The business fraud which was behind the
takeover by MH Pillars started in the USA and involves ongoing inquiries by the
FBI and The Department of Homeland Security.
The concerned company was called Alertpay
and it drew this attention because it was discovered to be dealing with online
payments from Ponzi scheme operators. Alertpay was conceived primarily for this
purpose by Firoz and Ferhan Patel; two Indian brothers who had emigrated to
Montreal, Canada.
In order to try and avoid the forthcoming scandal, these
illegally operated accounts were transferred to another company operated by the
Patels, Obopay. This left Alertpay holding accounts for private individuals and
small honestly run businesses.
The US government departments became aware
of Alertpay when its name was linked with a child pornographer in Montreal. The
US Secret Service began an investigation during which time, all US held
accounts were suspended. This prevented every single account holder from
gaining access to their money. The Patels’ initial reaction was to blame a
third party company called Ultralight and said it was they who were withholding
the funds. A statement was soon issued by Ultralight stating that all accounts
relating to Patels’ customers were still controlled by the Patels and that
Ultralight were merely carrying out instructions.
It was at this time that MH Pillars became
involved. It was a dormant, non-trading British company and would be ideally
suited to take over Alertpay. Soon after the takeover was approved, Alertpay
changed its name to Payza in the vain hope of avoiding the scandal that was
breaking in the USA.
Firoz Patel instructed his new CEO to email
all the US account holders urging them to seek advice from their respective state
governors. This had the desired effect of causing a huge amount of confusion,
coupled with the company name change. His new CEO did not last very long and
soon resigned. A new one was eventually appointed but during this interim
period, it was discovered that Firoz and Ferhan Patel were registered as
Company Directors of MH Pillars.
The UK FSA (Financial Services Authority)
listed Payza as being unlicensed to conduct financial transactions within the
UK and restricted access to UK held accounts until such time that they complied
with several regulations. This procedure is lengthy and could take up to three
months to complete. It was unclear whether Payza owned MH Pillars or they owned
Payza.
Many UK residents were affected by this
action and complained bitterly through every medium available. Money was locked
in accounts, credit cards were not being refunded, and money was not being
transferred from one account to another.
One disgruntled customer posted a request
on an internet forum concerning Payza that all people affected by the freezing
of their funds should hold a protest outside the head office of MH Pillars in
London. Another customer intended to take legal against Payza and encouraged
anybody else who had been a victim of business fraud to join with him in their
prosecution.
