Crushing blow!

INSTEAD of the Christmas gift he had prematurely promised Cash Plus investors last year, liquidator Hugh Wildman will have to pay legal costs to a Dubai bank he believed was holding US$25 million, allegedly stashed there by Carlos Hill.

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court has ruled that the bank, Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd, does not have the Cash Plus money, and lifted a freezing and disclosure order that Wildman had obtained ex parte in September last year.

It was a crushing blow for a gritty lawyer who is unaccustomed to losing his legal battles. But moreso because Wildman was so confident he could bring a smile to the thousands of Jamaicans badly burnt when the pyramid scheme operated by Hill crashed after five years, taking billions of dollars of investment with it.

Wildman, his face a mask of pain and clearly stung by the ruling, vowed to continue his worldwide search for the funds, telling the Sunday Observer in an interview: "Notwithstanding the ruling in Dubai, we are still pursuing a course which we believe will shed light on the existence of accounts by Carlos Hill and the Hill Group abroad."

To the over 40,000 Jamaicans who pumped an estimated J$15 billion into the scheme, Cash Plus was an irresistible dream, offering interest rates upwards of 10 per cent per month on a minimum of J$100,000.

Many people, arguing that the paltry interest rates paid by the traditional financial entities had hardly made a difference in the quality of their lives, threw caution to the wind. They reportedly sold homes and cars, took out large loans or plunged their life's savings into the scheme, believing that Hill and his brother Bertram were financial prophets, of sorts.

The tacit support of many churches and other faith-based institutions encouraged many to dive in, some feet first. Not even a detailed exposé on Carlos Hill, who did jail time in the United States for questionable financial dealings, could dissuade the depositors. With each passing week, Cash Plus grew and people were begging Hill to take their money.

But faced with stubborn questions about the sustainability of the scheme, Hill began to invest some of the money into real estate and public relations projects, such as the funding of the island's National Premier League football competition.

Then, in 2008, the naysers were finally able to say 'I told you so'. The bottom fell out of the pyramid scheme. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) issued a warning that unregistered financial organisations, including Cash Plus, were unsound. Banks, in particular the National Commercial Bank, holding Cash Plus accounts, took legal action to close them out to reduce their exposure.

Some Cash Plus depositors held on until the bitter end, accusing NCB of trying to sabotage the scheme for selfish purposes. But the message finally came home when Cash Plus stopped issuing the monthly interest cheques that had, admittedly, changed many lives forever. After futile weeks of standing in line outside the Cash Plus offices, the crowds went home, to lick their wounds.

Unleashing Wildman

The dream of becoming rich in their lifetime, for some now turned to recovering at least a portion of the money dumped into Cash Plus. One year ago this February, the Government, through the Public Service Commission, appointed Hugh Wildman, a lawyer with a record of toughness and a thick hide, to be Trustee in Bankruptcy and Liquidator of Cash Plus Limited, as well as Receiver of Cash Plus subsidiaries and affiliates.

Wildman was told to hunt down Cash Plus money anywhere it was in the world and to sell the properties held, in order to return the proceeds to investors, with priority to go to those who had not received any money at all during the time they invested with Hill and his cohorts.

Hill has maintained in court hearings that he has none of the money. But the Trustee is unimpressed.

"We believe that he has substantial sums in accounts abroad," he countered in the Supreme Court, and repeats in the Sunday Observer interview. "We maintain that it is in Mr Hill's interest to co-operate and bring back the funds identified so we can pay back the depositors."

Wildman said he had successfully made several applications to the Supreme Court to get properties that Hill had registered in the name of the Hill group. These include:

* Drax Hall property -- valued at US$8 million

* Jacks Hill property (joint venture) -- valued at $100 million

* Armour Heights house -- valued at $40 million

* Norbrook townhouse -- valued at $35 million

* Cherry Gardens townhouse -- valued at $24.5 million

* Waterworks apartment -- valued at $16.5 million

There are several other properties -- including those at Trinidad Terrace, Marcus Garvey Drive in Kingston, Drax Hall in St Ann and Mandeville, Manchester -- for which the Trustee has filed applications. Some, he said, were in Hill's name.

"We are actively selling off the properties for which we have go-ahead. Our search extends well beyond Jamaica," said Wildman, not wanting to give too much away at this stage.

He said that, so far, the Supreme Court had maintained the worldwide freeze and disclosure order he obtained in September, despite Hill's attempts to get it lifted last December.

The overseas search led to affluent Dubai in the Middle East. Hill felt a sense of triumph when he received information from one Ali Saed, who claimed to be a former employee of the Julius Baer (Middle East) bank.

Saed alleged that Carlos Hill had accounts in the bank. But all was not well.

The Trustee paid Saed's airfare from Canada to Dubai to assist in the case, and obtained a Mareva Injunction that was served on the bank, seeking disclosure of the accounts and a freeze on them.

Eager to bring good news to hurting investors, Hillman called a press conference and promised to give them a Christmas gift, if Hill co-operated and returned the money he allegedly stashed abroad. He estimated that the funds were anywhere between US$14 million and US$25 million.

But Wildman had spoken too soon. Once in Dubai, Saed disappeared into thin air, prompting the Jamaican trustee to conclude that the man might have just wanted a ticket from Canada to Dubai. Without him, the case fell apart.

"The information we put out to the public was not put out irresponsibly," he said in response to queries by the Sunday Observer. "It was timely at the time, when the papers were served."

Moreover, it was conditional on Hill's co-operation in bringing back the funds identified. Wildman said that would have shortened the process and allowed the Christmas payout.

Instead, Wildman found that it was he who had to pay legal costs to the Dubai bank which had taken its case to the DIFC Court, to get the freeze lifted. Justice Sir Anthony Colman found that "on the whole of the evidence in this case there was a failure to satisfy the standard proof that Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd held bank deposits or assets or information as to the property of or relating to Cash Plus to justify the granting of the disclosure order".

Justice Colman also ordered that "Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd will cease to be a party to the proceedings" and that the Trustee would "take all reasonable steps to procure that this brief synopsis of the judgement is published in the Jamaica Observer".

Wildman felt as if he had been kicked in the gut. But he vowed to fight on.

"We believe that he (Hill) has substantial sums in accounts abroad," he insisted. "If he brings back the funds, we would facilitate an immediate payment to the people and I would waive all commission rights that the Trustee would be entitled to. Every cent would go to the depositors. We are awaiting his co-operation."

Last week, Wildman posted notices in the national newspapers inviting Cash Plus depositors to register their claims with him.

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