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Father and son had huge debts
Page 7
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• by Dominic Perry A father and son team of freight forwarders ran a string of failed businesses so badly that they could never have hoped to make money if they traded honestly, a court has heard.
Blackfriars Crown Court was told how Michael Lewis and his father Jeffrey Lewis systematically ran a succession of freight forwarding businesses into the ground, only to start trading again as a new company as each went under.
While the pair's business activities have been well documented in Commercial Motor, it was the son, Michael Lewis, who told the court last week of the dubious practices undertaken, Michael Lewis has already pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud; his father denies the charges.
The duo were co-directors of eight different firms which worked from various addresses across the South-East and one in Manchester. In 1995 the pair had run up huge debts, including almost £45,000 to French haulage giant Giraud (CM8-14 November).
In January 1993 they began running ICS Freight, which then changed its name to Meridian Logistics, said Michael Lewis. The company began to fail: "Jobs were generally taken on at a loss and the income of both directors was too high, even with the small profit made, to pay the haulier," he admitted. Operators demanding money frequently turned up at the offices or phoned, he told the court. saying his father fobbed them off Lewis described how in mid1995, while running Hendonbased Great Freight, they set up EU Freight. He admitted that "because we knew that Great Freight wasn't going to be lasting too much longer, it [EU Freight] was formed so there would be no gap in business".
Lewis revealed how they used another of their companies, Ilford Freight Services, to provide bogus credit references for EU Freight. Lewis admitted that with a Great Freight salary of £17,000 he had been earning more than his father, who had received £8,000 and his living expenses.
The trial continues.