Ames, 73, was jailed in 2022 after defrauding more than 8,000 victims in a £400 million resort development scam that attracted backing from high profile names including Liverpool Football Club, golf legend Gary Player and former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash.
Phil Spencer, presenter of Channel 4’s Location, Location, Location, also revealed he was “completely misled” and lost a large sum of money on a project that “never materialised”.
Ames was brought from Onley prison in Northamptonshire, where he is serving a 12 year sentence, to attend a proceeds of crime hearing at Southwark Crown Court as prosecutors attempt to recover some of the stolen funds. He insisted he is penniless and bankrupt, but the court heard allegations that he secretly holds £2.8 million in property investments in Thailand and a further £196,995 in Dubai’s booming real estate market.
Ames, a former double glazing salesman, was already banned from serving as a company director following an earlier bankruptcy when he established Harlequin Management Services in 2005, operating from offices near his home in Basildon, Essex. His company marketed luxury villas, apartments and hotels in Brazil, Barbados, St Vincent, St Lucia and the Dominican Republic, using both internal sales teams and registered independent financial advisers.
A five year Serious Fraud Office investigation led to Ames being convicted of fraud by false misrepresentation involving £226 million in sales between 2010 and 2015.
Prosecutors are also seeking to recover “tainted gifts” allegedly given to his wife and children in addition to the salaries and dividends they received from Harlequin. Although they were not charged with offences, all have since been declared bankrupt.
The court heard that his wife, Carole, 74, under whose name Harlequin was formally registered, allegedly received nearly £400,000. Judge Christopher Hehir noted: “My impression from the evidence of Carole Ames is that she now appears to be a lady of limited means. Theoretically, if I find she was a recipient of tainted gifts, what assets does she now have?”
Ames’s elder son Matthew, 49, who prosecutors say received £53,889 in tainted gifts, previously earned £10,000 a week as Harlequin’s marketing director. He was jailed in 2014 for a £1.6 million ethical investment fraud that operated out of Harlequin’s Essex premises and was promoted using figures such as James Middleton, brother of the Princess of Wales, and World Cup winner Jack Charlton.
After leaving prison, Matthew returned to work for his father.
His brother Daniel, 48, who also worked for the company, allegedly received overpayments totalling £513,276. Judge Hehir requested further details on Harlequin’s role in the purchase of Daniel’s £1 million family home and on how the proceeds from the property were used. The judge also commented: “I was very struck by how much Daniel resembles his father.”
Their sister, Nicola, now living in Australia, allegedly received tainted gifts worth £4,170.
Judge Hehir ordered final written submissions ahead of a ruling expected in January.
