that he should investigate. But, on August 24, 2010, Mr. O’Connor wrote to the High Court group’s spokesman. He said: “Following my discussions with him (Lewis) and contact with a number of leads and customers who Mark Lewis contacted in his role as our franchisee, I have not been able to identify any examples of Mr. Lewis using British Eco clients to secure further financial investment.” Franchise terminated He wrote once more to the spokesman, on September 6, 2010, saying: “Mark Lewis has now had his franchise agreement formally terminated. “I have no further interest in this matter so please do not feel the need to update me on your progress.” A month or so later, Lewis returned to the Coupes’ Rugby home. He said British Eco had gone bust and O’Connor had gone to America. Mrs. Coupe, said: “He told us he had set up his own business, CompareSolar.com, and asked if we wanted to invest in it. “On December 22, 2010, we signed up for a £4,000 stake.” On February 28, 2011, Lewis was arrested on suspicion of fraud and released on bail. Mrs. Coupe, said: “In May, 2011, Lewis gave us a small amount of interest on our £4,000. “He persuaded us to let the £4,000 roll-over and add another £1,000. We received some interest on the £5,000 too. Completely taken in “By now we were hooked - he convinced us it was safe to invest much larger sums over a much longer period.” Lewis eventually took their entire life savings of £100,000. In court he only admitted to taking £60,000. Mrs. Coupe said that had British Eco warned them about the allegations against Lewis, or even told them his franchise had been terminated, they would never have fallen for the fraud. On December 4, 2013, Tony O’Connor rang the ‘VM’. He said Lewis’ victims were naive in letting themselves be
duped. He also said he had terminated Lewis’ franchise with, “a heavy heart,” and felt that he had been, “misunderstood”. Not responsible Mr. O’Connor also said Lewis told him the only complaints against him arose from the alleged Ocean View Property fraud, for which he was not responsible. Yet the managing director also said he had read thoroughly and fully understood the High Court affidavits, which clearly had nothing to do with OVP. Mr. O’Connor was told that Mr. and Mrs. Coupe felt that he had been under a moral obligation to warn them about Lewis. Mr. O’Connor asked the ‘VM’ to set out their views on paper so he could take advice before making a statement. British Eco statement His ‘legal secretary’, Jacqueline Sheppick, wrote back: “We wish to clarify that neither Mr. O’Connor, nor British Eco have been in contact with or associated in any way with Mr. Mark Lewis since the termination of his franchise, in 2010, and have no knowledge as to his activities, whereabouts, contacts, clients, relatives or current employer. “Furthermore, Mr. O’Connor and British Eco were, and remain, in no way connected to or involved with any fraud that may or may not have been committed by Mark Lewis at any time, and are unaware of any allegations appertaining to fraud having ever been notified to them by any of their customers, either at the time of Mark Lewis’ tenure with them or for that matter since the termination of his franchise a number of years ago. “Mr. O’Connor and British Eco wish to make no further comment or statement concerning your letters, the content of which concerning Mr. O’Connor and British Eco are inaccurate and a distortion, nor on any matters pertaining to Mark Lewis and/or any of the alleged fraud which Mark Lewis may or may not have committed. “Please consider this a formal request to cease and desist in
Alfie’s, Lichfield: the Lewises left owing between them hundreds of thousands.
making any further contact with Mr. O’Connor, British Eco or its associates regarding this issue and to desist in your harassment immediately. “This includes, but is not limited to, contact made via telephone, email, post or any other medium. “Failure to desist and any attempt made by you or anyone representing you to contact or attempt to implicate Mr. O’Connor, British Eco and any of its associates may result in action being taken against you.” While Lewis was on police bail he also targeted a Mrs. Maureen Firth, from Birmingham. Crime on bail Lewis used a lead provided by Shropshire-based, Solarontime, to gain her trust. He talked her into making a worthless £5,000 investment. But the company’s director, Mr. Ashley Allum, said Mrs. Firth rang them trying to locate Lewis. The instant he realised what Lewis had been up to he insisted that she should ring the police. Meanwhile, he contacted all of his customers to make sure Lewis had not been trying to swindle them too. Lewis was a salesman for Npower when Mr. Allum met him. Lewis later offered to do some freelance selling for Solarontime. Mr. Allum did discover Lewis had been in jail. What he did not know was that he was on remand after being charged with fraud. “He told me it was because of the OVP case,” said Mr. Allum. “He claimed he was released because he had done nothing wrong - he was suing the police for wrongful imprisonment.” Yet more lies Lewis arrived at Mr. Allum’s premises, in St. Martins, near Oswestry, in a sleek and expensive new Audi motor car. Then the car seemed to disappear. He claimed it had been wrecked in a crash. Mr. Allum, said: “We gave him £1,200 to buy a car to keep him going.” Lewis bought a Nissan which he registered in Joanne Lewis’ name. Once Lewis’ fraud had been exposed the company tried to recover the car. But it was alleged that Joanne Lewis had already sold it. Lies, lies, lies Mark Lewis told the same car wreck lie to the Coupes. He had in fact stolen the Audi - he paid for it with a cheque, drove to his bank and immediately emptied the account. He was found guilty of the crime, on April 13, 2013, in the Wolverhampton Crown Court. He received a 12-month supervision order and was ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work.
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M
ark Lewis whisked a large party of friends away to a holiday paradise to attend his marriage to Joanne, on July 27, 2007. Nothing was too good for his guests who enjoyed the luxury of five-star hotels for the two-day extravaganza. Lewis even bought clothes and shoes for them to wear to his register office ceremony. Afterwards mountains of food accompanied waterfalls of Champagne. A lavish blessing was staged the next day aboard a private luxury yacht. Nuptial cruise The happy couple sailed off on an unforgettable ‘honeymoon’ night as they cruised the crystal azure waters of the Mediterranean. Their guests set off for a feast at another five-star hotel to await their return. Free drinks flowed while the party-goers swayed to the sounds of a free disco. One of Mark Lewis’ closest friends, whom he later allegedly cheated and made homeless, took the couple’s wedding photographs. Shane Moore told the ‘VM’: “The whole thing must have cost an absolute fortune. “When we came back to England Mark gave Joanne a brand new Audi Q7 as a present. “It must have been me who paid for it.”
Present for the missus: Mark Lewis had a passion for Audis - paid for and stolen.
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