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 CARBUG SCAM
               
Hendon and Finchely Times 7:48pm Wednesday 15th November 2006

      Couple admit £1m scam
A couple from Friern Barnet conned people into investing more than £1 million into their dying business in order to fund a lavish lifestyle, which included renting a luxury mansion in Hadley Wood, a fraud trial heard this week. Tony and Danielle Rose convinced more than 100 people, including pensioners and widowers, to buy shares in a business which claimed to prevent crime and track cars. But the pair, from Hatley Close, used the money to buy a £24,000 holiday in St Lucia, a stretch limousine, Jaguar and Toyota cars and a £2.5m property in the borough. Tony Rose, 57, faces jail after he admitted charges of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering. His wife, aged 50, was told she would be spared a custodial sentence after pleading guilty to a lesser charge of inducing an investor contrary to the Financial Services and Marketing Act.
Southwark Crown Court heard how Car Bug Trader Plc began carrying out what is known as boiler room fraud', where worthless shares are sold, after forging links with a Spanish crime syndicate. Judge Christopher Hardy said: "They were working hard to give the impression that they were people to be trusted. "This type of offence is extremely serious and undermines confidence in the business community. "The couple began cold-calling potential victims with fake business qualifications and CVs. Danielle claimed to have been a director with Disney. They persuaded dozens of people to invest, including a farmer from Orkney in Scotland, who was left with nothing after buying £70,000 in shares. He was told the company would be the new Microsoft' and his shares would increase in value from £3.50 to £12. The pair will be sentenced on December 7.

The boat pictured here is 'Carbug', it and its alleged owner Tony Rose was in Almerimar during 2005/2006. He also managed to con several people in the marina. They never paid the mooring fees for that year. Tony Rose personally owes me 200 euros - a loan I made to him in good faith when he claimed to be desperate. It was never re-paid.

Sardinia's new governor, who is the son of Silvio Berlusconi's tax adviser, is to scrap a tax on super yachts as one of his first acts in office. Ugo Cappellacci will also repeal a tax on private aircraft touching down on the island, which had cost jetsetters such as Mr Berlusconi, who owns a large villa on Sardinia, up to £690 a time.
Mr Cappellacci is also expected to loosen restrictions on construction along Sardinia's rugged coastline.
The luxury yacht tax, which critics said scared away super-rich boat owners, was introduced in 2006 by Sardinia's previous centre-left governor, Renato Soru, who was ousted in elections last month.
He had argued that revenue from the tax helped boost the island's economy and contributed to conserving its natural beauty. Sardinia is a summer playground for the world's rich and famous, particularly along its famed Costa Smeralda, or Emerald Coast.
The tax currently applies to all yachts longer than 46ft. The owners of mega-yachts reaching 200ft in length were being charged up to US$20,000 for the privilege of spending the summer in a Sardinian port.
Even boat owners visiting the island for just a day were required to pay the tax.
The fees were up to 50 times higher than those of equivalent yachting destinations such as Croatia, Greece and Sardinia's northern neighbour, Corsica.
Mr Berlusconi plucked Mr Cappellacci from virtual obscurity to contest the Sardinian election.His convincing victory was a heavy blow to the opposition Democratic Party and triggered the resignation of its national leader, Walter Veltroni.