Co-conspirator of Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow gets convicted
James Moore was convicted at trial of wire fraud and conspiracy for engaging in a fraudulent scheme by making misrepresentations about the operations of Bar Works Inc.
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced on Monday that James Moore was convicted at trial of wire fraud and conspiracy for engaging in a scheme to defraud investors by making misrepresentations about the management and operations of Bar Works Inc.
From 2015 to 2016, Moore and others partnered with Renwick Haddow, who is also a British citizen, in soliciting investments into workspace leases in a co-working business called Bar Works through material misrepresentations concerning, among other things, the identity of Bar Works’ management. Previously, Haddow had been disqualified as a director of any United Kingdom company for eight years, and was sued by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for operating investment schemes that lost investors substantially all of their money.
In order to conceal his role at Bar Works because of the negative publicity on the Internet related to past investment schemes and government sanctions in the UK, Haddow adopted the alias “Jonathan Black.” Notwithstanding Haddow’s control over Bar Works, Moore and others knowingly distributed the Bar Works offering materials listing Black as the Chief Executive Officer of Bar Works and claiming that Black had an extensive background in finance and past success with start-up companies. Moore also received in excess of $1.6 million in commissions for his participation in the scheme.
Moore, 58, of the United Kingdom and Miami, Florida, was convicted of one count of wire fraud and one count of wire fraud conspiracy. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Last month, U.S. Attorney Berman announced the unsealing of a guilty plea by Haddow in which he admitted to his own involvement in the fraudulent scheme related to Bar Works, as well as to making material misrepresentations and misappropriating investment funds in another company created by Haddow called Bitcoin Store Inc., and agreed to cooperate with the Government.
