David Ames was a twice-bankrupt double-glazing salesman from Basildon with dreams of building a Caribbean property empire. His company, Harlequin, promised ordinary investors luxury resort properties at bargain prices – their slice of paradise and financial security.
Over nearly a decade, more than 8,000 people handed over £400 million. Many bet their entire pension pots on Ames' vision.
But behind Ames’ slick marketing pitch lay financial chaos and systematic deception. While investors waited for dream properties, their money funded pirate ships, imported sand that washed away with the tide, and eye-watering sales commissions.
From a local newspaper investigation that exposed the scheme to the Serious Fraud Office's decade-long pursuit of justice, this is the story of how thousands lost everything betting on one man’s vision.
Featuring exclusive interviews with victims, investigators, and industry insiders, The Lost Caribbean Millions reveals the human cost of one of Britain's biggest investment frauds.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Former Garda detective John Sweetman presents Lines of Enquiry, a GoLoud Original true-crime podcast examining some of Ireland’s most compelling crimes, uncovering how evidence, chance, and persistence can bring answers, and sometimes only more questions.
Contact: LinesOfEnquiry@goloudnow.com
“I truly believe that motors were used to win bike races” - Greg LeMond, three-time winner of the Tour de France.
In January 2016, 19-year-old Belgian cyclist Femke van den Driessche was caught with a collection of wires, motors and batteries buried deep inside her spare bike at the Cyclo-cross World Championships.
She was then suspended for six years and bore the wrath of global media as the only rider ever to be banned by The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) for having a motor in her bike, despite numerous previous suspicions of other competitive cyclists that have never been confirmed or disproved.
Eight years later, Chris Marshall-Bell is on a mission to reveal the truth around motors in cycling as he peers beneath the surface of sports' most incredible discovery.
Chris will unpick a tangled web of bizarre misdemeanours, claims and counter-claims. From jail time, bankruptcy and death threats to carnival cat costumes and one daring canary theft - this story is set to keep listeners on the edge of their seat.
Is motor-doping being performed at the highest level? Is this bigger than just one young woman's spare bicycle?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
From CBC's Uncover.
A body is pulled from the ocean, and a race against time to capture one of the world's most wanted criminals begins.
This is the story of a con man who couldn't stop lying. A tale of murder, stolen identities, fine art, a diaper stuffed with gold bars, and a crime solved by a Rolex watch. From rural Canada to coastal England, he lied and deceived at every turn.
Award-winning podcaster Sam Mullins (Chameleon: Dr. Dante & Wild Boys) takes you inside the world of a devious scammer whose trail of destruction crosses continents and decades. So who is he? And how did this ruthless villain finally get unmasked?
For the first time ever, full Snapped episodes are now a podcast. Subscribe to this true crime podcast for the direct audio from the original Snapped episodes that have aired on Oxygen over the last 29 seasons (and counting)! Now you can enjoy Snapped episodes in your headphones, in your car, or at the gym. New true crime episodes of Snapped: Women Who Murder are released every Sunday.
