Case No. DTA-8-2012

is Terence Adams’s uncle. Brian Higgins may have loaned money to his wife, if so, he would have done it for Terence Adams but he did not give it to him. He did not know if the loan had been repaid. Terence Adams was aware that Sue Evans, the wife of his cousin, had paid £10,000 for furniture from Fallowfield. As to a second loan of £10,000 he was unaware of it, As it represented more debt Terence Adams had thought his wife had kept it away from him. He was also unaware of a £20,000 loan to his wife from an unnamed friend. When he speaks to his wife about money there are rows because he has no money and it is frustrating. The constant topic is the amount of debt which is owed which causes no end of arguments. As to the fact that the debt represented by the various loans was in excess of £100,000 Terence Adams said that he was unaware his wife was in that much debt. Moshe Tobi 23.A witness statement was obtained from Moshe Tobi. Mr Tobi is a manufacturing jeweller and a director of Universal Imports. The company, based in Hatton Garden, primarily specialises in producing bespoke designs for individual customers. Mr Tobi confirmed the employment of Terence Adams who had approached him in August 2010 with an offer of producing expensive jewellery. Terence Adams would be the designer, the company would be the manufacturer. It was agreed that Terence Adams would begin working in September at a salary of £25,000 a year. It was a gentleman’s agreement, not a formal contract. Mr Tobi stated “there was no stipulation about hours he must work in the office. I was only interested in the designs he produced. Terence Adams’s role was to furnish me with ideas and designs”. Exhibited to the statement were pages of designs created by Terence Adams. In March 2011 Mr Adams’s wage was reduced to £18,000 because of poor business. In July 2011 because of a decline in the jewellery trade and the economic situation he terminated Terence Adams’s employment. Mr Tobi produced the P45 and related documents to evidence the employment of Terence Adams. Ruth Adams 24.Ruth Adams, the wife of Terence Adams, made witness statements dated 28 August 2013 and 20 December 2013. In the first statement she detailed the efforts made to realise assets in order to pay the Compensation Order. As her husband was in custody it was Mrs Adams who completed and submitted the financial report in order to comply with the requirements of the FRO. Prior to the sale of Fallowfield in May 2009 Ruth Adams needed money to live. She sold personal items. She received loans from her husband’s uncle, Brian Higgins, in the sums of £30,000 and £10,000 in order to help with refurbishing Fallowfield and legal expenses. She has since repaid the £30,000 loan. Her brother Carmel Tonna also lent her £4000. Ruth Adams would receive cash from friends and family as presents at Christmas, Easter and birthday, as a result she saved between £10,000 and £15,000. On completion of the sale of Fallowfield Ruth Adams received £234,166.21 which was paid into her Co-Operative Privilege Savings Account. In her first witness statement Ruth Adams stated that save for the period when her husband was employed by Universal Imports Limited she had been living off the funds released to her from the sale of the matrimonial home, on various loans and a period of employment in 2006/2007 when she worked at the Emirates Stadium, she has also done some acting.25.Following the sale of Fallowfield Ruth Adams moved into a property rented by a childhood friend Ian Haart as he did not require the accommodation. Mr Haart was willing to pay the monthly rental of £1750 because of his friendship with her and having witnessed her personal difficulties. Ruth Adams confirmed her husband’s unhappiness with the arrangement and its termination following his release from prison. On the sale of Fallowfield, Sue Evans, her husband’s cousin’s wife, paid £10,000 in cash for furniture from the house. A subsequent loan of £10,000 from Sue Evans has not been repaid. In June 2012 Ruth Adams’s mother Josephine Tonna, lent £3000 for living expenses, the money has not been repaid. A loan of £20,000 from an unidentified person was made in May 2014. Mrs Adams did not wish to name the lender because she had not received permission to do so. 26. In her second witness statement and oral evidence Ruth Adams dealt with matters raised by the NCA including credits and debits in her bank account and income from employment and her companies. Since June 2010 Ruth Adams has earned between £8000-£9000. When her husband was working for Universal Imports Limited he would give her an allowance and pay the rent. By January 2012 Ruth Adams had spent the entirety of the proceeds of the sale of Fallowfield save for an amount outstanding which comprised a loan of £60,000 to Broking Limited. The loan has now been repaid to her. 27. Ruth Adams received £16,630 for work as an interior decorator. She provided design work on five houses in Perthshire for Dale Golder. Some years ago Ruth Adams had done an online course which she did not complete but she has an eye for colour and design. Dale Golder’s wife is a friend of many years standing. Ruth Adams asked Dale Golder for work as she knew he was carrying out restoration of the houses. She did not present a portfolio or references to him, it was unnecessary as Dale Golder had seen her house and he liked the way it was decorated. They did not discuss how much she would charge for the work. Dale Golder came to a decision as to what he would pay and she agreed it. Dale Golder sourced the fixtures and fittings and Ruth Adams chose them. She went to Scotland on three occasions to oversee the work. Terence Adams was not involved in the business. The monies were paid in October 2012 and April 2013 on completion of the work. A document entitled “Invoice” was supplied by Ruth Adams to Dale Golder following payment. 28.Stara Stara Limited is a jewellery business which was incorporated as a limited company in January 2013. Prior to that it was known as Stara Stara, Ruth Adams was the sole owner. The company has never traded. In February/March 2013, together with her daughter, Ruth Adams visited China to source material for the company. She spent between £4000 and £5000 on the trip. Ruth Adams said that she came out of Stara Stara because her husband was unable to find work and she was encouraging him to design for her. 29.Ruth Adams is CEO of N1 Angel Limited an online clothing company registered in her sole name. Her husband has always designed jewellery and has always been interested in designing clothes. As he could not find any work in jewellery design and was suffering from depression, Ruth Adams encouraged him to design clothes for her first collection. The company has made no real money. Dale Golder has bought four to six jumpers. The products are manufactured by Sterling Wholesale Limited which is owned by Michael Ellis. Sterling were late in producing the first collection of clothes, as a result a photo shoot could not be done, this delayed the production of the website which caused difficulty in selling of clothes. The company owed Sterling £80,000, now reduced to £52,000 by Sterling who acknowledge responsibility for late delivery. Terence Adams has no shares in the company, he is not a director. He is, however, prominently displayed on the press page as the designer of clothes for the company. 30.On 28 May 2013 Dale Golder transferred £35,000 to Ruth Adams. This is a loan to assist in the development of N1 Angel. £25,000 was invested in the company, £10,000 was used, with the knowledge of Mr Golder, for living expenses. Ruth Adams provided no documentation, business plan, designs, drawings or written projections as to how the company would make money to Dale Golder. She believed that he thought investing would be a good idea, he could see that Terence Adams dresses well. The written agreement drafted by the solicitor documenting the loan was not drawn up until some two months after the loan was made. It was put to her that the document was prepared three weeks after a directions hearing before Nicol J which required evidence from Mrs Adams and her husband by 8 August 2013. It was suggested that this document was produced so that there was “evidence” to explain the transfer of £35,000. She denied the suggestion. Asked if she was aware of the connection between Michael Ellis of Sterling Wholesale Limited and Dale Golder, Ruth Adams said that as a result of a conversation she had with Dale Golder, she realised that he must know Michael Ellis which is why she went to Sterling Wholesale Ltd.Expenditure31.Ruth Adams produced two schedules: the first detailed her comments on the debits and credits in her Co-operative current account for the period 14 September 2010 to 17 September 2013; the second provided comments on credits in her bank account between 26 April 2007 to 17 September 2013. The first schedule detailed expenditure, said by the Crown to average £97,000 a year, a figure disputed by Ruth Adams. Expenditure for which Mrs Adams accepted responsibility and upon which she was cross examined included:•The Grove Spa, £3,850 (£3640 in cash) June 2010. This was a birthday present for Terence Adams upon his release from prison. Asked why a large element of it was in cash Mrs Adams said at the time she had some cash.•Dental treatment £12,044 (£11,756 in cash). Asked why there was a substantial payment in cash Ruth Adams said the monies were paid over a period of time.•Purchase of her husband’s watch at auction £2700 (£1000 in cash) March 2010. Mrs Adams said this watch had been bought for her husband by his mother for his 40th birthday, she purchased it at auction for sentimental reasons. •Court House Clinic £2583 (£1068+in cash) payments made to a slimming clinic between July to September 2013. Ruth Adams said that a number of her friends had seen how much weight she had lost and asked if she would buy extra sachets for them which explained the cash payments.•Payments to A1 Self Storage Limited £5176+(£3250 in cash) for the period March 2011 to September 2013. There are no documents to substantiate payments to the company save for the entries in Ruth Adams’ bank account.32.Ruth Adams was questioned upon the high percentage of cash included in these payments, it being suggested that the reason for the cash was to minimise the appearance of lavish spending so that the bank account did not show how high the spending had been. She responded by saying that she had never hidden the fact that she had made these payments through her bank account. The evidence of Ruth Adams as to expenditure on restaurants and the Royal Opera House was at one with that of her husband. She believed she had paid the bill at Browns restaurant on no more than three occasions. As to trips to Italy in 2009 and New York in 2010 these were paid for by friends or family. Items purchased there were presents for members of the family.33. On 8 September 2011 Ruth Adams transferred £60,000 to Mark King, Broking Limited. They intended to go into business as partners in a cuff link company. No written contract exists, the agreement was oral. The company has never traded. As Mr King took so long to work upon a prototype Mrs Adams asked for a return of the money as it was needed for living expenses. At the date of the hearing all monies had been repaid by Mr King. At the time Ruth Adams transferred £60,000 to Mr King £90,000 remained of the proceeds of sale of Fallowfield, £30,000 remained after the investment. It was put to Ruth Adams that the rental monies paid by Ian Haart, the loan of £35,000 from Dale Golder, £10,000 from Brian Higgins, £10,000 from Susan Evans, £20,000 from an unnamed friend together with the £52,000 owed to Sterling Wholesalers Limited represented debts of £150,500. Asked how these were going to be repaid Mrs Adams said that she hoped that N1 Angel would be successful. Brian Higgins 34.Brian Higgins is married to the sister of Terence Adams’s mother. He is Managing Director of a catering company. In his witness statement he says “I was aware that as a consequence of Court proceedings the bank accounts of Terence Adams and Ruth Adams had been frozen. When I was able to assist them by loaning Ruth Adams £30,000 I was happy to do so. I declined Ruth Adams’ offer to pay interest on the loan”. The loan was paid through Garstangs Solicitors on 9 January 2008. It was repaid through the same solicitors on 30 May 2008. In his witness statements he states: “I made a further loan of £10,000 to Ruth Adams again interest free which is still to be paid back. I will be able to supply details of the account which the funds were drawn from and the date of loan if required”. In his oral evidence Mr Higgins said he thought the £10,000 loan was made in 2012 but it could have been earlier. He knew the purpose of the first loan. He was not sure if the second loan was for decoration or legal fees. Mr Higgins said he took Ruth Adams’s word that he would get the money back, that was good enough for him. Mr Higgins was told that it was best to keep it away from Terence, he did his business with Ruth, he did not discuss the matter with Terence. As he has a successful catering business £10,000 did not bother Mr Higgins. Dale Golder35.Dale Golder made two witness statements dated 22 August 2013 and 10 December 2013. In the first short witness statement Dale Golder confirmed that he had paid Ruth Adams £16,630 for design work that he had commissioned her to undertake in 2012 and confirmed a loan to her of £35,000 in 2013. Ruth Adams is one of his wife’s closest friends, he has known her for about seven years. To his first statement he exhibited his bank statement which showed a debit of £35,000 to his account on 28 May 2013. It was his understanding that the funds were to be invested in Ruth Adams’s clothing company N 1 Angel Limited. Also exhibited was the agreement drawn up by his solicitors between Dale Golder and Ruth Adams detailing the loan which was signed by Dale Golder on 1 August 2013.In the statement Dale Golder described himself thus: “I am self employed working in the field of building and renovation.” The evidence of Dale Golder as set out in his first statement was investigated by an officer of the NCA. As a result of information provided by the NCA following the investigation Dale Golder made a second witness statement. The essence of the information obtained by the NCA was that Mr Golder is a partner in a firm known as JTD Sports Cars. One of his associates in the firm was Timothy Eastgate who has since been convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine and a firearms offence and is serving a sentence of 23 years imprisonment. Many of the clients of the firm are known criminals; Darren Palmer, who is serving a sentence of imprisonment following a series of convictions for fraud; Paul Flisher, who is serving a sentence of 21 years imprisonment for similar offences to those of Timothy Eastgate. Jason Topsam is serving a sentence of 25 years for the same offence. The NCA also revealed that Dale Golder is currently on police bail regarding an investigation by the Devon and Cornwall constabulary in respect of money laundering. In his second witness statement Dale Golder stated that the company JTD Sports Cars is in his name. It was set up by him in or about 2007. He met Timothy Eastgate when he was carrying out cleaning work on his home, they became friends and Timothy Eastgate said he would like to become financially involved in the car business. He made a financial investment in 2007. The business of the company was to rent sports cars, it was successful until affected by the recession in mid 2008. In March 2009 Timothy Eastgate moved to Spain, on his return to the UK he was arrested in 2010. JTD Sports Cars continues to function as a small rental car business. It presently holds a Porsche 911 which is rented out to Michael Ellis of Sterling Wholesale for the forthcoming year. The rental took place in August 2013 shortly after Mr Golder had invested £35,000 in N1 Angel. Mr Golder said that he knew “Mickey” Ellis very well, he knew that Ruth Adams was working with his business. 36.Dale Golder met Jason Topsam who took an Aston Martin, a Bentley and a Shelby Mustang for rental. He paid for one month but has since not honoured payments. Paul Flisher rented cars over a period of two years from the company he is a childhood friend of Timothy Eastgate and was his partner in O2 Box. Dale Golder had never socialised with Paul Fisher. Darren Palmer rented cars from the company, and purchased many tickets from Timothy Eastgate at the O2. Dale Golder invested money in Darren Palmer’s business which has since been paid with interest. Dale Golder was aware of the criminal charges against him, he has lost all contact with Darren Palmer. Dale Golder emphasised the point that he has some 400 acquaintances who span a number of professions, only 1% are convicted criminals. Of the other persons identified by the NCA none of them are friends of Dale Golder he met them all through his car business. Dale Golder denied any involvement in any money laundering offences. 37.Dale Golder has worked hard all his life, he owns a company called Montana which has been trading for twenty years, he has always paid tax and VAT. The company employs five sub-contractors and they provide specialised cleaning services, tiling, high end decorating and landscaping. Dale Golder confirmed the evidence of Ruth Adams as to the nature and the extent of her involvement in his renovation project of five houses in 2012/2013. As to the invoice provided by Ruth Adams he said it is the same as anyone else provides in order to show what work has been done. As to N1 Angel and the agreement for the loan, Dale Golder instructed his solicitor to draw it up. He saw products provided by N1 Angel he liked the logo on the products and bought five or six jumpers which he subsequently sold to employees.