The "Marcos" Daughter Loans Scandal

THE MARCOS DAUGHTER, THE DISGRACED LAWYER & A SUBURBAN COURTROOM DRAMA

29 April 2010

When it comes to mixing with the low life brigade, even pretenders to the Marcos dynasty do not stint themselves.

Unfortunately for one of them, the press were on hand in a small British county court for what should have been a non-descript case held in private of an examination by court officials as to why some debts had not been repaid. Under normal circumstances, such a case would never figure on the Richter scale for any attention. Much less to attract the interest of the media. This was far from a normal case.

A rather grainy photo from a video of Philip Englefield outside Ilford County Court; unfortunately, the camera shy former lawyer needed to get back to his Knightsbridge office extremely quickly and was reluctant to pose for photos 

Helena Skeggs (below) had been ordered to appear in Ilford County Court for an examination after she had refused to comply with orders to repay some of her many creditors. These creditors had obtained judgements for debt, and Skeggs was in default. After she had refused to pay, or even acknowledge the existence of such debts, some of the creditors obtained a court summons order for her to appear on pain of arrest.

She decided not to appear, but instead sent a representative who most normal people would run a mile from, a former lawyer who took £4.5 million from his clients accounts, and was struck off as a solicitor and jailed for six years in the early nineties. Although being struck off by the British Law Society and banned from practising as a lawyer, he has re-invented himself as a "consultant legal advisor". As such, he is reputed to be fronting business deals for another ex-convict, Michael Hunt, who was jailed at the same time for eight years over a massive tax fraud case. 

Helena Skeggs, aka Helena Pedroche, who is believed to hail from Urdaneta in Pangasinan, has made a business of preying on fellow Filipinos in the UK over the past few years. In some cases borrowing on a vast scale, in others getting "investment" money as well as promising to arrange visas and work permits, she has made a business living on the proceeds of others.

Living in a £2 million house in the leafy suburbs of Chigwell just to the north of London, Skeggs is close enough to appear in person at the court just off Ilford High Road. Certainly, she is closer than where her representative, Philip Englefield of Grace Associates, has offices at the prestigious Central London address of 65 Knightsbridge, just up the road from Harrods, and very convenient for Harvey Nicholls where Skeggs occasionally shops.

Possibly Skeggs did not wish to demean herself by driving her silver Mercedes to the distinctly drab surroundings of Ilford. Certainly parking is a problem around the vicinity of the court. That may be the reason. We shall probably not know for some time what excuse Mr Englefield made for her non-appearance as it was a closed hearing, and Mr Englefield did not wish to speak to the press as he exited the court building. In fact, as can be seen from the video (below), for a man of his advanced years who is almost certainly holding, or should be able to hold, a senior citizens free bus pass, he is remarkably fleet of foot.

Maybe his years as a guest of Her Majesty in one of her prisons gave him time to use the gymnasium and retain a keep-fit mentality.  Probably this keep-fit mentality is continued with rounds of golf, played with former fellow criminal Michael Hunt at the East Sussex National Golf Club. If so, that would explain his turn of speed leaving the court building in Ilford.  

It does not however explain why a "consultant legal advisor" would turn up in a suburban London court, representing a woman who claims to be the daughter of former dictator Marcos in a rather mundane case of non-repayment of debt. Especially when the "consultant legal advisor" in question has been linked to multi-million pound deals with his erstwhile golf buddy Michael Hunt, Queens Park Rangers (QPR) and Derby County  football clubs, and dodgy Panamanian finance companies.

Englefield's time in prison probably did give him time to develop a keep-fit persona. That may be the reason he became a director of QPR a few years ago, at the same time a rather funny finance deal was arranged between the ABC corporation of Panama. So funny in fact that when QPR's supporters discovered the truth of the deal and the people behind it, they demanded that Englefield be ousted as a director. The west London club's fans thought having a convicted fraudster on the board was a bridge too far. He was ousted but remained as main contact person between QPR and the company behind the finance deal.

There was a similar finance deal in place at Derby. This went disastrously wrong for several of the directors of Derby, some of whom also happened to be lawyers as well. Because they went to jail.

Who were behind these finance deals? Well Englefield's involvement is there, and that of Michael Hunt was heavily suspected and never denied.

Michael Hunt was jailed in 1993 as a top man in the then notorious case of tax evasion by Nissan UK. The fraud had been perpetuated for nearly two decades led by a man named Octav Botnar. Nissan UK, owned by Botnar, were involved in importing Nissan cars to the UK and had been falsifying tax records and receipts. This involved hundreds of millions of pounds and was the largest tax fraud in British history.

Octav Botnar fled to Switzerland from where he could not be extradited leaving his underlings to take the rap, one of them being Hunt. Hunt got eight years after a very high profile trial.

Since leaving jail, Hunt has bulit up an impressive property empire, conservatively estimated to be valued at over £100-M. Besides being a "consultant legal advisor" at his company Grace Associates, Englefield represents and is involved with several property companies. He also represents Helena Skeggs.

In this capacity, he would have explained to the court in Ilford why his client did not attend, and more crucially, why she has made no attempt to repay some of her many creditors, not least the three people who had court orders against her.

Possibly Englefield told the court hearing that his client was short of money. Especially after she hosted a party for over forty people at the prestigious  five star Marriott County Hall Hotel on the River Thames opposite the Houses of Parliament on March 28.  A function room and suite were hired for the event, do not imagine the buffet was just buckets of southern fried chicken and a couple of colas.

Skeggs is no stranger to the Marriott County Hall, she has entertained others many times here, as well as at other five star London hotels. It makes the guests more comfortable and easier to open their check books and credit cards.

Maybe Englefield told the court the reason his client did not attend personally was that she was tired after the event. or maybe his client is campaigning in Ilocos Norte for Imelda's bid for a new political seat. Or possibly that the volcano in Iceland caused her to be delayed somewhere in the world, Panama maybe?

Balita Pinoy does not know what excuses were made. Comrade Englefield did not stop outside the court to share his comments with us or the other media reps; nor did we catch up with him as he was gone in a flash. Ford Open Prison's gymnasium is really effective helping people to keep fit.

A  press spokeswoman for the Justice Department would only confirm that the hearing had taken place but would not go into specific details other than to state that Skeggs still has the opportunity to repay the money owed.

When extracting money from her victims, one of the ways to get the money is via Western Union. This is however not routed through her house in Chigwell's millionaires row, but through another address, Mortimer Road,  in the rather drab surroundings of Kensal Green in north west London, just off the Harrow Road. Skeggs spends quite some time at this address which is considerably further to drive than Ilford from Chigwell.

The Mercedes is seen here quite frequently.

The luxury house in Chigwell's millionaires row

Have you also had dealings with Helena Skeggs? E-mail us: 

citydesk@balitapinoy.net 

"Marcos" daughter in investment and loans scandal

Helena Skeggs aka Helena Pedroche, has been getting Filipinos in London and the south of England to lend her money temporarily. However, this is on a vast scale from many people, and for vast sums.

This is not all, what has also been alleged is that she has been operating as an investment adviser illegally in the UK.

Claiming variously to be the illegitimate daughter or the adopted daughter of former President Marcos, and using luxury hotels in London as her working backdrop, she has been busy extracting money from her kababayans.

Lending money or investing with her is not a good thing to do, as many of her victims have found out to their cost. Heimdall reports.

Married to Englishman Richard Skeggs, this husband and wife team live in some style in a large house on the outskirts of London, this is worth between £1.5-M to £2.5-M, but is believed to be rented. Outside there is a large expensive Mercedes 4 x 4, as well as a rather mundane saloon car (the maid's perhaps?). The sums of money they have scalped range from £1,000 to £60,000.

As well as string of Filipino's who have been cheated, it also transpires that an adviser to Skeggs is one Philip Englefield of a company Grace Associates in Knightsbridge, London.

Helena Skeggs' urbane style works well, she initially meets her victims at social gatherings, then invites them to expensive meals, quite often in one of two luxury London hotels. This coupled with her using limousines (presumably rented for the occasion), she imbues her victims with a sense of confidence, and the aura that she is quite wealthy. Now the spider has entranced her victims into her web, she pounces.

Either it is an explanation of her prowess in investing in the stock market, or is the sad news that her aunt who has just arrived in the country and needs urgent medical treatment for cancer. The money is just to tide her over until her inheritance arrives.

She also makes liberal use of a hand drawing of what appears to be a young Ferdinand Marcos, with an even younger Helena at his side. Not a photo, a drawing. This is used as proof that she is either the illegitimate or adopted daughter of the late dictator. Sometimes, the story is of her mother among other things in Spain. No matter what, the relatives are rich, and Helena just needs a little more time to gain her inheritance. And she will pay interest, either on the hard luck "temporary" loan, or her investment wizardry.

Some of her victims have even been persuaded to take loans out themselves, or max out their credit cards to fund this cheat from Urdaneta in Pangasinan and her lavish lifestyle. Well somebody has to pay for the Mercedes 4 x 4 in the driveway.

Now it looks as if the gravy train funded by "investments" and loans may be coming to a close. Several of her victims have been taking legal action in the County Courts, and further action is expected. Complaints have also been made to the Philippine Embassy in London.

Not that the Skegg's family are taking these actions by the victims lying down; they have instructed solicitors to start threatening journalists who question their honesty. This firm of solicitors happen to different from their esteemed "adviser" in Knightsbridge, the ubiquitous Philip Englefield. 

Moira O'Hara of Paddington based lawyers WGS made no comment when asked if she was aware of Philip Englefield's connection except to state that she was the Skeggs' legal adviser. When pressed in a telephone conversation about the allegations against her clients, Ms O'Hara said that she had to take instructions. She also invited Balita Pinoy to submit any questions in an e-mail. This we did. The questions, and the answers that were made, are at the end.

In a phone conversation with Philip Englefield last week he agreed he acted for Helena Skeggs but abruptly ended the conversation. Later, in another attempt to get more information from his company, Grace Associates, on whether he was the same person who was struck off as a solicitor in the early nineties and subsequently went to jail for stealing clients money to the tune of £4.5-M, a receptionist claimed to have no knowledge.

She then asked if we would like to speak to him, but then came back on line saying there was no comment from Mr Englefield as he was in a meeting, and referred us to his solicitors. When asked who they were, after a pause we were informed it was WGS of Paddington, the same lawyers who act for the Skeggs.

We contacted WGS again, with one solicitor saying she personally did not represent him, with their reception staff requesting any communication by email. We are waiting a response to that emailed inquiry.

Grace Associates of 65 Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 7RA have listings as legal advisers, but strangely, they also have a listing in the Information Britain website as a solicitor (http://www.information-britain.co.uk/county16/townguideKnightsbridge/).

There is no mention of such a firm or named solicitor when checking with the Law Society who govern solicitors in England and Wales. 

Heimdall investigates 

The husband and the "Marcos daughter" wife

She collected the money; when her victims became persistent wanting their money back, checks were issued by husband Richard.

These checks were on personal, business and company accounts. The company "Quadro", which has now been dissolved, was supposedly an investment vehicle owned by the husband's mother which was used by brokers to invest in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the world's largest futures market.

The checks were referred to drawer. 

The house in Chigwell's millionaires row

The Skeggs' house at 25 Manor Road, Chigwell, Essex; the house is valued at between £1.5 to £2.5-M by local estate agents but is thought to be rented. Land registry search show a different name as owner. If it is rented, the rent would be between £400 to £700 per week. An expensive Mercedes 4 x 4 in the drive shows a lifestyle far removed from that of Helena's lenders or investors.

The "MARCOS CONNECTION"

Helena Skeggs uses this drawing as proof of her connection with former dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Claiming to some to be the illegitimate daughter, and others to be the adopted daughter of the Marcos family, this drawing is used to give credibility, there seem to be no photos. Supposedly showing her as a girl with former President Marcos, investigations have revealed that Marcos and wife Imelda did indeed adopt a girl, however this adopted daughter is alive and well and in business in Manila and looks nothing like Helena Skeggs.

DISHONORED CHECKS

Checks, paid to persistent complainants - from a variety of banks accounts, all signed by husband Richard. The three below are a sample; oh, by the way, they bounced.

Promising to pay back the money when pressed, cheques have been issued by her English husband Richard, on either one of his many personal bank accounts, or that of their now dissolved company Quadro, all of which bounced. This is an offense under British law.

Some of the court cases so far

Brief Description

An "Investment Contract"

Signed by Helena Skeggs, this handwritten acknowledgement of money invested through her by two Filipinas was made last year.

Inquiries with the UK's Financial Services Authority show that neither Helena nor Richard Skeggs are registered as investment advisers as required by law. The now defunct company Quadro is not on the register either.

The Questions and the Answers

Heimdall attempted to put questions to Helena Skeggs over these matters but she is seemingly reluctant to discuss them.

A landline phone number provided to lawyers of complainants does not answer as it is barred from incoming calls. Several mobile phone numbers given out as being Helena Skegg's either do not answer or go to voicemail. 

We then contacted Skeggs' lawyer to request an interview to put these questions to her who asked for the questions to be put in writing for her clients to answer them. The questions are in blue. 

i) She claimed to act as an advisor, and stated to several people she was connected to a broker in relation to the Stock Market; why was this, what were the investments and is she registered with the Financial Services Authority? We have documentary evidence of her having signed papers admitting to such.

ii) Various claims have been made by her of either being the illegitimate or adopted daughter of the late President Marcos; does she have documentary evidence to support this?

iii) The aunt who needed urgent treatment for cancer in this country (UK). Which hospital(s) was this aunt treated in, who was/were the consultant/s and who was the referring doctor? Is there documentary evidence of bills being paid for such treatment? (Note, if such evidence is forthcoming and is checkable, this information will be kept confidential and not placed in the public domain, just that we have ascertained its veracity)

iv) Why were so many cheques issued by her husband Richard Skeggs on personal and company accounts which were referred to drawer?

v) Various claims have been made by your client in relation to inheritance money coming from Spain or the Philippines. What documentary evidence is there of this?

vi) Why has your client made a business of borrowing money of the past few years whilst posing as wealthy, and the use of upmarket hotels in London such as the Marriott and Mandarin as a front?

vii) Why is your client so reluctant to speak on this matter, especially as a phone number she provided to solicitors representing claimants is barred from accepting incoming calls?

vii) Why is your client using convicted/jailed fraudster and struck off solictor Philip Englefield as an advisor?

The answers: 

1. My clients did borrow money from certain individuals and this will be repaid shortly. It is appreciated that some individuals have had to wait for repayment but that wait, I am instructed, will soon be over.

2. Please let me have the evidence of fraud, which is a serious allegation, that you rely on.

3. Please let me have copies of the documents you refer to so that I can take instructions on them. You can either email them to me or fax them to me.

4. My instructions are that Mrs Skeggs has not given investment advice. Again please let me have sight of the evidence that you rely on to the contrary.

5. In the circumstances I would ask you not to print any article about my clients or their family as it seems that it may be based on false and/or misleading information.

Have you also had dealings with Helena Skeggs? E-mail us: 

citydesk@balitapinoy.net