ZIMMERMAN v. AL JAZEERA AMERICA, LLC et al

Filing 1

COMPLAINT against All Defendants with Jury Demand ( Filing fee $ 400 receipt number 0090-4367715) filed by Ryan C Zimmerman. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit, # 2 Exhibit, # 3 Exhibit, # 4 Exhibit, # 5 Exhibit, # 6 Exhibit, # 7 Exhibit, # 8 Exhibit, # 9 Exhibit, # 10 Exhibit, # 11 Exhibit, # 12 Exhibit, # 13 Exhibit, # 14 Exhibit, # 15 Exhibit, # 16 Exhibit, # 17 Exhibit, # 18 Exhibit, # 19 Exhibit, # 20 Exhibit, # 21 Exhibit, # 22 Civil Cover Sheet, # 23 Summons, # 24 Summons, # 25 Summons)(Lerner, Scott)

EXHIBIT H

Britain's Got Talent star Liam Collins handed bankruptcy ban for duping investors in prop... Page 1 of 3

Money Home

Markets

Saving & banking

Investing

Bills

Cars

Holidays

Cards & loans

Pensions

Mortgages & home

Britain's Got Talent star handed 14-year
bankruptcy ban for duping investors out of
£874,000 in property scam
•
•
•

Experts

Buy-to-let

Login
Search

All Articles

Share prices

Liam James Collins and partner David Bone took £874,000 from investors
between January 2010 and April 2011
14-year bankruptcy restrictions disqualifies pair from being company
directors
The pair each owe creditors £4.5million

By EMMA GUNN
PUBLISHED: 07:20 EST, 3 September 2013 | UPDATED: 03:10 EST, 4 September 2013

7

View comments

A former TV talent show star has been banned from directing a company for 14 years for swindling
hopeful investors in a phantom multi-million pound property scheme.
Liam James Collins gained national fame as a semi-finalist on Britain's Got Talent in 2009 as part of
the dance duo ‘Faces of Disco’ - the 34-year-old and his cousin and business partner David Bone
amassed £874,000 from unsuspecting members of the public.
Investors were promised returns as high as 10 per cent on their investment in the 'Collins and Bone'
property scheme, which purported to make money out of buying and renovating houses to rent to
students.

DON'T MISS
'Forget buy-to-let, it's
too expensive - and
hard work':
Ian Gorham, Hargreaves
Lansdown boss, with a
not-so-happy Xmas
message for would-be
landlords.
The energy efficiency
measures you can get
FOR FREE and how to
get hold of them

Revealed: Britain's
biggest house price
riser this year
Newham proeprty up by
more than double the
average annual salary.

The airport drop-off is
now costing drivers
£2.50... per minute!
Families suffer as major
airports cash in on 'kiss
and drop' services.

Faces of Disco: Liam James Collins (left) with his dance partner Richard Edmonds (right), who was not
involved in the failed business, on Britain's Got Talent in 2009.

The business partners and aspiring dancers launched the scheme early in 2009 but investigators
looked into the case after they declared bankruptcy in May 2012, with debts amounting to
£4.5million each.
It was found that in the 15 months leading up to April 2011, the pair had amassed nearly £900,000
worth of investors' money - and even took 187,500 after being warned not to do so in November
2010 by the Financial Conduct Authority.
At the time, the pair were said to already to owe £3million to creditors after another similar business
of theirs had failed.
More...

• You've got to be kitten! Kerry Katona declared bankrupt for SECOND time in five years and dropped
as face of payday lender

• How to get out of debt: Your ten-step plan to getting your finances back under control
• What happens when you declare yourself bankrupt and what are the alternatives?
The business failed to invest the money as customers would have reasonably expected, and instead
the partners used it to pay their business expenses, according to The Insolvency Service.
Ken Beasley of the Insolvency Service’s Public Interest Unit said: ‘At a time when they were already
heavily indebted Collins and Bone took substantial sums of money from members of the public with
the promise of high returns on property investments with no reasonable expectation that they would
ever be able to meet the repayments promised to investors.'
Collins and Bone were given bankruptcy restrictions in May 2012 for 12 months automatically.

Plans unveiled to stop
fraudulent
compensation claims
for minor injuries in car
crashes
End of whiplash insurance
farce?
Bond villain prototype
Jaguar that featured in
007 movie Spectre
rumoured to be going
into production
And UK carmaker
prepares to launch first
electric vehicles.
Journalists take stock
of the highs and lows
of their own money
decisions
Mail on Sunday's
Personal Finance team
reveal all...
Big banks to offer feefree 'no frills' current
accounts from Jan 1
- but savers must beware
as deposit protection cut
then too.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/celebritymoney/article-2409740/Britains-Got-Tale...

12/30/2015

Britain's Got Talent star Liam Collins handed bankruptcy ban for duping investors in prop... Page 2 of 3

However, once The Insolvency Service looked into the case and found the pair had been misleading
investors, the 12 months was extended to 14 years, a hefty penalty considering the maximum length
is 15 years.

HOW TWO INVESTORS GOT BURNED
Sally George (58) and her daughter Jasmine (33) from Machynlleth in Wales, both had the
misfortune of being lured in by the scam.
Sally invested £5,000, and Jasmine £10,000 back in April 2010, after they found the scheme on
the internet.

Vodafone's Christmas
turkey: Following our
'Vodapest' exclusive the
floodgates opened with
your tales of despair at
the operator
Revealed: Six incomefriendly investment
trusts
Finding dividend growth in
2016

Sally explains what happened to her:
'I invested £5,000 back in April 2010, after Jasmine found the investment on the internet
advertising high returns.
'Mr Collins assured us that the money was being used by a successful property enterprise for
buying, renovating and renting out student properties and was guaranteed by 24 properties that
they owned.
'We received interest payments for a year and a half after we invested but in November 2011 we
were told that the company was insolvent and that the houses they owned were fully mortgaged
and in negative equity so they could not repay us.
'So, we started a blog (Collins and Bone Investors Blog) to see if anybody else out there was in the
same boat. We heard from over 40 people, many of whom have invested £50,000- £150,000, in
some cases their life-savings.
'Many investors were too shocked and depressed or even ill to do anything about it.
'It is good news that the pair can not do this to anybody else now, but we feel it is important that
proper account is taken of how much damage they did.
'What is required is a full forensic examination of what happened to the money given to them in
good faith.'

How did Midas do this
year?
The winners and losers
from our stock picks of
2015

'I was paid close to
£100k to appear on I'm
a celebrity - but was
worth twice that'
Edwina Currie on debt,
speaking for cash and
novel writing
Received an unwanted
gift card this
Christmas that you are
unlikely to use?
This website lets you flog
it instead...

Share or comment on this article

LATEST REPORTS FROM NEWS

Sponsored Links by Taboola

3 Ultra-High Paying Travel
Rewards Cards For Those With …

10 Best Credit Card Deals
NerdWallet

LendingTree

$0 credit card interest until 2017

Hospital Admins: Be Sure Your
Data is Accessible to Those
WorkIntelligent.ly by Ricoh

Wall Street Doesn’t Make it Easy This Investing Startup Does

Rapidly Scaling Up? 6 Ways Cloud
Communications Makes Sense f…

Business Insider | Motif Investing

NextAdvisor

ShoreTel

Ads
Free Trading Platform
w/Free Forex & Futures Data. + Simulator. Download Now!
ninjatrader.com/always-free

Chapter 7 Review (Free)
Wipe Out Debt, Keep What You Have. Get a Free Bankruptcy Evaluation.
www.chapter7.com

Economy About To Collapse
$5 Bill Proves Stock Market Is On The Verge Of A Collapse. See Proof!
www.thesovereigninvestor.com

Building firms facing severe shortage of skilled
workers as construction and trade
apprenticeships lose popularity
Whole Foods pays £340k to settle probe into its
overcharging described as 'the worst mislabelling
investigators had ever seen'
Anger as small businesses are excluded from
Government-backed insurance scheme set up
to protect people living on flood plains
Banks facing year of strife: Lenders will be
punished with billions of pounds worth of fines and
lawsuits in 2016, experts predict
The bargain hunter's paradise you've never
heard of: It's packed with Dysons, sofas and
iPhones all going for a song... so what's the
catch?
Fears for the 0% credit card bingers: With over £1.3
billion set to be switched from one card to another
in January, critics warn the deals could add to
Britain's debt crisis
After whiplash, PPI and bank charges... Hearing
loss cases are the next big payday for the
claims sharks
Just 32 days to pay your tax or face a £100 fine:
Self-employed have until January 31 after which an
extra £10 will be added daily
Customers of 24 more firms which have gone
bust could be set to receive compensation
Amazon goes head to head with under-pressure
supermarkets as it beefs up its UK groceries
delivery service
Brits get 4.8BILLION nuisance calls every year,
with those for industrial injury claims and oven
cleaning among areas on the rise
Families had average of £14 a month more
discretionary income to spend in November, but
that was less than 2015's average
China Telecom chief Chang Xiaobing is the
latest executive to be probed as part of the
country's anti-corruption drive
Insurers issue claims advice to people struck by
storm and flood disaster in northern England
MORE HEADLINES

MOST READ MONEY

●

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/celebritymoney/article-2409740/Britains-Got-Tale...

12/30/2015

Britain's Got Talent star Liam Collins handed bankruptcy ban for duping investors in prop... Page 3 of 3

The bargain
hunter's paradise

Will your home sell
in 2016? We round-

Small vehicles on a
small budget: The

Revealed: The
year's 10 biggest

The energy
efficiency

We'll make you a
pilot – or your

New Year
resolution that can

As Goldman Sachs
warns price of

Comments (7)
Share what you think
Newest

Oldest

Best rated

Worst rated

The comments below have been moderated in advance.
moi moi, south east, United Kingdom, 2 years ago

This is just out and out theft. They should do time
New Comment

Reply

Click to rate

148

1

Click to rate

92

3

André, Peckham, United Kingdom, 2 years ago

If it sounds too good to be true....
New Comment

Reply

pauly, london, United Kingdom, 2 years ago

Not a hefty penalty if you were scammed. Surely that is theft. I would be happy being bankrupt
with 4.5 mill waiting hidden.
New Comment

Reply

Click to rate

103

0

Dave, UK, 2 years ago

Its time to disband the FCA and all these other regulatory organisations. If people like these two
can a) get this scheme going and b) aren't in jail, regulation is just a waste of time.
New Comment

Reply

Click to rate

114

6

rob boberts, worcester., 2 years ago

If someone robs a bank of nearly a million quid they get jailed if caught. Why is this any
different?
New Comment

Reply

Click to rate

184

4

Click to rate

188

3

Click to rate

71

7

RB79, Newcastle, 2 years ago

They should have been jailed.
New Comment

Reply

chris, accrington, 2 years ago

if something sounds to good to be true.........
New Comment

Reply

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of
MailOnline.

Add your comment



Enter your comment


By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Clear

Submit Comment

MORE TOP STORIES
Money Markets

Saving & banking Investing Bills Cars Holidays Cards & loans Pensions Mortgages & home Experts Buy-to-let
Sitemap Archive Video Archive Topics Index Mobile Apps Screensaver RSS Text-based site Reader Prints Our Papers Top of page
Daily Mail Mail on Sunday This is Network This is Money
Metro Jobsite Mail Travel Zoopla.co.uk Prime Location

This is Money is part of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday & Metro media group
Contact us

How to complain

© Associated Newspapers Ltd
Advertise with us
Syndication
Terms

Privacy policy & cookies

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/celebritymoney/article-2409740/Britains-Got-Tale...

12/30/2015