Fortuna Estates, Fortuna Land, Oanna Group.

Over the last month we have received multiple queries on Fortuna Estates, Fortuna Land and Oanna Group.

We are investigating the possibility of initiating legal proceedings in a group action against these companies and/or their administrators as well as some ex-employees for fraud.

If you have invested funds in the said companies which peddled land banking investment schemes in Spain you will be interested to know we are now in the process of gathering information against them for which we require your kind cooperation.

Should you be interested in taking legal action against the said companies please contact us.


Article in Spanish on the scam which also mentions European Mediation. Please read the thread on European Mediation.

Please read our blog post on Fortuna Land Investment.

Hello Lawbird,

You may already have all the relevant information, but if not it may be worth having a look at some of the many comments from people involved:
http://www.fool.co.uk/news/investing...-to-avoid.aspx

Quite a lot of interesting information & names etc :)

Hi Suzanne!

Thanks for the info. Antonio has written about this on http://www.marbella-lawyers.com/word...e-fortuna-land. The lawyers will have to check all the documentation we receive before they can establish if the purchasers have a case or not. Whether we like it or not, this is the way justice works (sadly enough, perhaps not always favouring the victims...).

An interesting and very useful blog post from OverseasCafe.com.

http://overseascafe.blogspot.com/200...aud-squad.html

An interesting article on Fortuna Land from The Sunday Times which mentions European Mediation Limited (EML) as well.

Today I was cold called by Martin Haines from I think he said C&S properties in Florida who wanted to know if we were interested in a group action case if they could get enough people interested. Is this another scam like EM who called about 6 weeks ago?
Judith

Dear Sir/Madam,

I have no idea who he is, I've never heard from either him or his company.

In any case the denuncia against Fortuna has to be filed in Fuengirola, Málaga, Spain. So a local Spanish lawyer needs to be hired providing you want to be duly represented in the ongoing criminal procedure (optional but very advisable).

I have no idea what a company from Florida, USA, may be offering you, specially if it's a cold call. C&S Properties sounds more like an Estate Agency, no?

Regarding people who phone you out of the blue offering you refunds on time-share or legal action I would be very weary as there are numerous scammers posing as Spanish lawyers and Spanish law firms which are offering litigation services or lottery draws when they are not even lawyers. All they want is money upfront and then they disappear without a trace.

E.g.

http://www.marbella-lawyers.com/foru...read.php?t=117

http://www.marbella-lawyers.com/foru...hread.php?t=97

I refer you to our useful blog post:

http://www.marbella-lawyers.com/word...fer-is-a-scam/

9 Tips on How to Determine if an Offer is a Scam
October 17th, 2008 @ 14:10 by admin




We are receiving a dozen queries every day asking about the legitimacy of certain offer, generally received by email or over the phone after a cold call. Unfortunately, we cannot analyze case by case, and therefore will provide a set of useful hints which will help you evaluate the legitimacy of the company or individual yourself.

The list below is provided in no particular order:

1. Is the domain name old enough? By means of a Whois search you can find out when the domain name was registered. If it’s only a few weeks old, be suspicious.

2. Are they using mobiles? – If the phones used as contact numbers are mobile numbers instead of land lines, it’s definitely not a good sign. In Spain, mobile numbers start by +34 6..

3. Have you been contacted out of the blue? – If you where cold called, or received an email from someone you don’t know, ask yourself why these people have your contact details.

4. Are you being requested to pay money upfront? This is the single most worrying point if it comes in conjunction of with one or more of the above.

5. Is the offer too good to be true? If the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

6. Is the company properly registered? – Although it’s something positive if they can provide you with company registration details, you shouldn’t give this point too much importance. Fraudsters have been registering companies for decades with the sole purpose of deceiving (e.g. dozens of companies where incorporated by fraudsters to conduct the infamous Timeshare Resale Scam)

7. Is the address for their offices correct? – Not sure why, fraudsters tend to provide you with fake addresses which don’t really exist. Check any of the online street directories and find out if the address provided is correct.

8. Something strange about their names? Funny names such as “Woley Fernandez” or “Barrister Perez Santos ESQ” are names made up by Nigerians conducting 419 advance fee scams (the terms “Barrister” or “ESQ” don’t exist in Spanish law). Also, fraudsters tend to cite fake organisms such as “The Ministry of Finance” or “The Security Company”.

9. What others are saying – Use search engines to find information about the company. Try putting the company in inverted comas, and add terms like “scam” or “fraud”. The company or individual you mention might have already been reported online as fraudsters by other people.

Needless to say, the above list shouldn’t be taken as definitive, nor the absolute legitimacy o illegitimacy of a company established based on one or more of the above points. You can use it, however, to personally evaluate the risk of the transaction.

My recommendation is that you never pay any moneys upfront if you have been contacted out of the blue. However, if you have to, before doing so always suggest the use of an escrow company (chosen by you) to hold the funds until the product or service has been delivered. If they refuse, I recommend that you back off.

Always remember; have a lawyer analyze the transaction before making any up-front payments.

I too have invested in Fortuna land in 2002. I have had European mediation stating they can recover funds which i beleive they are no longer in business. I have had another company Ramirez & Ramirez stating there are funds available and they can recover some of them, however they will only take payment by transfer and not by credit card which is my form of guarntee.

Obviously you have had no success in attempts to recover investment,like myself.I can't understand why most people are afraid to admit their "foolishness" for fear of embarrisment. i have been contacted by Eur.Med, R&R. I cant get Irish investors to pool together in a common cause to chase these people who scammed them.

Radharc

A gentleman called Chris Redford is trying to get together a support group in Ireland. His email is chrisredford at aol.com

Hope this helps

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Originally Posted by nollag2006

Radharc

A gentleman called Chris Redford is trying to get together a support group in Ireland. His email is chrisredford at aol.com

Hope this helps

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As an investor who has lost out to Fortunaland & Oanna I have had a Spanish lawyer investigating my case for two years now, with very little progress. Since hearing of Chris Redford and joining his group this year I have had far more information (updates when they happen) and a feeling that something positive is being done at last.

Hi all i understand one of the top guys at Oanna was Phil or Philip Cottrell, he is still trading in Marbella and if you google him you will see all you need to know.

Most of you maybe aware of Philip Cottrell he was the sales director for Oanna and ran the sales operation on a day to day basis. Once the heat came on Phil Cottrell left very sharpish and now operates as trafalgar commodities, he also ran Forensic Wealth Management but they have also gone up in smoke owing money!
He is in marbella and living the high life on other peoples money!

I was a victim, but decided against proceedings, as I reckoned the way they ran the business and there own personal spending left insufficient funds in the kitty to pay out large numbers of investors should they be successful with there court cases. Having said that, Fortuna has come back once again to haunt me in the form of a company called "International Administration" They "cold called" me last week offering to handle my case for an up front fee of 10%. They have all my information, dates I purchased ,amount of shares I owned etc. The information is accurate, and the individual is very convincing. They supplied an address and phone number both for themselves and the firm of solicitors they would be using, complete with the solicitors registration number. I spoke for some time with the person who tried very hard to convince me to come on board,but one or two of his statements made me suspicious eg. "you still have the value of the land you purchased" If my memory serves me right we owned shares in a company who owned the land, that company being Fortuna. The land is probably worth less than a euro a square metre, and I suspect they double sold it, so there's going to be a hell of a lot of people fighting over a fairly small amount of money. He also said they were endorsed by the government who are behind some big "clean up" campaign. I smell a rat, but if anyone can vouch for this company and prove me wrong they have my humble apologies.

I've also been approached by 'International Administration' lately. They claim to work alongside 'Huelamo Abogados'. My understanding is that, as Sr. Flores has already pointed out previously, A SOLICITOR FIRM SHOULD NEVER APPROACH VICTIMS, BUT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. I think these people are just like Ramirez&Ramirez..., for instance.

Also, just checked both companies' websites and found out that www.intadmininstration.com was first created in May 2011... (dodgy), whereas www.huelamoabogados.es is not even there... (even dodgier). Not a good sign to me... If anybody can prove me wrong, it would be interesting to know what they have to say. Thanks.

I have recieved a call from International Administration.
I do not have any intention of proceeding with them but do you know them and are they the reborth of a previous operation?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lawbird Lawyer

Over the last month we have received multiple queries on Fortuna Estates, Fortuna Land and Oanna Group.

We are investigating the possibility of initiating legal proceedings in a group action against these companies and/or their administrators as well as some ex-employees for fraud.

If you have invested funds in the said companies which peddled land banking investment schemes in Spain you will be interested to know we are now in the process of gathering information against them for which we require your kind cooperation.

Should you be interested in taking legal action against the said companies please contact us.


Article in Spanish on the scam which also mentions European Mediation. Please read the thread on European Mediation.

Please read our blog post on Fortuna Land Investment.

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Well Philip cottrell is still operating as per his Oanna days, taking reservations for property investments, fine art investments, gold dust investments and range rover cars. Please keep an eye out for him and do not invest!

Yes it appears our old friend Philip Cottrell based now in Gibraltar after running away from Spain is trying to start up again. We all know of the range rover scams where he has taken over 500,000. the Alcohol scams where business men on the costa del sol paid over 100k, he has taken from butchers, bakers and candle stick makers! Little old ladies have lost life savings on gold dust scams. Philip Cottrell is trying to reinvent himself and start again but we will never sleep.

yes he is back to his tricks again, trying to promote property and land that does not exist and fin art deals which are all a scam. Philip Cottrell is now operating from Gibraltar after leaving Spain. He is wanted by the Spanish Police but his family are keeping him out of trouble.

he is still at it

Good news for those who have lost money with Philip Cottrell based in Spain. If you approach his family they are willing to pay up!

Hi All

beware of philip cottrell spain, no one wants to do business with him..

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Originally Posted by Unregistered

Good news for those who have lost money with Philip Cottrell based in Spain. If you approach his family they are willing to pay up!

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If his family are prepared to pay me my 30,000GBP back that he stole from me, then please give me their details. many thanks

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Originally Posted by Michael

If his family are prepared to pay me my 30,000GBP back that he stole from me, then please give me their details. many thanks

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Does anyone have their address or phone nr?

I was interested to see (in one of my occasional checks to see if he has resurfaced from under his rock) to see that Mr Cottrell seems to still be going strong with his scams.

He owes me a paltry (compared to some people) 8500 euros - not worth taking solo action over given the costs, but not something I'm happy to write off either. If anyone has information which would allow the numerous people who have been scammed to take action, please share.

Having won my civil court case against Philip Cervera, (born Cottrell but also using the name TOM ISOLA) he has not settled his debt even though there is a CCJ in his name.
If anyone on here, who he took money from, or reading this, knows of his whereabouts can you please respond on this thread. He’s been reported to be back in Spain or Gibraltar but still may be in Isleworth, London, as registered on Companies House.

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Originally Posted by Rachell

Having won my civil court case against Philip Cervera, (born Cottrell but also using the name TOM ISOLA) he has not settled his debt even though there is a CCJ in his name.
If anyone on here, who he took money from, or reading this, knows of his whereabouts can you please respond on this thread. He’s been reported to be back in Spain or Gibraltar but still may be in Isleworth, London, as registered on Companies House.

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He seems to have disappeared over night from gib - oct 2021

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Originally Posted by Unregistered

He seems to have disappeared over night from gib - oct 2021

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good morning, we are still in contact with him even though he cheated us out of £20,000 but apparently we have liked him very much and with difficulty but from time to time we meet up and thus we have raised about £9,000, we met him in 2017 in Chilham, Kent although right now he is He moves through the Berkshire and London area, Windsor, Heatrow, London, although we don't know if he lives nearby or travels there because as a scammer, you never know, if one day we meet I propose to notify you so that [EDITED] .

I know it's very much like a movie but it wouldn't be bad to think this way from time to time so that there aren't so many scammers in the world

Any posts that suggest doing physical damage to the scammer are probably from him. It may serve his purpose to claim that his life is threatened when making bogus claims of harassment.

Thr police are aware of this tactic.

He is still functioning as before.