Interior design conman jailed
Thursday 29th September 2011, 2:30PM BST.
CHAMELEON INTERIORS owner Martyn Bachelet has been jailed for three years after admitting defrauding his customers and deceiving a finance company out of more than £140,000.
The 53-year-old (pictured) admitted a string of offences, which included obtaining a money transfer by deception from David Cherry of Cherry Godfrey and making false representations for his own gain to six customers.
Bachelet, who is now bankrupt, fled the island to Thailand in July last year after committing the crimes. He returned on 27 August.
Customers with outstanding orders were left thousands of pounds out of pocket and unable to contact him.
In the Royal Court, Judge Russell Finch said Bachelet had abused his position of trust.
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I imagine most kitchen supply companies are only one bad debt away from bankrupcy. Chamelion won’t be the last to step from bad trading into fraud as the house of cards falls.
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You could start a list that would take up most of the “internet” of Guernsey ex-traders that deserve this treatment.
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I did wonder how he paid for the nice red posy Porsche 911
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The question on everyones lips is: What on earth has happened to the £140,000 he stole? Was it used to furnish his undoubtedly lavish lifestyle or was it a question of robbing Peter to pay Paul, in order to try and sustain his undoubtedly very ailing business?
if the latter is the case was it not what anyone in his position might stoop to? If it was the former, Mr Bachelet seems to have got off pretty lightly!
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Mr lloyd
You could add current traders to that list also, I could name over 20 just off the top of my head who owe thousands to customers after shoddy and/or uncompleted work. Yet they carry on happily creaming in the work such is the demand.
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Russell Finch is my hero….
If this crime was in another jurisdiction the bloke would be on home detention. This sends out the right signals.
Nice on Russell.
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Steve-O
Too true, I also know of many.
Its ridiculuous that some of them are allowed to continue trading really.
Certain tradesmen/ companies pop up in petty debts all the time yet nothing is done to stop them taking on new custom whilst they continue to screw the people that have paid.
Simple answer really, we adopt a pay on delivery/ completion culture. I actually bought a kitchen from this man when he was in business, he said I’d have my kitchen quicker if I paid in full up front(how does that work “Basher”?). All he got from me until my kitchen was fitted to my satisfaction (funnily enough the same date on which he told me I’d get it by if I paid up front) was a notional deposit (about £250).
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As an ex business manager at a bank, i agree. There are so many poorly run businesses. You will often hear that the bank wouldnt lend money – my job was to lend money!!! However, it’s impossible without accounting information. The number of businesses that couldnt answer basic questions like “can i have some accounts”, “how do you set your pricing?”, “how do you know if you are making a profit?”.
What really used to annoy me was seeing clients swanning about in their flash cars etc, knowing that they didnt even have the money to pay their staff. Not sure if it is vanity or a “keeping up with the Jones’” culture, but it is rife. In fact it is the ONLY thing I dont like about Guernsey.
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