Firms involved in £2.4 million property investment scam are shut down

A group of companies involved in ‘substantial’ property investment scams has been wound up by the High Court and an official received appointed to liquidate the four firms involved.

These are Sentor Solutions Commercial Ltd, Fabcourt Developments Ltd, Sentor Solutions Advisory Ltd and Sentor Solutions Ltd, all of which are part of the Sentor group.

Sentor Solutions Advisory Ltd and Sentor Solutions Ltd recently changed their names and were trading as Hall Contracting Services Ltd and Clarkson Murphy Partners Ltd respectively.

Investors were lured in by promotional material (pictured, bottom) via Fabcourt, which claimed that Sentor Solutions Commercial and Clarkson Murphy Partners were the Security Trustee for the investment scheme, which promised fixed rate 8% return investment products known as ‘convertible loan notes’ with high monthly or quarterly interest rates for a duration of two to three years. Investors were asked for a minimum of £50,000.

Assets

The claims of returns and trustworthiness were false – and an investigation by The Mirror newspaper earlier this year found that many claims about Fabcourt on its website were made up, including fake names and stolen photographs provided as its ‘directors’ along with claims it had assets totalling £140m.

In March last year the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned that Fabcourt ‘may be providing financial services or products in the UK without our authorisation’.

Also, investors were not made aware that Fabcourt was the successor to Sampson Property Developments Ltd, previously known as Texmoore Limited, which had operated the same scam until it entered into compulsory liquidation on 23 March 2022 following a creditors petition.

£2.4 million

The two scams combined attracted some £2.4 million, and in both cases the companies told investors the loan notes involved were ‘government-backed and that the investments were covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, neither of which was true.

The Insolvency Service investigation into the companies established that the Sampson Property Developments and Fabcourt Developments schemes were part of an investment fraud collectively operated by the companies.

And having received funds from would-be investors in the Sampson Property Developments and Fabcourt Developments schemes, the companies made a handful of monthly interest payments to the investors before going silent, leaving many substantially out of pocket.

The properties set out in promotional materials were found to be owned by unrelated entities, and videos promoting the investment schemes had been cloned.

Culpable parties

Edna Okhiria, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, says: It is undeniably in the public interest for these companies to be prevented from continuing to trade, which will enable the Official Receiver to carry out further investigations into the activities of the Companies to establish the extent of its liabilities, the position as regards any assets, the whereabouts and conduct of the directors and any other culpable parties.

“These companies operated a fraudulent scheme whereby they mislead the public, falsely claiming that the Texmoore and Fabcourt investment schemes were regulated to provide the veneer that funds invested were protected when in fact they were not.

“These claims induced investors to invest substantial sums. The companies then failed to make more than a few monthly interest payments, leaving investors substantially out of pocket.

“The Insolvency Service, alongside our partner agencies, continues to investigate schemes such as these and to pursue enforcement against those responsible for facilitating them.”