Spaserve Trio Are Guilty As Charged

Instead of using customers’ cash to fulfill all their orders, Spaserve bosses spent money on themselves, with lavish lifestyles, expensive cars and holidays. — Instead of using customers’ cash to fulfill all their orders, Spaserve
bosses spent money on themselves, with lavish lifestyles, expensive cars and
holidays.

Three bosses in a failed home hot-tub business are facing jail after being convicted of fraudulent trading.
Staffordshire-based Spaserve went under with debts of £2.7 million while partners in the outfit lived a life of luxury.
They used the firm as a “cash cow” to rake in advance payments and deposits, telling customers the hot tubs were quality Americanmade units.
The sales contracts included small print that gave no time limit for delivery, so customers were made to wait and hot tubs that did arrive were made in China.
Spaserve’s principal shareholder Simon Foster, together with Stuart Cox, a partner in the business and office manager Johnathan Husselbee were all found guilty by a jury at Stafford crown court following a three-month trial.
Foster, aged 48, of Sandfield Meadow, Lichfield; Cox, aged 49, of Oak Way, Sutton Coldfield and Husselbee, aged 36, of High Street, Dosthill, Tamworth had all denied both charges.
Judge Amjad Nawaz remanded them on bail for reports, but warned them they each face a custodial sentence.
They will be sentenced at a later date. The jury heard that instead of using customers’ cash to fulfill all their orders, the bosses spent money on themselves, with lavish lifestyles, expensive cars and holidays.
CASH COW
Mr Adrian Keeling QC, prosecuting, told the jury: “It was not run as a proper and honest business, it was run, first and foremost, as a source of income for these defendants. It was run as a ‘cash cow’ and a cash cow to be milked.
“Their purpose wasn’t to trade responsibly, to give the customer what they ordered, on time and working properly. It was run with the simple aim of making these defendants money.
“Over three and a half years period [of trading], Foster in particular, in his own words, enjoyed a millionaire’s lifestyle and he did just that. Cox and Husselbee, on any view, received a lot of money.”
Spaserve’s customers were treated with contempt and those who did complain were treated in a particularly cynical way. Sentencing is expected in April.