Prominent businessman Mark Maloney has vowed to “take all steps necessary” to go after the assets of the people involved in the COVID-19 vaccine scam which resulted in his company, Radical Investments Ltd. (RIL), losing US$6.75 million (BDS$13.5 million).
The money was part of US$12 million which was supposed to be used to procure AstraZeneca vaccines for Barbados and St Lucia during the pandemic, but while it was paid the vaccines were never received.
Through lawsuits in the United States, Maloney has so far received default judgments against the companies involved – Good Vibrations Entertainment (GVE) and Prestige Pegasus – which were responsible for sourcing the vaccine. He has also received a default judgment against Moniladai Coley, the owner of Prestige.
Last week, his attorneys gave notice to the District Court of California, where a jury trial against Alex Moore, the owner of GVE, was supposed to proceed, that they would waive the trial and instead pursue a default judgment against Moore.
Maloney has also filed a complaint with the State Bar of California against attorney Charles Stein, who acted as the escrow agent during the transaction. In August the State Bar filed disciplinary charges against Stein alleging that he engaged in a major misappropriation of client funds.
When contacted, Maloney told the Weekend Nation: “We are taking all steps necessary to obtain the judgments that we need in order to pursue all available options for recovery against the parties and their assets.”
He also hinted that the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) might decide to investigate. “We will go after everyone for everything they have,” he said. “We need to have these people put in jail and stripped of everything they have to stop them from doing this to people and companies.”
He added that they were also supporting the State Bar in its disbarment proceedings against Stein.
However, the lawsuits which began in September 2021 have not been easy sailing for Maloney, and to date, the businessman has not gotten back a cent out of the US$6.75 million.
Coley, who goes by the name “Trillionaire Babe” on Instagram, has never been located by the courts to answer the charges despite multiple summonses, all of which were returned.
The civil lawsuit first started in September 2021 in the District Court Florida with Maloney suing seven named defendants. After several months of discovery and arguments, it was transferred to the District Court California in April 2022 with the list shortened to five.
It was there that Maloney obtained a default judgment against Coley, Prestige Pegasus and GVE, while the matter against Stein was dismissed following an agreement with the attorney.
Moore’s attorneys then asked to be excused from representing him, telling the court that he was no longer communicating with them and that he owed them thousands of dollars in legal fees. The request was granted.
Earlier this year, the jury trial against Moore was transferred to the US District Court Central District California, but after several months of trying to get the case off the ground, Maloney’s attorneys wrote the court and requested that it enter a default judgment against Moore.
The application stated: “Please take notice that plaintiff Radical Investments Ltd. hereby requests that the clerk of the above-entitled court enter default against defendant Alex Moore . . . . Moore waived service of process on November 23, 2021, and subsequently answered plaintiff’s complaint. Former counsel for Moore withdrew from representing Good Vibrations, with leave of this court. Moore has been provided with ample opportunity to obtain counsel during the proceedings and in advance of pending trial, and has failed to do so and has been proceeding pro se since August 22, 2023.”
The letter further advised: “At the final pre-trial conference on August 26, 2024, Moore failed to appear. Plaintiff’s counsel advised the court that Mr Moore has not meaningfully participated in the case in over a year, and that it did not appear that he was interested in defending the action any further, after which the court directed plaintiff to move for default against Moore, the lone remaining non-defaulted defendant.”
In the pleadings, RIL noted that in 2021, “the country of Barbados was seeking COVID-19 vaccines, but due
to shortages in supply was having difficulty obtaining them. RIL, which conducts business in Barbados, was authorised and instructed to procure AstraZeneca vaccines on behalf of the Government of Barbados, Ministry of Health and Wellness.
“The purchase price for the vaccines was to be US$10 200 000. A commission of US$2 million would be payable to GVE upon delivery of the vaccines to RIL in Barbados. Upon execution of the purchase agreement, RIL was to deposit the US$12 200 000 into an escrow/client trust account. Moore was to provide an invoice from AstraZeneca for one million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines, together with the information for the AstraZeneca account into which the purchase price of US$10 200 000 was to be paid. Upon receipt of the AstraZeneca account information,
RIL would authorise the release of the US$10 200 000 to AstraZeneca. However RIL charged that shortly after wiring the funds to the attorney, US$2 million was sent to Prestige; US$4.2 million to GVE; US$40 000 to another IOLTA account, and US$485 000 to a foreign freight company.”
Throughout the proceedings it was revealed that Moore spent his money in strip clubs, luxury items and gave some to relatives, while Coley purchased a Rolls Royce SUV, numerous diamond-encrusted Rolex watches, various pieces of diamond-encrusted jewellery, and a variety of designer handbags and shoes.
