–

     https://www.qatarliving.com/forum/company-news/posts/promoting-fraudulent-investment-overseas

     ——————-

     If this statement is true than Square Yards (my adviser in Barworks investment) must approach me and refund the commission as compensation of their mistake.

     “Not only the criminal who commit the crime is responsible, but also the one who supports directly/indirectly is equally responsible”

     Civil case door are open , charge sheet is ready, i am awaiting final response from USA case and will decide my next move accordingly…

     if i get 20% commission back from my agent of my investment, i will drop all my charges.

     —————–
     Its my humble request from Square Yards and all other agents who are reading my blog, that

     “Dont earn money at cost of humanity, dont play with the blood money of people, you may get temporary site of relief of this money, but remember someone somewhere is always cursing you, and god forbidden you pay with interest in some other way”

911. Any update marksie

912. [USA] SEC says no settlement discussions held with Renwick Haddow’s co-conspirator
     By Maria Nikolova, FinanceFeeds, 10 July 2019
     The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a Letter with the New York Southern District Court about the status of the civil proceedings targeting Savraj Gata-Aura, a/k/a “Sam Aura,” one of the co-conspirator of Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow.
     The document, filed on July 9, 2019, and seen by FinanceFeeds, says there have been no settlement discussions between the SEC and the defendants.
     The SEC explains that, in light of the pending criminal case against Gata-Aura, the parties have not held settlement discussions of this civil matter. The parties do not believe that a settlement conference with the Court would be appropriate at this point in time.

913. Last one and a half year gone …wat sec or fbi did …..nothingggggg……

914. There is a big disconnect in terms of victim communication. SEC does not provide any update on Barworks Scam…

     We had logged complaint in April2017, No feedabck…

     Agents have digested the cut they got from Barworks and operating freely, and have no liability toward us…

915. [USA] Victims of Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow suffer another defeat in case against JPMorgan
     By Maria Nikolova, FinanceFeeds, 31 July 2019
     Several months after a group of more than 200 victims of Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow challenged a ruling by the New York Southern District Court that dismissed their claims that JPMorgan aided the fraudster, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit nixed their appeal.
     The plaintiffs – Hongying Zhao and 244 other individuals, have brought this action against JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (JPMC) and its holding company JP Morgan Chase & Co. The First Amended Complaint asserts the following claims against both defendants: (1) knowing participation in a breach of trust, (2) aiding and abetting embezzlement, (3) aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, (4) aiding and abetting conversion, (5) aiding and abetting fraud, (6) unjust enrichment, (7) commercial bad faith, and (8) gross negligence. Put briefly, the plaintiffs alleged that JPMorgan had aided Haddow.

916. Last one and a half year gone …wat sec or fbi did …..nothingggggg……….

917. What you try to make savings from little things such as booking through skyscanner, taking layover, waiting for sales to do shopping, you just realized how awful has this injustice to return our difficulty earned money taken so easily by BW and the agents! I personally never believed that there will be any justice by American courts, law… 2 years and still no one pleaded guilty!!! That’s why there will more scammers, more victims… so for me, I moved on, and thanks God, when I put this money I had no half of it in my account, my hard word made me justice and I removed 6 times the investment I lost and got better things in my life that money cannot bring.

     Not asking you to lose hope …. but to move on! Most importantly I know those who took any money is loving a miserable life in custody and married to cheating wives and will die with heat attacks.

     So fuck them all, fuck the fake justice… it has never been about people, it has always been about the benjamins baby

918. Have you ever thought it’s a wider conspiracy which involves frauds in other countries ? Dealing with there law enforcement and authorities? Which means approvals ? It’s not an episode of TV where it all gets done in an hour ?
     This is complex and involves victims globally and not all about you .

919. Last one and a half year gone …wat sec or fbi did …..nothingggggg……………………

920. @Ravnit – You’ve left the same comment three times now. REDD-Monitor welcomes comments, but not when you are just repeating the same thing.

     In case you haven’t noticed, Haddow was extradited from Morocco, there is an ongoing legal case against Haddow, and James Moore has been found guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy.

921. Does anyone know why safe or scam don’t blog about Ourspace, Halliwell anymore?

922. What the latest update,

923. Ourspace Dubai was shut down by the courts for none payment of rent for over a year.
     Landlord is running the business himself .

924. Safe Or Scam is working on behalf of a group of clients who have paid the company to try to recover their money. The website blog page is updated from time to time. A summary of the position is as follows:
     1. OurSpace in Dubai sold workspace leases to investors. It raised approx $30m.
     2. Kevan Halliwell realised the Ponzi Scheme was heading for collapse so he established several companies in Malta and persuaded most investors to swap their workspace leases with the Dubai company into debenture contracts with the Malta companies. He lied to investors telling them that it was in their best interests to make the switch.
     3. Once the investment had been switched so that the workspace leases were no longer valid he moved the main leases into a new Malta company called OurSpace Investments Ltd (“OIL”).
     4. This meant that the two main leases that OurSpace had (Dubai site and Marbella site) were now owned by OIL. The debts to investors were owned by four different Malta companies called OurSpace Founding Investors 1, 2, 3 and 4. Those companies owed all the debts but actually generated no income and owned no assets. The assets were the two leases which had been given to OIL. These four companies had one director and one shareholder – Kevan Halliwell. Investors were not shareholders. What Kevan Halliwell always intended to do was to separate the debts and assets so that he could prevent investors from having any ownership of, or control over, the assets. Halliwell used money raised from investors to pay for his escape route.
     5. In November 2018 Halliwell told a court in London that although OIL was a Malta company, it was actually managed from the UK. He did this so that he could put OIL into administration in the UK.
     6. OIL was put into administration and Halliwell was able to tell the administrator that OIL owned assets worth $5m (the two leases) and that it did not owe any money to any of the individual investors. He said that it did owe money to the four Malta companies. He told the administrator that he owned and controlled all four Malta companies so the administrator had to deal only with him. Investors had no direct claim over the assets.
     7. The administrator is working for Kevan Halliwell and not for any of the investors.
     8. Since the administration started the lease in Dubai has been repossessed. The only asset is a lease in Marbella which is virtually worthless. Investors have to go after the perpetrators of the fraud if they want any recovery.
     9. Halliwell is not home and dry yet because this was a ponzi scheme and he has made mistakes. Efforts are still going on behind the scenes to bring him to justice and to seize his assets. It just takes a long time, a lot of effort and a lot of money to prosecute fraudsters.
     10. If all else fails and there is no chance of recovering any money investors can rest assured that all information including home addresses and family connections will be published online to allow all investors to consider pursuing their own recovery actions.
     Finally, James Moore, who was convicted in the USA for his part in the Bar Works ponzi scheme, was also identified in the US court as one of the founders of OurSpace.

925. Firstly I want to make it clear my comments are my own personal views and are not to be affiliated with any organisation I may be employed through.

     I work within the UK financial industry supporting victims of financial crime, including alleged investment scams like Barworks etc.

     Through research into various scams, I keep stumbling upon “Safe or Scam” and while on the face of it, they appear to be on the consumers side. Their conduct does also have the behaviours and traits of the scammers they claim to be against.

     Firstly, they are operating from a New Mexico LLC registered through High Desert Corporate Filings LLC. This has been done so it is impossible to identify anyone behind this company so there is little to no accountability to be had should they suddenly decide to shutdown their site and stop answering emails. If this was an investment opportunity, this would be a giant red flag.

     Due to the fact they are anonymous, I can only assume they are not authorised or regulated to provide financial advice but offer this as a service (decorated as a “review”) for a fee through their site.

     In regards to recovery of funds, paying an up front fee to get money back is another red flag and should only be considered if you seek your own impartial and independent advice, not from people you are planning to pay

926. Any suggestions on how investors get there money back would be much appreciated.

927. @ James,
     My post was in response to a question from @NM on 19th October who asked why things had gone quiet at Safe Or Scam regarding OurSpace. We don’t publicise our services on any site other than ones we own and we respect the impartiality of redd-monitor.
     However, I am so pleased that you keep stumbling across Safe Or Scam when you are investigating scams. That shows we are having an effect. As we don’t publicise we never know if the message is getting out there. Scammers absolutely hate us and they are not shy in telling us.
     If you provide your services for free then everybody should use you. But, I suspect that you either work in one of the mass of firms which handle claims against pension funds and financial services companies i.e the very easy cases that are being chased by “claims investigators” looking for an easy buck, or you may not be very good and you just take on cases for free and never deliver a result. We get approaches all the time from those kinds of investigators wanting to work with us. They talk about prosecuting for fraud, obtaining confiscation orders etc as if it is the easiest thing in the world. We know it is not and we also know that a fraud case would cost investors at least $500,000 and they might lose. We know that obtaining a court freezing order on a bank account could easily costs $100,000 and the courts don’t issue freezing orders lightly. Investors need a lot of evidence.
     People who are serious about exposing scammers and recovering money tend to charge an initial fee. As you point out – we do. You’ll find that SOS doesn’t charge a lot and is far more effective than any other firms operating in this field.
     We get a lot of letters from law firms threatening us with legal action if we don’t stop causing trouble for their scammer clients. We get about the same number from the scammers themselves offering to break our legs. Being incorporated in New Mexico makes it a little bit more difficult for both of them to fulfil their threats.
     Our position with investors is always the same. If you don’t feel comfortable don’t use SOS. Go somewhere else where you do feel comfortable. We always take a look at any case free of charge and are honest with people about their chance of success. We only take on cases where we think there is a good chance of getting a result for the investors.
     Fortunately for SOS there are so many people who do feel comfortable with us that we have a very large and satisfied client base which increases every week. I don’t know of one single bad review. If there is then it is probably one of the scammers up to some tricks. Sometimes people are not happy with the time it takes but that’s just a fact of life. Legal actions can take a long time to put together and even longer to go through the court system. Sometimes, no matter how hard you work, you just can’t get enough evidence to make a charge stick.
     @James, your argument that we may be scammers ourselves does not quite add up. It assumes that the law firms, accountants and insolvency practitioners we work with have not done their due diligence. They have. They know we are genuine and are getting results.
     Your timing is perfect. TODAY there is a Notice being published in the London Gazette announcing the winding up petition filed against Win River Developments Ltd, a company run by a man who has a history of failed, dishonest schemes behind him. We have helped our client through this legal process. The hearing is on 20th November. You will find our details on the Gazette Notice which proves our involvement.
     You may also like to check out Crest Security Contracts Ltd, a money mule company which collected hundreds of thousands of pounds on behalf of TWO separate scams. That winding up Notice was published in the London Gazette on 15th October. The hearing for that case takes place in the High Court in London on 6th November. Our details are on that Notice too. Check back – you’ll find we have had success against quite a few of these scam companies.
     @James, even you would have to admit that scam companies aren’t normally involved in filing court applications ! You may not like what we do because we do things differently to your firm. We are probably a bit more aggressive. There is another important difference. We get results for our clients in cases you wouldn’t touch with a barge-pole.
     It’s not fair to use redd-monitor for propaganda so if you would like to email us direct you have the email address. It’s on the website. You can then tell us which high level scammers you have helped bring to justice. We have a few we can tell you about, one of whom is Renwick Haddow. Didn’t notice you or your firm involved in that. Maybe you should read this entire thread. It’s very informative.
     On that matter there is a legal action in the UK involving around 70 Bar Works investors and around $7.5m of investment. We put that together. Your not working for the opposition are you ? I believe they have recently appointed Grosvenor Law as their counsel.

928. OH NO. I really hate it when this happens. You write something and then you realise that you missed out an important point. It’s the same when you forget to attach the files when you’ve said “see attached files”. That is so embarrassing and I do it all the time.
     The bit I missed when I read @James posting was “the alleged investment scams like Barworks”. ALLEGED.
     If @James is going to comment on a thread that has been running for two years or more the least he can do is read the history. @James, you are totally incompetent. Sorry old boy but you really are. You are a typical stuffed suit charging $500 an hour to give your worthless advice to people you have persuaded to trust that you are a competent individual. You are not and they will have wasted their money.
     Courts in Miami and New York have already ruled that this was a ponzi scheme so there is nothing ALLEGED about it. No wonder you are playing catch up behind Safe Or Scam. We’re happy to send you the court judgments because you are so poor at what you do.
     I’m not going to bother with @James again. It’s just another scammer who says ” how dare you question me because I deal with financial crime”.
     If there is one thing that investors should always remember it’s this – YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO WRITES THESE BLOGS. YOU MUST ALWAYS ASSUME THAT A BLOG IS WRITTEN BY A SCAMMER (THAT INCLUDES ME). DO NOT EVER PAY ANY MONEY UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY COMFORTABLE WITH IT.
     Just because someone says “I work in financial services” does not mean that they do or that they are in any way competent. There are a lot of absolutely useless people who claim to work in “financial services” and there are a lot of scammers too,
     A large number of the crooks we investigate have excellent credentials. They are lawyers, accountants and large financial firms.
     I can’t believe @James would come on a thread like this criticising Safe Or Scam without having undertaken the most basic of checks on Bar Works and the court judgements. @James – you are at best an amateur and at worst a scammer. The next posting had better be a lot more professional or I’ll tear it apart. If you come back on don’t forget to tell people which firm you claim to represent.

929. He never said you are a scam , he just raised red flags around the lack of transparency around the company .

     How we you tak a lot and rant and rave yet for all your bravado there is no tangible evidence what you claim is real ?

     Just because you shout on here ..you still never responded to his claims about where your from? Legal entity etc etc .

     Please shout some more …with more tangible facts I hope.

930. @ Marksie – spot on
     @ Anon – unbelievable! IF you are an investor in BW, you have, I believe, in Marksie, someone who has put hours and hours of free work in to try and bring Haddow to question and give investors help in their pursuit of justice.
     I don’t know this for sure, but having read all the posts and others, my gut feeling and guess is that Marksie has been ripped off by scammers before (possibly Haddow in a previous company) and has vowed to not stop until he buries the bar-works-stard! And whilst in his pursuit he stumbled across other scams and decided to take it to the next level. If that is the case, you have someone better than a lawyer! You have someone who has been there, done it.
     Frankly, if you have someone who is trying to help and offer advice, especially in this murky world, I would suggest you listen….unless of course you think you can do better and aren’t worried about any physical retribution these types of scammers are renown for. Believe me, they are NOT suited individuals sipping champagne, these are people running extremely sophisticated organised criminal activities. Those types don’t tend to give a sh*t who they threaten to break on their way.
     So short story – let him ‘shout’ all he likes, but don’t mistake it for him trying to help!
     @ James – see above

931. @scotty Well said,
     @marksie, keep up the good work,

     @ James, The clients of SOS have no problem with contacting SOS, and Marksie has made progress in the right direction.

     The question is WHO ARE YOU James, don’t think you are anybody who can help, I would be very surprised to hear from you again.

932. My message I thought was fair and clear – and aimed at Safe or Scam.
     Funnily enough still non of the questions have been asked just more waffle .
     I wouldn’t trust Safe or Scam at all , there just another bunch of con men , praying on guys who have already been married hard done by .

933. And still no one from SOS answers anything asked of them ……..again.

934. @Anon,
     I’m not online 24 hours a day so please forgive me for not responding to you immediately. I won’t respond to you again because I’m busy and you, it would appear, are not. This blog is supposed to be about Renwick Haddow and Bar Works. It has strayed a bit into OurSpace because that was a clone which involved the same people. It’s not actually a blog about Safe Or Scam.
     I do not object to @James having an opinion and warning people about paying money to parties they don’t know. We warn people about that all the time on our blogs. I object to his attitude which is that he can be trusted and knows what he is talking about, whereas SOS does not. Clearly he doesn’t know the first thing about Bar Works or Renwick Haddow because we are all well past the “alleged crime” stage. Haddow confessed a long time ago!
     I don’t know @James’ motivation for having a go at SOS. We are exposing so many big scams now that there’s going to be a lot of firepower aimed at us. Carlauren Group is a $90m scam. Park First is almost a $300m scam. OurSpace is a $30m scam. Signature Group is $150m+. Shepherd Cox, Aston Darby, St James Asset Management, Win River, St Helier, Osage1 / Phenco, Van Gossum Consult etc etc. We haven’t even touched on Asia Plantation Capital which is around $500m. That’s not a leg-breaking scam. That’s contract killer level so we are very cautious.
     If @James is a competitor and is getting frustrated that SOS has exposed the scam before he got around to it then that’s OK. Attempting to rubbish a competitor is fair enough. But he could also be employed by one of the scam organisations. That’s possible too. Scammers use bloggers to spread misinformation.
     @Anon is entitled to his opinion. He doesn’t trust us and that is fine. Plenty of others do. @Anon, I know this won’t be enough for you and I’m sure you will keep trying, but I think I’ve reached the end of wanting to answer your posts so I’m not going to bother again.
     Turning to OurSpace for a moment, it is interesting that some investors have received an email from Elwell Watchorn and Saxton, the administrators of OurSpace Investments Ltd, asking them if they would agree to extend their appointment. What is interesting is that none of the investors had been recognised as creditors of OIL up to now. This latest email is either an error on the part of EWS or it marks a shift in their position on who are creditors of the company. Almost a year ago Halliwell appeared to have successfully persuaded EWS that the creditors were the Malta companies, all of which were controlled by Halliwell. It will be interesting to see whether this latest email is an error or a re-assessment of the position. If investors are to be recognised as individual creditors it gives them much more of a say in accessing internal information on the OurSpace scam.

935. US Govt says cooperation of Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow continues
     By Maria Nikolova, FinanceFeeds, 8 November 2019
     Several months after the New York Southern District Court accepted the guilty plea of Renwick Haddow, widely known for his fraudulent Bitcoin schemes, the United States Government has submitted a brief letter at the Court.
     The Government says that the defendant’s cooperation continues. At the very least, he is scheduled to testify at trial in the case targeting his co-conspirator Savraj Gata-Aura next month.

936. US Govt updates on proceedings against co-conspirator of Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow
     By Maria Nikolova, FinanceFeeds, 18 November 2019
     The United States Government has provided an update on the proceedings against Savraj Gata-Aura, a co-conspirator of Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow.
     In a filing with the New York Southern District Court on November 19, 2019, the Government says that on November 18, 2019, the defendant pleaded guilty to Count One of the S1 Indictment, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349. Sentencing has been scheduled for March 18, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. before Judge Rakoff.

937. Bitcoin Store: UK Citizen and Fraudster Renwick Haddow Barred by SEC
     By JD Alois, Crowdfund Insider, 24 November 2019
     Renwick Haddow, a UK citizen who allegedly perpetrated multiple frauds, has received additional sanctions from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Haddow apparently also adopted the alias “Jonathan Black.”

938. Does anyone know what the additional sanctions are please, as sanction could mean aprove or punishment

939. It looks like a CONSENT JUDGEMENT has been entered in the case of Haddow. I looked up what this term means –

     “Unlike a default judgment, a consent judgment is something that a defendant agrees to, rather than something the court issues against the defendant. It differs from judgments handed down by a judge or rendered by a jury.

     A consent judgment is often used when someone has been sued for a debt but is unable to pay. He might agree to a consent judgment, in which a judgment is issued and he acknowledges the debt. In many cases, the defendant also agrees to a repayment plan or forbearance to pay at some point in the future.

     A consent judgment might also serve as a compromise or settlement between the two parties. For example, a creditor might agree to accept less than the full amount of the debt, provided the defendant abides by a payment plan and fully pays the settlement amount. The creditor and debtor write up the agreement, and the judge signs it.

     Consent judgment example
     If a creditor sues someone for an unpaid debt, such as a medical bill, the defendant can fight it in court and deny the claim. However, if he can’t or doesn’t want to deny the debt, he may agree to a settlement as a way of keeping court costs and legal fees down and halt further legal action.

     In this case, the creditor might agree to accept less than the total amount owed, such as 50 percent of the debt. If the defendant agrees to a consent judgment, he would admit to the debt owed and agree to the settlement amount with a payment plan. For example, he might pay a certain amount each month for three years until the agreed amount is paid and settled. ”

     From this, I get the impression that surely there has been an agreement take place between Haddow and the court which sets out exactly how much he’s going to pay back(if anything) and over what time scale(if ever) . This information must be recorded somewhere. Does anybody know where to look?

     It is so frustrating because all this information seems so hidden away. Surely we, as the victims of this bastard, should be able to easily find out what is going on in the court case against him.

     Can anyone who knows about the legal side of things help?

     We now have a sentencing date in the case against Savraj Gata Aura but apparently no sentencing date in the case against Haddow.

     Is there anybody in the world who knows exactly what has gone on in the Haddow trials (civil and criminal)? Is there any way for us Joe Publics to find out? Is he going to be forced to give us some money back? If so, how much and when? Is he going to prison? If so, for how long? Why is this stuff not easier to find out?

     Any help much appreciated.

940. @Marksie – apologies not responding sooner, I’ll be honest I completely forgot about this thread.

     Let’s get one thing straight, I’m definitely not a competitor of yours so un-rustle those jimmies. I pointed out red flags and rather than addressing them, you fly off the handle like you’ve been personally attacked.

     I provide support to UK citizens who are being targeted by investment scams with a primary aim at preventing further losses after they have came round to accept the fact they are scam victims.

     Time and time again, the biggest and far more sinister aspect of this kind of crime is the ‘recovery rooms’ who target individuals following their initial loss with claims of recovery being possible in exchange for an up front fee.

     I’m not accusing SOS of fitting within this category but I was pointing out aspects of how you do things that fit the bill of what recovery rooms do.

     The only places I see your name anywhere minus the dozens of sites set up by Safe or Scam LLC are on the gazette notices as you had pointed out. All those notices indicate are you filled in a form on behalf of someone else.

     Aside from fears that Agent47 might come knocking, is there another reason the company hides behind an anonymous LLC? If this was an investment company I’m sure you would quite rightly point out the massive risk someone is taking getting involved in a company where you don’t even know who runs it or who works for them.

     I suppose one reason you may want to stay hidden is you don’t have authority to operate as a claims management firm in the UK and at best, you would need to sub-contract that to another party who has the legal means to carry out this work.

     You can deflect my comments with insults once again or you can clearly articulate my genuine could concerns without throwing a tantrum?

941. @Jan Novak. Your questions are warranted and valid. I would also appreciate answers to these if anyone can provide input.

942. @James, since the beginning of this thread the amount of enlightening information Marksie has provided has been immeasurably helpful. Thanks to the input and guidance of SOS and Marksie, a group of us have come together with a legitimate law firm (where I have visited and met with our lawyer twice). They have given us hope and ideas and really, just knowledge to help us civilians understand the murky depths of the UK scam industry and how this horrible thing has happened and what we might do in response. All your posts seem to have the aim of is scaring people away from this rare find of knowledgeable people who are actually helping victims. Yes, the want to conceal their identities, which they have said is a red flag, but look at all the information Marksie has provided since the beginning of this thread – that is the foundation of people’s trust in him.

943. Hi James,
     As a victim of scams in UK, how can I get touch.

944. I have to agree, SOS are reputable. As a victim I can certainly vouch for them

945. @James,

     Your latest dig tries to make out that SOS is “just filling in forms on behalf of someone else”. The clients’ names and addresses are on those public Gazette Notices because they are the people who have been scammed and are making a claim against the scammers. You already said you’ve read the Notices so why haven’t you contacted our clients and asked them for their feedback ? That would answer your concerns. I’ll bet you every one will say they are very pleased they became our clients and that we have exceeded their expectations. You can just write and ask them.

     We have four more companies in court in January which is a record number for us. Three more Gazette Notices will be published in December so that’ll be three more SOS clients which @James, or in fact anyone, could contact to ask them about us.

     We take scammers on and we know how dangerous some of them can be, especially with a few million in their back pocket. None of them are Agent 47 but if @James thinks it’s risk-free we’ll be happy to put his name and address on the letters we send out.

     @James, check with our clients and then come back on here and eat humble pie.

     There’s not a lot I can say about the latest Haddow story. I think we just have to wait for further developments.

946. Court orders closure of SEC case against Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow
     By Maria Nikolova, FinanceFeeds, 6 December 2019
     The New York Southern District Court has issued an order closing the case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Renwick Haddow, known for orchestrating fraudulent schemes such as Bar Works and Bitcoin Store Inc. The relevant order was signed by Judge Lorna G. Schofield on December 5, 2019.

947. Two simple questions :-

     1.
     Does this mean that Haddow has not been ordered to repay any money?

     2.
     Does this mean Haddow has escaped a jail sentence?

     Please can anybody answer?

948. Can Marksie throw some light for us in layman’s word what this means for us who have been scammed?

949. Closing the case?? What does this mean, he admitted wire fraud

950. The order to close the case is dated 5 December 2019. The following day, the SEC wrote to the Judge, Lorna G. Schofield, asking her to re-open the case:

     Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) respectfully submits this letter to request that the Court re-open the above-referenced action because the Commission’s partial consent judgment against defendant Renwick Haddow (“Haddow”) (Docket No. 106) does not resolve the Commission’s claims for monetary relief against him.

     You can see the various court documents for this case here.

     There is another on-going case against Haddow – United States v. Haddow (1:19-cr-00340). You can see the court documents for that case here.

951. Is it me, or does this judgement essentially conclude by saying that Haddow isn’t allowed to break the law again?

     Is that completely ridiculous? Surely that goes without saying.

     What on earth is going on?

     You have admitted breaking the law and your punishment is that we tell you that you can’t break the law again.

     If I am misunderstanding this, please, somebody, anybody, help me get this right in my head.

952. evidently, as often happens in Italy, part of the confiscated loot will have served Haddow and his criminal family, to lighten the penalty considerably. that the FBI begins to give tasks to the competent orders to investigate also in Spain (Marbella-Malaga). I will come back to talk

953. The SEC Isn’t Done Yet, Files Documents To Reopen Bitcoin Scam Case; Seeking Monetary Relief
     By Nirmala Velupillai, BitcoinExchangeGuide, 9 December 2019
     The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to revisit the Renwick Haddow case, a Bitcoin-related fraud where investors were stripped of a combined amount of $37 million.
     According to news outlet, Cointelegraph, the SEC expressed their intentions in a letter sent to Judge Lorna G. Schofield, who has to give the approval needed to dig deeper into things.

954. Interesting that the above article talks about “a Bitcoin-related fraud where investors were stripped of a combined amount of $37 million”. We know that Bar Works took in $36m so it appears that they are linking the Bar Works scam to Haddow’s Bitcoin scam. I don’t think his Bitcoin scam was anywhere near $37m. I seem to remember it was around the $1m – $2m mark.
     This ties in with a rumour I heard a while ago. It’s just a rumour and I have no evidence for it at all, but a trusted person told me there are suspicions that some of the stolen Bar Works money may have been converted to Bitcoins and that is why this case is taking a long time and there are so many extensions. It would make sense because Haddow owned a Bitcoin dealing business so he was well placed to convert cash into Bitcoins.
     In the past three months I’ve come across other scams where the cash has been converted to Bitcoins. I’ve had conversations with professional Bitcoin dealers who have told me that they have to be on their guard against money laundering because once cash is converted into a digital currency like a Bitcoin it becomes totally untraceable. That’s why law enforcement agencies don’t like digital currencies.
     I don’t pretend to understand it but I think it works like bearer shares. With bearer shares whoever owns the share certificate is the lawful owner of the shares. With Bitcoins whoever knows the serial numbers owns the Bitcoins. It’s something like that. There is no register of owners.
     It’s possible the Bar Works money hasn’t been fully accounted for and the authorities may think Haddow has got some serial numbers hidden away somewhere.
     As for the court cancelling the case they do this sometimes. It could be something as minor as the SEC forgetting to submit something to the court by a certain date. I’d like to think that this is just a formality and the Judge will reinstate the case.

955. NY Court grants in part SEC’s motion to reopen case against Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow
     By Maria Nikolova, FinanceFeeds, 11 December 2019
     Judge Lorna G. Schofield of the New York Southern District Court has granted in part a motion by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reopen the case against Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow, known for running fraudulent schemes such as Bar Works and Bitcoin Store Inc.

956. beware of the latest scam sprung out of the Middle East!! Exactly where this started offering the same ridiculous returns phoenix precious metals. a quick google search of the company pulls up some rather interesting information about the owner Yacoub Sidya laundering money on behalf of alpha Conde the guinea president on a huge level

     https://www.dakaractu.com/SCANDALE-A-CONAKRY-Comment-20-millions-d-euros-de-la-Banque-Centrale-ont-ete-blanchis-à-Dubaï_a157479.html

     he has even done a great Job of getting Forbes Africa to launder his reputation in the below article, just look how well they have tried to hide the fact he was caught red handed laundering money, it would seem the entire setup is designed for nothing else but that, Dubai based gold “trader” African ” gold miner” ” foreign exchange house”

     https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2019/09/23/this-40-year-old-entrepreneur-built-a-50-million-security-firm-in-mauritania-now-hes-chasing-gold/#3ce49808422e

     seems this bloke has the perfect setup for it, he’s now offering investors an 18% ROI investing in physical gold from a mine in west Africa. 18% ROI….. on physical gold 😂😂😂😂 now that IS funny.

     currently being promoted by the TWENTY PERCENT crew…the PPM DISCOUNTED GOLD OFF-TAKE

     https://www.info-reichmanpartners.com

     phoenix precious metals DMCC tells outrageous lies in attempt to scam people

     1) they claim there investment is fully secured and inter-trust are their security agent, when i asked the agent to prove this I have never heard from them again.
     2) they claim that metalor ( http://www.metalor.com ) refine and provide all the gold that they are trying to “sell” metalor do not refine gold or work with Dubai based companies as per there own words on there own website. yet phoenix precious metals DMCC lies in all marketing material claiming they do.
     3) they claim to have 3,000 staff, yet operate from a serviced office in Jumeirah Lake towers in Dubai.
     4) they claim to have 670,000 OZ of proven gold reserves in their “mine: in guinea. where they also claim to have a 500 USD cost per OZ extraction price and a average grade of 1GT

     Guinea leverages a 30% corporate tax rate and 7% export charge on all gold, if they could take gold out the ground at that cost the whole world would be mining in guinea… I can confirm.. they are not…

     non of this can be factually correct or he wouldn’t have the likes of

     http://www.castleinvestmentgroup.co.uk

     https://www.reichmanpartners.com

     selling this wonderful gold purchase for a 20% commissioners cold calling folk like me!!!

     lots of people are getting cold called and marketed this product in the ~UK

957. US Govt says co-operation of Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow continues
     By Maria Nikolova, FinanceFeeds, 3 January 2020
     The United States Government has earlier today filed a Letter with the New York Southern District Court providing a brief update on the latest developments in the criminal proceedings targeting Renwick Haddow, known for operating fraudulent schemes such as Bar Works and Bitcoin Store Inc.

958. Quite a few of the people who invested in the Bar Works scam will know that I am involved in an organisation called Safe Or Scam which is itself involved in a group recovery action in the UK for Bar Works investors. We have quite a large group of investors who are seeking compensation from Central FX, the UK currency exchange company which it is alleged was complicit, through what we allege was negligent activity, in enabling the Bar Works ponzi scheme to gain traction and expand to the size that it did.

     In February 2018 we presented a few test claims to the UK regulatory authorities. This was prior to our involvement with the larger group and the UK solicitor who now represents them.

     In late December 2019 we were informed that a body within the UK regulatory authority had decided to uphold the claim of one investor. This was almost two years after the claim was submitted. The investor had invested $100,000 in Bar Works. This is obviously fantastic news for that investor and I am awaiting confirmation from the regulatory authority as to the reason(s) why this investor’s claim has been upheld.

     Every investor has a unique set of investment circumstances and it is possible that this investor met certain criteria that other investors do not. It is also possible that the main reason(s) the claim was upheld is something that can be applied to the rest of the group. At this stage we simply do not know. I have been advised that we will be informed of the reason(s) for the decision by the end of January. The decision will be published by the UK regulatory authority and will be available to the public. Central FX has been informed that the UK authority is going to find in favour of the investor. No doubt they will also be worried about the reasoning behind the decision.

     Whatever the reason(s) are, I am sure that all Bar Works investors will be very pleased for this lady. She is not a UK citizen but she used Central FX for her investment into the Bar Works scam. We have to hope that the decision is one that can be applied to every other member of the group.

     If it is not, I would like to remind investors that this claim was made a very long time ago and we have gathered a lot of supportive information since then. This judgement is very good news for a lot of the victims of Bar Works and Renwick Haddow and we hope it opens the door to compensation for a lot of investors.

959. Alexi, I was just Cold called by an agent of phoneix precious metals and Yacoub Sidya. the same claims you are making above we all mentioned. A quick google search bought me to this thread! And thank god!

     It appears you may be right, this Yacoub Sidya is being sued all over the world by the looks of it and seems he has found him self in some serious financial trouble, with his only way out being to sell rubbish to retail investors, he was sued and lost in June for 2.5m USD in the USA the link to the case is below.

     http://www.courts.state.va.us/courts/scv/orders_unpublished/180901.pdf

     People really need to be aware of this investment scam, it’s extremely well presented and they have gone to great lengths to fool people, and just tell outrageous lies. I would even go as far as to say they are using false audited accounts ( Dubai is very very well know for this)

     After doing my research I can confirm to anyone looking at this scam.

     Yes, Yacoub Sidya is a known money launderer to the stars and was caught in the act laundering 20m USD for alpha conde

     https://www.africaintelligence.com/lce/corridors-of-power/2018/09/05/exclusive-the-murky-currency-flows-at-the-central-bank,108322392-art

     https://mosaiqueguinee.com/urgent-saisie-de-77-kg-dor-a-siguiri-a-bord-dun-petit-avion-de-la-societe-phoenix/

     Metalor factually do not deal or refine gold for any UAE based company or business they confirm this in this article on there own website:

     http://www.metalor.com/en/node_59/News/Metalor-reconfirms-its-policy-on-Precious-Metals-from-Dubai

     If this Yacoub Sidya chap could give an 18% ROI on holding PHYSICAL gold. He wouldn’t have the likes of castle investments promoting it and would have sold everything he has to a central bank.

     They did have some fancy website which now seems to have disappeared? Hopefully the authorities over there shut them down already maybe someone should reach out to Forbes and ask them why they are happily laundering the reputation of a known criminal?

     Would be an idea to contact all the service providers they are lying about working with so they are aware of this.

     “If it sounds to good to be true, it’s usually is”

960. SEC updates on action targeting co-conspirator of Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow
     By Maria Nikolova, FinanceFeeds, 3 February 2020
     The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has earlier today filed a letter with the New York Southern District Court, providing an update on the action targeting Savraj Gata-Aura, a co-conspirator of Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow, and Core Agents Ltd.
     In the letter, seen by FinanceFeeds, the Commission says it takes no position as to whether the stay of the civil case should be lifted, whereas the defendants seek to have the stay continued. In any event, the Commission and the defendants have agreed in principle to bifurcated settlements, and the parties do not anticipate that discovery will be necessary.

961. are there any news on the Barworks case ?? Did Haddow die of coronavirus by any chance?

962. Good morning, it seems dead this blog in reference to this scam , the SEC seems to be still trying to put the sticks between the wheels to Haddow and his bad boys but I believe his only purpose now is to confiscate and appropriate any stocks , certainly I do not think he has the scoop to inform the con man and put him in a position to get back in possession of his money. I hope that the Nazareno will be able to offer a nice reward to the people who made this feat possible, since the Haddow stable also includes several Italian soldiers who, using their good faith, have snatched their clients. a greeting

963. Fighting the establishment is never easy nor quick, but if you keep battling away and you fight for investors you can win if you know what you are doing and you have prepared your case very, very well.

     Safe Or Scam has just won a battle for one Bar Works investor which has taken more than two years of our time and has massive benefits for our other investors. It means that investors in the Safe Or Scam group who invested more than $2m through Central FX are eligible for refunds from the company. Our lawyer will be writing to the group later this week and he will also be writing to Central FX to demand payment.

     There are many more in the group who did not pay their money to Central FX but who had a financial relationship because they were paid rentals through the company. For them the fight goes on, but we are very confident of achieving a result for them too. We are working through the judgement and in our opinion it is just a matter of time so, whilst it is difficult, we are asking those investors to be patient for a while longer.

     The SEC and FBI have attacked the Bar Works fraud from one angle. We have attacked the Bar Works fraud from a different angle. There is no question of criminal activity by Central FX, but they have been adjudged by the UK’s Financial Ombudsman Service to be guilty of serious financial breaches.

     The good news for all investors is that it does not reduce the Bar Works pot in any way. The money our investors will claim is additional to that which the SEC and FBI will confiscate.

     See https://safeorscam.net/sos-investor-wins-case-against-central-fx/ for more information.

     The Central FX case is not at an end because we regard our investor group as one and we are fighting for every one of them.

     It may take a long time but investors should be assured that we never, ever give up. That’s something scammers should remember because once we start an action against them we will see it through right to the very end.

964. When the agents have already fled with the commissions and the fact bar works kept paying rent to many of us for one year plus how will any court or SEC recover the full money from Haddow . Just getting a judgement has no making unless anyone received the money

965. UK Bitcoin Scammer Gets Bail In NYC Because Of Virus Risk
     Law360, 30 April 2020
     Fraudster Renwick Haddow will be released on bail from a New York City detention center pending his scheduled sentencing for offenses including duping investors in a $37 million bitcoin scam, a federal judge said Thursday, citing the danger the British citizen faces from coronavirus.
     Haddow, 51, was scheduled to be released Friday from a privately run detention facility in Queens on $400,000 bail. He will be subject to home confinement, according to strict bail conditions approved by U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain.
     Judge Swain said the release was granted “in light of the pandemic” and directed Haddow to be given detailed instructions on how to adhere to his bail conditions ahead of his scheduled July 10 sentencing.

966. Anyone got any updates for investors outside US and UK?

967. qua in Italia ormai ci siamo arresi , confidiamo nella giustizia divina con riferimento anche e sopratutto ai collaboratori o presunti tali

968. @fabio
     Grazie mille!
     I also believe in divine justice.
     It also very important that we learn from this mistake.

969. Hi guys,
     I received an email from US department of justice because i was identify as one of the victim of barworks scam… did any of you received it?
     Francesco

970. Francesco magari, forsei hai svolto un lavoro più accurato per cercare di recuperare i soldi, io pessimista di natura invece ormai mi affido esclusivamente alla divina provvidenza… quasi quasi mi ricompenserebbe di più

971. I also received the email from the US Department of Justice.

972. Be VERY careful guys about ALL correspondence you receive.

     Chances are the US Dept Justice emails are the start of an advance fee scam being worked on you.

     If in ANY doubt, either call the Dept of Justice on the telephone number from their website (NOT the one you’re given), or WRITE to the person who’s contacting you at their OFFICIAL office address.

     Also, look closely at the email addresses that are being used. Cross ref the @….. part against the emails of the dept of Justice. But even then they can be faked.

     But the number one give-away is if they ever ask you for money.

     This will be disguised as an official refunded deposit or a paperwork procedure fee and so on.

     Pay that and 2 things will happen, 1) you won’t get any money back, and 2) they’ll be a ‘problem’ and you’ll be asked to pay them more money to sort it out before they send you the big money. Pay that more money and 2 things will happen, 1) you won’t get any money back, and 2) there will be another ‘problem’ that’s easily sorted out, just pay them some more money and then the big money will be sent to you. But pay that 2nd fee and 2 things will happen, I think you get the picture.

     If in ANY doubt, please post further. We’ll all help you keep your money safe and will 100% NEVER ask you for ANY money.

973. Yes all genuine victims Should receive a letter

974. To Kerry,l’unica cosa che ho fatto è scrivere alla SEC in America e mandare i documenti del contratto Barworks.
     forse perchè sono ateo che non mi affido molto alla provvidenza :)

     To Tony, yes i have been careful, i checked the address and it seems legit , it is “[email protected]” they don’t ask for money, this is the mail i have received:

     Re: United States v. Defendant(s) Renwick Haddow
     Case Number 2018R00528 and Court Docket Number 19-CR-00340

     Dear Francesco xxxxxxx:

     This notice is provided by the United States Department of Justice Victim Notification System. I am contacting you because you were identified by law enforcement as a victim or potential victim during the investigation of the above criminal case.

     There is new information regarding the above referenced matter that can be viewed by accessing the VNS Web page at https://www.notify.usdoj.gov and registering with VNS. Registering with VNS provides the ability to access all notifications regarding this case, view any additional documents provided during the case as well as update your personal contact information. You will need the following information to register with VNS: (1) your VNS ID and PIN that was provided to you in the initial email you received from VNS. In addition, if you have received a letter from VNS, your ID and PIN are included in the letter; (2) Your last name or business name as listed in the VNS letter or email.

     If you want future email notices from VNS to contain the details regarding the case events, you can elect to “verify” your email address when you register by providing that information during the registration process. Verifying your email with the VNS will also allow you to be assured of receiving timely notifications regarding this matter.

     If you do not want to register with VNS, but you want to receive VNS email notices that contain the details about recent events, you should verify your email address by selecting this link to VNS. You will need to provide the following information to verify your email address: VNS ID, your last name or business name, and your email address (you must enter the same email address used for this message). Please understand that if you elect to verify your email address without registering with VNS, you will not have access to the VNS Web site.

     If you need assistance with this process, please contact the VNS Help Desk at (866) 625-1631.

975. I received 2 email is already from the US Department of justice.

976. Francesco sarcasmo a parte anch’io ho ovviamente inviato e fornito alla SEC tutto quello che occorreva, ho querelato personalmente i promoter tutti italiani che mi hanno proposto l’investimenti, che tra l’altro erano quasi amici per noi ma il tribunale ha risposto che avrebbero abbandonato il caso per insussistenza di prove, non mi resta che aspettare una risposta dalla SEC quindi, almeno che non adottino pesi e misure diverse a seconda delle circostanze, oppure che i cari soggetti che si spacciano per professionisti del settore non si frughino e decidano di ridarmi i sodi …. chissà

977. Yes, those emails look genuine, go for it.

     But at the same time be on the lookout for scammers contacting you offering help, for an advanced fee of course…

978. Ciao Kerry, a me i “promoter” italiani hanno ridato infietro i soldi delle spese che avevo pagato a loro per i documenti vari dell investimento, circa 2000€ ma ovviamente non i soldi dell investimento intero.

979. Hi Chris . Are also following 2 other scams ; Our Space by Kevan Halliwell and Signature Living by Lawrence Kenwritgh ?

980. Hi again,
     i received yesterday a new e-mail from SEC that asked me to send them the proof of my investment with barworks, the papers and anything that might help in case of money restitution. So it seems that they are still working on it fortunately.

     Francesco

981. Glad to hear that SEC is at least contacting you, i’m just wondering if they are going to contact some of us too. I have checked my inbox and spambox but i haven’t seen any mail from SEC on my loss to barworks yet i logded all my complaints on their website way back.

982. Since now i have been contacted bu US Victim Notification System, and from the SEC. I did my complain on SEC website also back in 2017.

983. Haddow’s sentencing (due 22 January 2021) has just been delayed again for three months. You can see the court documents here.

984. Hi all, I have asked before but can anyone who had dealings with either a character called James Brown(e) or his bogus companies Pan Global Property Consultants aka Pan Pacific Alternatives, or more recently JMB Capital or Hellenic Pharma UK please message me ASAP – I had some previous responses before he forced me to remove my post…..many thanks in advance

985. any update ???????

986. @harman sachdeva – 22 April 2021 was a control date – i.e. three months after the sentencing was delayed (for three months) on 22 January 2021. (See my comment on 22 January 2021)

     On 6 April 2021, the US Attorney wrote to the judge asking for a further delay of six months.

     You can see the court documents here.

987. what has happened to Haddow? He was due to be sentenced on the 22nd April
     Are thr SEC returning any funds to investors?

988. @shahid a – The court documents are available here. The most recent letter (22 March 2022) states that Haddow’s “active cooperation with the Government continues, and is expected to continue for the next six months”. The judge adjourned the next control date for sentencing to 7 October 2022.

989. Any news here ?

990. We have to wait until october 2022 I suppose ….

991. @Kerry – There are no new court documents since 22 March 2022, so, yes we have to wait until October 2022. (I’ve corrected the typo on the date in my previous comment – the next control date for sentencing is 7 October 2022, not 2020.)

992. Dear all, have any updates about Barworks?

993. Is there any information for harmed investors? Has SEC recovered any funds and are they going to be shared to the harmed investors?