Michael Zhu-Lampel and Dylan Bezzina are two people who have allegedly fallen victim to instances of fraud committed by Anika De Vilera, a Croatian woman whose infamy has been reported in both local and international media.
Earlier this month this newspaper reported that, according to sources close to Ms De Vilera, individuals in Malta and abroad are still owed money by her, and most of them have made a report to the police. She allegedly owes tens of thousands of euros in total, for a variety of services - from catering, to shipping, childcare and house rental.
Speaking to The Malta Independent on Sunday, Mr Zhu-Lampel and Mr Bezzina tell how Ms De Vilera made use of their services or money, and never paid them what they were due.
In April last year Mr Bezzina, the owner of Dylan's House of Candy as well as I Do Events, was contacted by Ms De Vilera who asked him to take care of the organisation of a private party at her own house. After meeting Ms De Vilera and speaking to her about his requirements, they agreed on everything and, according to Mr Bezzina, the total cost came to €5,833.14. In an invoice prepared by Mr Bezzina and seen by this newspaper, the total cost included payment for sound equipment and a technician, entertainment, furniture, setting up the event, floral arrangements and décor, co-ordination fee, cake and catering services.
The party took place later in the month and was described by Mr Bezzina as "successful". However, when Ms De Vilera was due to pay Mr Bezzina, she came up with every excuse to delay or avoid payment, according to Mr Bezzina. Mr Bezzina elaborated that "Ms De Vilera started making excuses regarding how the payment was going to be made - like the fact that she was discussing it with a bank in Germany or that she had to make separate transfers."
He said that he had been unable to contact her for a number of months until, in October, she admitted she was not able to pay him. Since May 2016, Mr Bezzina has filed a number of police reports against Ms De Vilera, including one stating: "It is clear that these orders were made in a deceitful manner and that this is not the first case where the accused acted in the same manner towards people and companies in Malta."
He explained that he is reluctant to start court proceedings because he feels he will probably not get his money back anyway and will end up being more out-of-pocket.
Earlier this month, this newspaper reported that, according to sources close to Ms De Vilera, individuals in Malta and abroad are still owed money by her and that most of the cases have been reported to the police. This newsroom has also seen one of the police reports, which was filed in 2015. Ms De Vilera allegedly owes tens of thousands of euros, for a variety of services such as catering, shipping, childcare and house rental.
Michael Zhu-Lampel, who is a German national, also explained to this newspaper how Ms De Vilera owes him and his providers approximately €18,000 in total. He said that he had helped iGaming company Betsson choose Ms De Vilera as a coordinator when he worked with it in Berlin in 2015 as a country manager and was in touch with Betsson Malta. He explained how Ms De Vilera's CV had complied with the role they were looking to fill and that she began working for them in the summer of 2015.
"Everything went well in the beginning," he said. Ms De Vilera's husband had warned the company about her history of fraud in other countries but Mr Zhu-Lampel said they were not sure whether or not to believe him at that point. "She was brilliant at her work," he said, "which is why it took us so long to believe that something wasn't right."
He relates how, a few months later, he stopped working for Betsson, and Ms De Vilera remained in touch with him after she began training by the company to take on his former role. However, a few months later, with further revelations about Ms De Vilera's history of fraud, the Human Resources Department wanted to terminate the contract.
Mr Zhu-Lampel began working for a company in Berlin that provides media deals and marketing plans for igaming and financial companies. In the summer of 2016, Ms De Vilera contacted him saying that "she is now working as a country manager in Malta for an igaming company based in Gibraltar and expressing her interest in collaborating with his company for media deals for the German market." She asked him for money in advance before beginning to work on these deals.
Ms De Vilera had shown Mr Zhu-Lampel a contract committing her to the Gibraltar igaming company, and he had confirmed with this company that it had a German market. However, he recalls that he did not ask the company if Ms De Vilera was employed by them, as he "had no reason to doubt the contract she had sent to him". He subsequently transferred €18,000 to Ms De Vilera by way of an advance.
Shortly after transferring this money, Mr Zhu-Lampel said he recalled how, earlier this year, Dr Joseph Mizzi, the lawyer working with Andrea Gerdes - Ms De Vilera's ex-partner and the father of her daughter - had contacted him "bringing to my attention Ms De Vilera's fraud cases." Mr Zhu-Lampel told how he then carried out another check and discovered that Ms De Vilera did not, after all, have a job with an igaming company in Gibraltar. They confirmed that she had applied for the position but "had been turned down when Human Resources carried out a background check" and that she "had not been chosen or signed any contact."
The Malta Independent on Sunday has repeatedly contacted the police regarding their investigations in relation to reports about Ms Anika De Vilera, but to date has received no reply.
from The Malta Independent http://ift.tt/2pI4f8T
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