D-day nears for Perry Deakin?
A update from liquidators Begbies Traynor given at the Supporters Club AGM has revealed progress has been made in trying to recover money for unpaid shares.
Out of the hundreds of former shareholders in the club, only three people – Blue Sky International owner Hank Julicher (shares named in his wife Margrit Julicher’s name) and former directors Perry Deakin and Peter Miller – have not paid for their shareholding.
Hundreds of Vale fans purchased shareholdings, some bought for children or others by fans who have sadly passed away and each one paid for their shares in full.
An email from Begbies Traynor was read out at Thursday’s meeting. It suggests that bankruptcy proceedings will be filed against Mr Deakin while civil proceedings could be taken against the former directors if claims that shares were purchased by the Julichers turn out to be false.
Mr Deakin disputed that he was liable to pay and requested a meeting with the liquidators in January however he then failed to attend the meeting and we have therefore issued a statutory demand which is a precursor to bankruptcy proceedings…
The email read: “On the basis of legal advice received, formal demands and calls for payment have been made on various individuals who have unpaid shares.
“Mr Deakin disputed that he was liable to pay and requested a meeting with the liquidators in January however he then failed to attend the meeting and we have therefore issued a statutory demand which is a precursor to bankruptcy proceedings.
“Mr and Mrs Julicher deny any knowledge of the share issue and are residents in the USA.
“This is being investigated by ourselves and the police and if true could result in misfeasance claims against the board of directors.
“This would be a civil claim. We would welcome any knowledge your members may have of Mr Miller’s current address.
“The police are investigating whether there are also any criminal claims for fraud.”
More information:
MOLD - the board which nearly killed Port Vale
Peter Miller, Glenn Oliver, Mike Lloyd and Perry Deakin (the first letter of their surnames spelling “MOLD”) led the football club into administration after a number of highly controversial decisions notably Deakin and Miller’s ascent to the board despite not paying for their shares (the so-called “nil-paid shares” affair), failed financial link-ups with two US companies Ameriturf and Blue Sky International (their £8m deal was described as “pure fantasy” by the firm’s CEO), a secret remortgaging of Vale Park which broke the terms of the club’s loan agreement with Stoke-on-Trent council and being sued by former club sponsors Harlequin Properties.
On 9th March 2012, the club entered administration for the second tie in its history after HMRC issued a winding-up petition.
To date, Deakin and Miller have failed to pay for any of the shares they “purchased” in Port Vale football club. The Port Vale Supporters club are continuing legal efforts to reclaim the money from the pair and reimburse many Port Vale fans who, as shareholders, lost money when the pair illegally joined the Port Vale board and mismanaged the club.