Caribbean Fraudster Ordered to Pay Back Just £283,000 from £400 Million Scam
A conman behind a massive £400 million Caribbean property fraud that deceived thousands of investors, including television property expert Phil Spencer, has been ordered to repay a mere £283,000. Former double glazing salesman David Ames was sentenced to prison in 2022 for defrauding 8,000 victims in a scheme that was unwittingly endorsed by sporting legends such as ex-golfer Gary Player, former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash, and footballer Andy Townsend.
Judge's Scathing Assessment of Incompetent Fraud
Judge Christopher Hehir determined that although Ames generated nearly £400 million from the fraudulent operation, only £283,321.72 was recoverable, representing less than 0.1 percent of the total. In his ruling, Judge Hehir stated, 'While he was a thoroughly dishonest steward of other peoples’ money, David Ames was also an incompetent one.' He further explained, 'While many millions of pounds of Harlequin investor money is missing, most of that has not gone into [his] pocket, or those of his family: it has simply been squandered and lost.'
The Harlequin operation was described by the judge as 'a gigantic Ponzi scheme, whereby investor monies were applied willy-nilly to whatever Ames himself wanted them spent on.' This reckless mismanagement led to extraordinary waste, including a million pounds spent on sand dumped on a rocky beach at Buccament Bay in St Lucia, which was subsequently washed away by the sea.
Bizarre and Costly Ventures Funded by Investor Money
Approximately half a million pounds was squandered on constructing a pirate galleon in Indonesia. The vessel sprang a leak, caught fire during transport to the resort, was stored in a warehouse, and was ultimately destroyed by a hurricane. Ames even attempted to launch his own airline, Harlequin Air, intended to ferry clients between islands, but this venture never materialised.
Property guru Phil Spencer appeared in promotional materials for the scheme and later revealed on the Heists, Scams and Lies podcast that he was deceived by Ames into investing his own money, suffering significant personal losses.
Limited Recovery from Tainted Gifts to Family
Judge Hehir noted that Ames had made tainted gifts to his family, including just under £400,000 to his wife Carole, £54,000 to his son Matthew, £516,000 to another son Dan, and almost £100,000 to his daughter Nicola Kelliher. However, he found that Carole Ames, who was declared bankrupt alongside her husband, has 'very limited means' and was unlikely to be 'sitting on concealed cash,' so her gifts were excluded from the confiscation order.
Daniel Ames, described as 'the least unimpressive member of the Ames family to give evidence,' no longer possessed the resources to repay the full sum of his tainted gifts, so only £40,000 was included. The judge also declined to include nearly £3 million used to purchase land in Thailand in 2006 and a missing £195,000 from the £400,000 sale of a Dubai property in 2013.
In his judgment, Judge Hehir wrote, 'I am in no doubt that (Ames) willfully squandered the money of Harlequin investors to buy land in Thailand, and I think he probably let that land slip from his grasp thereafter. That is sadly typical of the way he operated, leading to the enormous losses suffered.'
Prosecution's Argument and Victim Disappointment
Prosecutors had argued that more than £4 million could be recovered from Ames, which would have represented just one percent of the cash generated by the scheme. Issuing an order for just over £283,000, Judge Hehir acknowledged, 'I am acutely conscious that the available amount I have found is a yet tinier fraction of that. I appreciate that my findings will be scant consolation to David Ames’ many victims: indeed, they may well regard them as providing the very opposite of consolation.'
One investor, who lost over £50,000 to the scheme, expressed disbelief, stating, 'I cannot believe that is it. How could Ames and his family just spent it all? Many victims have received almost no compensation, and to hear that less than 0.1 percent of what they made from one of the biggest frauds in British history is being scraped back from Ames is simply mind boggling. I refuse to accept it.'
Podcast Revelations and Investigation Details
The Mail’s podcast series Heists, Scams and Lies exposed the shocking case, revealing for the first time that Phil Spencer lost a substantial amount of his own money to the fraud. The podcast also disclosed that the Ames family hired private investigators to surveil journalists who reported on the operation's collapse.
Described as a 'Walter Mitty character,' Ames sold unbuilt villas, apartments, and hotel developments in locations including St Vincent, Barbados, Brazil, St Lucia, and the Dominican Republic. Of the 8,200 properties sold to investors, fewer than 200 were ever constructed. Ames and his family extracted more than £6.2 million from the scheme.
During his trial, the thrice-bankrupt businessman denied fraud but offered no defence other than showing jurors a promotional video featuring the song 'Under the Sea' from the Disney film The Little Mermaid.
Paul Napper, Head of the Proceeds of Crime division at the Serious Fraud Office, which investigated Harlequin, commented, 'Ames took multiple steps to hide the profits of his audacious fraud – a crime funded by thousands of people’s life savings and pensions. Our specialist team uncovered his multiple assets, hidden across the globe, and today’s result is a first step in ensuring Ames does not profit from his crimes.'
