On 7 June 2019, James Moore was found guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy for his role in the Bar Works investment scam. Moore was convicted after a one-week trial before the U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman.
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Moore was convicted of partnering with Renwick Haddow in soliciting investments in Bar Works. In doing so, he gave misleading and false information, including helping to hide the fact that Haddow was involved.
When he set up Bar Works, Haddow had been disqualified as a director in the UK for eight years. Haddow was also sued by the Financial Conduct Authority for his role in the Capital Alternatives network of scam companies.
Haddow’s extremely dubious record is documented in this post on REDD-Monitor:
Moore started his career as a sunbed and perfume salesman. In the early 1990s, Moore’s L’Arome company went bust owing £6.5million, after a lawsuit brought by Chanel.
He made his fortune from a company called Inside Track Seminars, registered in the UK in 2002.
The company specialised in buy-to-let investment. People paid £5,000 to take part in seminars about investing in property. Then they paid more to join a property club called Instant Access Properties. This was supposed to find them flats at bargain prices.
But the flats turned out to be overpriced. The rents did not cover the costs of paying the mortgages. Moore became rich, but investors lost their money.
Here’s Moore at one of the Inside Track seminars (from a BBC programme about Moore’s investment schemes):
Inside Track Seminars went into administration in April 2008, with debts of £11 million. Instant Access Properties went into administration in September 2008.
Moore blamed the global financial crisis for the collapse of his firms. Shortly afterwards, he set up another investment company, IAP Global. That company also ran seminars on property investments. IAP Global went into liquidation in 2010, owing £2 million.
Moore is currently serving an 18 month jail sentence in Florida for his involvement in a property investment fraud at the failed Grand Palisades resort west of Disney World. The 900 units in the resort sat empty from 2008 to 2016.
Moore worked with Paul Oxley, a developer in Kissimmee, Florida. Oxley illegally diverted the money to marketing and personal expenses. Then he declared himself bankrupt and fled the U.S. leaving US$238 million worth of debts. UK investors handed over about US$145 million as deposits via Instant Access Properties.
Moore claimed to know nothing about Oxley’s fraud until 2009, when Oxley tried to make him sign a letter saying that the expenses had to be repaid. Moore didn’t sign. But he also didn’t tell the authorities about Oxley’s fraud.
He pleaded guilty to misprision, which is the concealing of a felony.
“The Jonathan issue”
To hide his involvement in Bar Works, Haddow created “Jonathan Black”. He borrowed a photograph from someone called Frank Knight to create a LinkedIn page for Black. And he claimed that Black’s experience included, “finance director/financial controller of two chains of Bars in the UK (Regent Inns PLC – market value US$400m)”
Moore and Haddow recruited agents to sell investments in Bar Works. They did not tell the agents about Haddow’s involvement.
For example, according to the Legal Complaint against James Moore, in February 2016, Moore sent an email to a potential agent aiming to persuade the agent to sell investments in Bar Works.
In the email, Moore described Black as, “the primary originator of barworks prior to us becoming involved (at the formation stage) with this small and tight team who were previously responsible for successful rollout of walkabout bars in uk.”
In March 2016, the agent wrote back to Moore asking for a meeting with Jonathan Black in New York. Moore forwarded the agent’s email to Haddow, with the comment, “How do we feel we can overcome the Jonathan issue … ?? ‘He’s on honeymoon … !?!?'”
Haddow replied that the agent could meet his wife and another Bar Works sales agent, who will “keep them occupied”.
Moore replied,
Ok. Would be great to find a way to get you involved but equally understand your reticence[.] We will need a story as to why Jonathon [sic] isn’t there.
Moore and Haddow
In August 2016, Moore was interviewed by staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission. During that interview, Moore said that he first met Haddow in 2010 or 2011. Moore later learned about Haddow’s Capital Alternatives investment scam.
In mid-2015, Moore suggested that Haddow’s network of companies could sell Moore’s property based investments. By this time though, the Capital Alternatives scam was unravelling.
Later in 2015, Haddow suggested that Moore could join him in the Bar Works scam. Moore brought in his own company (referred to as Agent Company-1 in the Legal Complaint).
On 21 September 2015, Moore sent an email to the Agent Company-1’s chief operating officer:
Can we make a plan to get some marketing started for this ASAP? I think with the incredible materials they have … we can answer any and all questions anyone may have. All we need now is … Wait for it … Leads!”
Agent Company-1’s chief operating officer asked for specific documentation and raised a concern about the need for “some sort of track record from the developer [Bar Works] of what they have done previously.”
Moore forwarded the email to Haddow, who replied, “Bullshit. They need to overcome this one. It won’t even be an issue.”
According to the Legal Complaint,
MOORE understood from Haddow that the master agent would be paid a total of 30% of the investments brought in by agents underneath that master agent, and that MOORE would be paid an additional significant commission on the balance of the remaining money.
Haddow did not pay Moore as much as he believed he was owed and by August 2016, Haddow and Moore had fallen out. In total, Moore and his wife received more than US$1.4 million from Bar Works bank accounts controlled by Haddow.
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!
Dozens more comments featuring Moore followed.
On 15 June 2017, Moore sent the following email to REDD-Monitor. The comments that upset Moore are available here and here.
The emails show how comfortable Moore is with lying. “I am not in business with Renwick Haddow, nor have I ever been,” he wrote.
From: James B Moore Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2017 Subject: Without prejudice – Removal request. To: REDD-Monitor
Hello Chris
We’ve never met, but I always read your site.
Unfortunately it seems to have “lost its way” from its original remit and become more of a ‘scam alert central” – maybe that will serve a worthwhile purpose in itself.
I don’t want to resort to threats of lawyers at this stage but I DO need your help please.
Immediately.
I am very concerned by a pattern of posts on your site that I have noticed recently that target me personally, and defame me.
In short they are damaging and are untrue.
It’s important that you remove these posts immediately please.
I don’t need an apology at this stage, just responsible policing by you of your site when it comes to anything mentioning me.
Feel free to fact check with me for accuracy if you wish but I won’t allow defamation to go unchecked on an ongoing basis as i am sure you wouldn’t yourself.
Thanks in advance of your assistance – here goes:-
One such comment made on June 10th 2017 by “Marksie” states “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”
I also need the “true identity” of ‘marks” if you are able to provide it (although I suspect it is masked by a VPN etc)
The basis of my complaint is:-
1) The comments defame me as I am not a known crook – I have never been convicted of any criminal offense.
2) I do not, and have not ever, owned UPI.
3) “OurSpace was established by a known crook” – implies once again that I am a crook.
A second post, from “Scotty” on June 4th is as follows:-
“@ 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.”
Clear implication that I am involved with someone who has been banned as a director and has regulatory problems.
I am not in business with Renwick Haddow, nor have I ever been.
Please let me know when you have removed the offending material. Hopefully you will be able to be more pro active if defamatory posts about me are made on your site in future.
Thank you
Jim Moore
Nine days later, Moore sent another email, with a copy of his previous email cut and pasted at the end:
From: James B Moore Date: Sat, 25 Jun 2017 Subject: Defamatory material – 2nd request for removal To: Chris Lang
Hi Chris
I emailed you on June 15th regarding a defamatory posting on your “Redd Monitor” website.
I would appreciate if you would now either comply with my request for removal as the post clearly breeches both the spirit and word of your own published terms of service.
The post is untrue, and it is defamatory and damaging to me. It also constitutes what I consider to be a “personal attack” – whoever “@Marksie” is, I should be allowed to pursue them personally and privately for defaming me in this way and as such ask that you reveal their true identity to me, as is the one made by “@Scotty” that I also refer to in my previous email.
I would appreciate prompt removal by you now please, along with confirmation when you have done so. Alternatively, please provide me with details of where my lawyers can serve proceedings on @Marksie, along with their true identity.
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