Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Showing posts with label 1855 – Ponzi scheme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1855 – Ponzi scheme. Show all posts

Thursday, 7 June 2012

1855 reveal mechanics of their Ponzi scheme

1855.con: Current offer on 2011 en primeurs 

I would suggest that this 'Crazy Primeurs 2011' offer surely reveals the mechanics of the 1855 Ponzi scheme run by Emeric Sauty de Chalon and Fabien Hyon.   

Six months ago Fabien Hyon said in an article by Rue89 that 1855's strategy was to reduce the sales of en primeurs in 2012 to 15% of their turnover. In 2006 it had been 60%. Hyon also admitted that the failure by 1855 to deliver the en primeurs ordered was 'unacceptable'.  

From Rue89:
« Nous ne respectons pas toujours nos propres conditions générales de vente concernant les délais de livraison, et ce n’est pas acceptable », reconnaît le directeur général, Fabien Hyon. « Mais nous remboursons intégralement les clients souhaitant renoncer à leur commande. »

Preuve que les soucis ne sont pas terminés pour 1855.com : les plaintes arrivent en nombre croissant à la Brigade sur les vins, installée à Aubervilliers.

Depuis cinq ans, les ventes de primeurs représentent une part toujours plus faible de l’activité de 1855.com. En 2012, la société veut diminuer les ventes de vin primeurs à 15% de son chiffre d’affaires, contre 60% en 2006.'

So why the apparent change in strategy?

The answer is surely in the promise made in the article by Hyon that disappointed 1855 clients will have their money fully refunded. As many clients of 1855 have discovered the promises of Fabien Hyon and Emeric Sauty de Chalon are somewhat elastic. However, the blizzard of court cases against 1855 (well into three figures) are likely to oblige de Chalon and Hyon to keep this promise. Furthermore we are now just three weeks away from the end of June when the 2009 en primeurs are supposed to be delivered.  

On past performance the chances of 1855 delivering the 2009 by the end of June must be fat zero, so triggering a raft of new court cases against 1855. With Jean-Pierre Meyers possibly reluctant to pour more money into 1855, only bringing him grief and tarnishing his reputation, 1855's conseil d'arnaques – headed by Emeric Sauty de Chalon and Fabien Hyon – desperately needs capital to meet the ever-growing court judgments. As we have seen in the past these judgments often involve 1855 having to settle for twice the original purchase price plus the complaint's legal fees. What would the late great Charles Ponzi have done in this situation?

You guessed! Recruit a new set of dupes (des pigeons) who think they are getting their 2011 Bordeaux en primeurs at a bargain price but who are actually funding the multiple 2012 court judgments against 1855. In turn these poor dupes may well never receive their wine, although they might receive an invitation to a glittering Champagne soirée at Emeric Sauty de Chalon's Château Ponzi.     

     
Charles Ponzi


'Management' and leading shareholder of 1855 
Emeric Sauty de Chalon and Fabien Hyon are the senior 'management' (conseil des arnaques) team of 1855 (1855.com, 1855.con). Thierry Maincent was a director and one of the directeur général délégués until he resigned his posts for personal reasons on 30th September 2010. Businessman Jean-Pierre Meyers, who is on the boards of L'Oreal and Nestlé, is a long-term shareholder of 1855. 

1855 is a probationary member of La Fevad!!
   

Tuesday, 17 April 2012

1855: Another recommendation to hire DDG

1855 Offices in Paris: 'six figure summed owed in tax by company'! 



I have received this message from TH, which further reinforces the recommendations and praise for Gwendoline Cattier in pursuing cases against 1855.

Certainly anyone thinking taking action against 1855 and it would seem only prudent to take action sooner rather than later when be well advised to consider engaging the services of Gwendoline Cattier and DDG.

If there are other French law firms with a successful track record in dealing with 1855, then I would be equally happy to post their details here.




TH:

Thanks for the Jimsloire blog. Most helpful re 1855. 

I confirm your recommendations that ESPECIALLY 1855 customers not living in France should contact Gwendoline at DDG.
She’s smart, quick (even works on Sundays) and has a thorough grasp of this mess. As you may know, her English is excellent. Any claimant can be quite informal. DDG are comfortable with that.
 
·         I am suing for non delivery of 2008 and 2009 en primeurs.

·         Madame Cattier’s rates are very reasonable. Due to her increasing experience with 1855, the “real” costs of consulting her are falling. No need for any real briefing. Just assemble facts and tell her. She does not waste your time and money, because she needs no time to comprehend the case. Even the claim letter she sent me is almost a stereotype – just fill in the blanks.

·         I paid a 1000€ retainer. I fully expect all costs to be paid/reimbursed by 1855 at or before trial. We are not talking USA here. Costs of taking private actions are very low. Of course, assuming you win, costs will be for 1855 to pay.

·         French law firms are not allowed to “advertise”. They must rely on clients spreading the word. A powerful incentive to perform well.

·         At least one of DDG’s senior partners has friends who have been scammed by 1855. So DDG has a keen interest in seeing that customers get their wine or get their money back. Plus compensation where appropriate.

·         The alleged 2011 profitability of 1855 is a smoke screen. It’s easy to make a “profit” if you keep taking money from customers, but do not buy wine or pay your bills!

·         I have letters from several “suppliers” to 1855 who have not, and will never, do business with 1855.

·         I understand that 1855 owes the French Administration a substantial (6 figure) sum in unpaid taxes/social charges. The Administration has decided not to push 1855 into bankruptcy for now, as it “expects 1855 to work its way out of its problems”. Shutting down 1855 would ensure that 1855’s creditors get next to nothing and would anyway harm the French wine industry. There are political as well as “connections in high places” considerations.

·         The lawyers acting for 1855 are NOT specialists in such cases. They normally operate in the political/government arena. So with upcoming elections in France, they are seriously over-stretched.

·         1855 policy is – “Nobody gets any repayment or compensation unless they take 1855 to court.” (Unnamed source – but VERY good authority!)

·         1855 respond to complaints to French nationals only (basically) if it costs them no money, are forced to by M. Blanchettier, or on the court steps.

·         1855 specifically ignore non-French residents, believing it will be too difficult/costly for a non-French resident to take action in the French courts. There is no concept of class action here – nor punitive damages. Compensation is exactly that. “What did you lose and what will it cost you to get your wine now?)

·         It is advisable to go to court in Paris. Lower levels of local courts e.g. the Tribunal d’instance, may be less sympathetic, as any individual judge may view en primeur buyers as “Speculators” – only one level of gambler less bad than 1855. Accept Gwendoline’s advice on which route to take.

·         The higher Paris Courts are now well used to actions against 1855. There are reliable reports of judges ridiculing 1855’s attempts to defend, or make excuses for, its business practices.

·         Regarding 2009 en primeurs, the court has demanded that 1855 prove to the court, that they have fulfilled all orders, or paid appropriate compensation, by the end of July.  I understand that if 1855 fail, they will effectively be in contempt of court. Then the court takes over and costs to litigants will be further reduced.

I am not a “speculator”. I want to drink what I ordered. Sadly (?) Robert Parker re-tasted one of the 2009 wines I ordered, last month. He scored it 100! In the last 3 weeks the price has, from some sources, trebled. So I anticipate some problems finding what 1855 should already have delivered.

Keep up the good work please.

p.s. I LOVE the Ponzi letter. Absolutely brilliant!
p.p.s. Perhaps good news that Latour will stop selling en primeur. Maybe if all follow suit it will stop the fraudsters and even possibly result in the Bordeaux wine market prices being regulated by real-time demand rather than gambling. A side benefit would be that producers will accept a risk that is normal in most business. Not “hedge” that risk to the end customer, with middle-men making all the money.


Monday, 16 April 2012

Château Latour: a blow to 1855's business model?

Château Latour: no en primeur from 2012

The news that Château Latour will no longer sell its wines en primeur from the 2012 vintage may well be a blow to 1855's wallet thinning business model of taking (trousering) money from its clients for en primeur and then delaying delivery as long as possible and, in some instances, not at all.

Latour have announced that they will only be releasing their wines when they are ready to drink. Much will depend upon whether the other leading Bordeaux châteaux follow suit. If the whole en primeur system was to change dramatically this could well have a serious effect on 1855's already precarious cash flow. Fabien Hyon has spoken of 1855's intention to reduce the proportion its en primeur sales. This may only be an acknowledgment that there was less demand for en primeur in 2010 and that fewer and fewer people ar prepared to order en primeur through 1855.

A lawyer who is involved with a number of cases against 1855 told me recently:

'The 1855’s case is totally unbelievable. I do not know the number of legal cases against 1855.
Few months ago, there were more than 200 cases before the business court and more than 80 cases before the Civil Court and many many cases before the Tribunal d’instance.'

Equally unbelieveable is that France's Repression des Fraudes haven't stepped in and that neither the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux nor the Conseil des Grands Crus Classés have have had the courage to issue any warning against 1855's appalling business 'practices'.

**

Of course should the other leading Bordeaux châteaux follow Latour's lead it is likely to have implications for the wine investment market including stopping the 'en primeur take the money and run scam' and also perhaps for the power of some leading wine critics whose scores and reports following the annual en primeur tastings are currently eagerly awaited. 

Don't expect Latour 2011 en primeur to be cheap!

Carbon emissions
Early estimates suggest that ending the annual en primeur tasting would reduce the Bordeaux region's carbon emissions by a staggering 1.46%.





   

Saturday, 14 January 2012

1855 (1855.com): devastating article from RVF

The start of Jérôme Baudouin's devastating file on 1855

The February 2012 edition of La Revue du Vin de France carries a detailed six page article by Jérôme Baudouin on 1855 (1855.com) charting its turbulent history and failure over many years to either deliver all the wines its clients order or to be a financial viable business. 

Baudouin's is a shocking portrait of a delinquent company with a voracious appetite for capital. Over the years much of this capital has been supplied by Jean-Pierre Meyers – Baudouin estimates that Meyers has 'invested' between 8-10 million euros in this quasi-Ponzi scheme. Another significant investor is Meyers' wife, Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers, daughter of Liliane Bettencourt the L'Oréal heiress. Bettencourt-Meyers is cited as putting in one million euros in August 2008 into Aphrodite, 1855's holding company. 

I can't see RVF's February edition being on the Bettencourt-Meyers breakfast table or in their drawing room. Baudouin says that the Bettencourt-Meyers (B-Ms) are upset by 1855's chronic failure to deliver their clients' wine. I assume that the B-Ms are as upset for 1855's angry and frustrated clients as they are for the damage the association with 1855 does to their reputations. Baudouin suggests that Meyers, who declined the opportunity to comment, is now seeking to distance himself from 1855. If this is the case this may explain why on 22nd November 2011 Emeric de Sauty de Chalon launched the 1855 Junk Club (le Club Actionnaires de 1855). Shares in 1855 are currently trading at 0.07€ a share. Over the past five years they hit a high of 4.40 a share and a low of 0.02. If Meyers has decided that enough is enough, the 1855 Junk Club is unlikely to provide enough capital to keep 1855.com afloat. 

Fabien Hyon, CEO of the 1855 group, does admit that mistakes have been made and says things will be better in the future. Unfortunately this is a standard refrain from both Hyon and de Chalon – promises but no improvement. If anything the number of complaints appear to be rising and not just for undelivered Bordeaux en primeur but for current wines that ought to be in stock.

Last October Hyon promised Decanter that the 2008s en primeur would be delivered before the end of 2011:

 'In an email to Decanter, Hyon said he was confident that all orders would be fulfilled.
‘As far as the 2008 Bordeaux primeurs are concerned, they are delivered from June through December 2011. Deliveries have started and will take place until the end of the year. All our employees work hard on making sure we do not experience further delays.



‘Regarding the 2009 and 2010 Bordeaux primeurs measures have been taken to improve quality of service since 2010. This will ensure that everything will get better.’

Initially 1855 was due to deliver 2008 Bordeaux en primeur in June 2011. It is now clear that a significant number of 1855's clients are still awaiting delivery of their 2008s with some starting legal action to obtain their orders. It is clear that Hyon's word is as worthless as 1855's junk bonds.

The RVF article ought to be lethal for 1855. Unfortunately RVF's circulation may not be sufficiently large, especially as a significant number of their customers like outside France. Also RVF damaged its credibility by the shamefully poor article about on-line retailers it published in its October 2011 edition.   

** 

See here a video of Jérôme Baudouin outlining 1855's failings.


'Management' and leading shareholders of 1855 
Emeric Sauty de Chalon and Fabien Hyon are the senior 'management' team of 1855 (1855.com, 1855.con). Thierry Maincent was an administrateur and one of the directeur général délégués until he resigned his posts for personal reasons on 30th September 2010. Businessman Jean-Pierre Meyers, who is on the boards of L'Oréal and Nestlé, is a long-term shareholder of 1855.  Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers, the daughter of L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, is also an investor in 1855.  

                 

Friday, 5 August 2011

1855 (1855.com): deliver outstanding 2005s after intervention by Smith-Haut-Lafitte

I was delighted to learn yesterday that through the intervention of Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte. a long suffering client of 1855 has finally received his wine. He has waiting three years for the remaining 18 bottles of assorted 2005 Bordeaux en primeur from a two case order. TP ordered 2005 en primeurs from  Smith-Haut Lafitte, Leoville Poyferré, Carbonnieux, Calon Ségur and Lafon Rochet.


These wines should have been delivered in 2008.


After two and a half years of unsuccessful letters, phone calls, emails to 1855 as well as letters to Christian Brocheton, TP wrote to the five Bordeaux châteaux explaining h1s problems with 1855. He was pleased to get positive responses from three of them.


In addition Florence Cathiard, owner with her husband Daniel of Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte in Pessac-Leognan, wrote to 1855 (1855.com) demanding that the wines be delivered in 48 hours otherwise Smith-Haut-Lafitte would join the putative legal action against 1855. The company was also told that Jean-Pierre Meyers, married to Françoise Bettencourt and the son-in-law of L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, and a major shareholder in 1855 would be informed before legal action was taken.


Surprisingly this drew no response from 1855. It looks like 1855 behave as arrogantly towards the châteaux owners as they do their customers.

Last week TP was phoned by Smith-Haut-Lafitte and asked if he had received his wine. They were told that TP was still waiting for 18 bottles. Six bottles had been delivered in April 2011. TP discovered that one of his wines, Calon Ségur 2005, was for sale on the 1855 website. It meant a clear escroquerie to sell to someone else the wine I had bought and that they didn’t deliver. He sent a lettre recommandée to 1855, spoting the Calon Ségur 2005 was for 10 days on sale on the website. One week after, the Calon Ségur 2005 (but only that) was delivered.

The news that TP was still awaiting 2005s from 1855 including his Smith-Haut-Lafitte prompted a further letter last week from David Ornon, their commercial director:

‘Voici une nouvelle pièce pour nourrir le dossier à charge que nous constituons au Château contre vos pratiques lamentables, et qui rejoindra celui monté par les groupes organiques qui préparent une action collective.

Il ne se passe pas un mois sans que nous ne rencontrions des gens furieux de n’avoir pas reçu les vins qu’ils ont pourtant payés au moment où vous leur demandiez.

Je vous demande de retirer nos vins de vos listes de vins primeurs, d’autant que vous ne respectez pas les prix de revente que nous avons recommandés aux négociants.

Vous nous avez annoncé fièrement l’acquisition de ChâteauOnline au mois de Mars, et nous recevions le même jour une plainte de Mr Krivine qui attend toujours la livraison des 2005 qu’il a acheté en primeur ! Je vous ai écrit en suivant et vous n’avez même pas fait l’effort de répondre. Même intolérable non-réaction de votre part après ma réponse à votre message du 29 Avril annonçant des bénéfices de 528k€ (sur des données préliminaires non auditées…).

Je vous épargne volontiers le détail des conclusions que j’ai pu tirer ce cette situation, de ces plaintes régulières d’amateurs qui ont cru en vous et en vos annonces. Il va de soi que notre soutien sans faille sera apporté à ces clients lésés, puisque vous ne m’avez jamais répondu.

A vous de me prouver que mon idée sur votre entreprise est fausse.

Maintenant que la campagne primeurs est terminée, et puisque visiblement les expéditions ne vous prennent pas trop de temps, peut-être pourrez-vous me répondre ?'

David Ornon
Directeur Commercial
Château Smith Haut Lafitte
33650 BORDEAUX-MARTILLAC FRANCE
Tel : +33 (0) 557 83 11 22 - +33 (0) 678 27 56 27
Fax : +33 (0) 557 83 11 21
d.ornon@smith-haut-lafitte.com



Ornon’s letter did the trick and the outstanding wines were delivered by 1855 (1855.com) yesterday.

It is clear that this Ponzi scheme will honour en primeur orders only when maximum pressure is applied. Remember that they recently claimed that they didn't deliver during the summer. Yet they were able to deliver TP’s wines yesterday.



I'm delighted to see Cathiards and their staff take a strong line with 1855. My advice to clients of 1855 is to write to the Bordeaux châteaux owners. It would also be a good idea to send copies to Jean-Pierre Meyers, so that he is made fully aware how 1855 conducts its business.       


Wednesday, 27 July 2011

1855.com: a snippet of news from France's favourite Ponzi scheme

Château Pichon-Longueville – RP is waiting for a case of 2008

I received a message today from RP (not their real name) that having got through to 1855 on the phone – many try but few succeed – he was told:

"Sorry your wine will be delivered at the beginning of September we do not deliver in summer time ...."

As 1855 regularly fail to deliver wine to their customers, despite endless promises, it is hardly surprising that they don't deliver during the summer. 

However, RP who is awaiting a case of 2008 Pichon-Longueville, had paid the TVA and transport cost due on the wine in early July and been assured that two weeks after payment he would receive his wine. Flying pigs are much more likely and so it proved. I presume Messieurs Fabien Hyon, Emeric Sauty de Chalon and Thierry Maincent needed their customers' TVA in early to finance their summer beach holidays. 

This fraudulent trader is a provisional member of La FEVAD (Fédération e-commerce et vente à distance).