MAUREEN CALLAHAN: There's a savage truth of JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette's marriage... that America's legacy media STILL refuses to admit
It's time, yet again, to take another bite out of the mythological Kennedy family carcass.
Several bites, actually.
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Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
British pub landlord 'who bragged of Banksy and supercar collection' is sued over '£330million Crypto Ponzi scheme'
A former pub landlord turned flamboyant Dubai socialite is facing a multimillion-pound lawsuit in the United States over claims he helped run one of the largest alleged crypto scams of recent years. Peter McInnes, 56, originally from Merseyside, is accused of playing a central role in a so-called 'cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme' that lawyers say extracted more than £330 million from unsuspecting investors worldwide. Known online as 'Paddy', McInnes routinely shared selfies and snaps to X, Discord and other platforms under the now-defunct username 'Paddy is Bored' in which he flaunted his luxury supercars and collection of artwork, including several pieces by street artist Banksy. Plaintiffs allege that façade was part of a much darker operation in which McInnes, along with six other defendants, orchestrated a scam that promised investors stunning returns in the crypto market. According to the civil case filed in New York by Burwick Law, a firm that specialises in cryptocurrency litigation, McInnes and his partners cut off communications, blamed 'technical issues' and ultimately vanished. In McInnes' case, his disappearance came shortly after he posted a video from a luxury villa in Costa Rica claiming to have suffered a heart attack days before the companies claimed they were going to repay investors. He recently appeared in Dubai seemingly alive and well, and denies all the allegations against him. In early 2023, a cryptocurrency investment platform labelled TradeAI surfaced, promising investors 'extraordinary profits' - sometimes between 25%-50% in a matter of days. The scheme, headed by mysterious Costa-Rica-based trader Guillermo Gharib, granted access to investors via digital passes in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Purchasing this digital token afforded investors the opportunity to allocate funds to high-yield 'investment pools'. For months, investors found to their delight that they were able to withdraw their money days after it had been invested with significant profits as advertised, and TradeAI's investment pools quickly filled up as opportunistic moneymakers flocked to get in on the action. But in autumn 2023, the TradeAI platform came to an abrupt halt and withdrawals were suddenly rejected. One investor told The Times: 'You were hitting the button trying to get your money out but the money wouldn't drop.' Investors were told their funds were stuck after Binance, a cryptocurrency trading platform, had frozen an account containing the funds after it had triggered a high-risk alert. They were reassured the money was safe and that it would soon be released. Binance later reported it had no involvement whatsoever with TradeAI. What followed bore all the hallmarks of a classic Ponzi scheme. As investors grew more concerned, TradeAI's excuses mounted until the company announced that a new firm had been appointed to help recover the funds that remained, inexplicably, inaccessible. Said firm, UA3, was reportedly co-founded by McInnes and another British-born businessman named James Abbas Biniaz, based in Dubai. While UA3 was said to be working to reclaim TradeAI's lost funds, the company launched another cryptocurrency venture called StakX, asking victims to reinvest what was left of their capital into something even more abstract - digital investment 'syndicates'. One such fund was 'Paddy's Syndicate', named after McInnes's nickname. Investors were told it was backed by $20 million worth of luxury cars stored in Dubai and a trove of Banksy artwork. McInnes described himself as 'one of the biggest private collectors of Banksy in the world', adding: 'We took them down from the side of buildings and rescued and restored them. And eventually immortalised them on the Blockchain', according to The Times. StakX followed the same pattern as TradeAI, paying out lucrative returns at first before the money suddenly dried up. It was later revealed that Biniaz, co-founder of UA3 and McInnes' partner, was a convicted fraudster, and investors began confronting the reality - that they had spent millions buying securities with no backing whatsoever. In late 2023, the platforms had promised investors their money would be returned in short order. Then in 2024, days out from a stated deadline for the funds to be returned, McInnes shared a video from a bed in a mansion nestled in the hills of Escazú, Costa Rica. He claimed to have suffered a heart attack and posted a breathless video from the bed, sporting a plaster on the left side of his chest and a breathing mask on his face. Company communications promptly ceased shortly after. In December 2024, Burwick Law filed its suit on behalf of 220 disgruntled investors - though many more are believed to have lost money investing on the TradeAI and StakX platforms. The New York-based firm argues the amount invested across TradeAI and Stakx totals $440 million (£330 million). The suit described the companies as 'cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes', but does not claim fraud, instead arguing that investors were mis-sold securities in violation of the US Securities Act. McInnes, through an intermediary, told The Times that he had no knowledge of any proceedings against him. McInnes claimed he 'never had any type of formal business partnership' with co-defendant Biniaz, and added that he had left Dubai for Costa Rica - where he allegedly suffered a heart attack - to provide security for TradeAI chief Guillermo Gharib, who was allegedly being threatened by disgruntled investors. The statement also denied that McInnes had 'any interest in the management, operation or ownership of TradeAI', had 'any financial benefit out of TradeAI either directly or through any third party' or any 'involvement with venture capitalists... in relation to UA3'. Lastly, McInnes rejected claims he had enjoyed 'any financial benefit' through StakX, adding it the company had been established 'in an attempt to restructure and mitigate TradeAI losses'. This alleged crypto scam is not the first controversy to which McInnes has been tied. He is well known in Merseyside for his connections to North Point Global (NPG) - a property developer that was given the greenlight by Liverpool City Council to oversee a quartet of real estate schemes including the infamous 'New Chinatown' development. McInnes was one of the public faces of the company in 2015, boasting of New Chinatown and other developments' 'enormous potential for additional phases and creating a destination of international scale and appeal'. Two years later, the company overseeing the buyer-funded developments was insolvent and its building sites abandoned, ransacked and reduced to fly-tipping hotspots. Some £40 million was owed to creditors when the projects associated with NPG and its subsidiaries collapsed, and has never been repaid. This followed shortly after the Liverpudlian was named in criminal proceedings against brothers Stephen and Peter Clarke, convicted drug dealers and notorious underworld figures in North West England, as well as a third dealer, Anthony Quigley. A detective described McInnes as being 'possibly involved' in laundering money on their behalf, using front companies that were rapidly shut down before accounts could be scrutinised - though he was never charged. McInnes was also never officially listed as a director or owner of NPG, despite marketing materials naming his a chairman of the company and his public promotion of their developments, according to The Times. He has strenuously denied all allegations against him and pointed out in a statement to the Liverpool Echo that the Serious Fraud Office had discontinued an investigation into two of NPG's developments due to 'insufficient evidence'. A representative of McInnes told The Times in relation to his alleged involvement in NPG: 'It is not appropriate to expect a response to matters that came to a formal legal investigatory conclusion some four years ago and which occurred almost a decade ago.' Liverpool City Council bought back the building site from administrators for £10 million in 2024 - almost a decade after awarding NPG the right to build over other trusted developers. After months of silence on social media, McInnes this month re-emerged in Dubai.
BreakingNews.ie
36 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Jury due to begin deliberating in Sean ‘Diddy' Combs sex trafficking trial
Jurors are set to start deliberating in Sean 'Diddy' Combs's sex trafficking case, weighing charges that could put the hip-hop mogul in prison for life. After receiving legal instructions from federal Judge Arun Subramanian, the jury of eight men and four women will head behind closed doors to deliberate on Monday. Advertisement They will sift through seven weeks of sometimes graphic and emotional testimony about the rap, fashion and reality TV impresario, including drug-fuelled sex marathons dubbed 'freak-offs' or 'hotel nights'. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking — relating to two of his ex-girlfriends — and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution for allegedly arranging to fly sex workers across state lines. In closing arguments last week, prosecutors and Combs's defence team took their last shots at convincing jurors to convict or acquit the Grammy Award-winning founder of Bad Boy Records. 'The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,' assistant US attorney Christy Slavik said. Advertisement 'He thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law.' Defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo countered: 'This isn't about crime. It's about money.' He noted that one of Combs's accusers in the criminal case also sued him in civil court. In all, 34 witnesses gave evidence, headlined by Combs's former girlfriends Cassie — the R&B singer born Casandra Ventura — and 'Jane' who gave evidence under a pseudonym. Advertisement Both women said he often was violent towards them and forced them into hundreds of sexual encounters with paid male sex workers. Jurors also saw now-infamous security camera video of Combs beating, kicking and dragging Cassie at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 and clips from videos of sexual encounters. Combs chose not to give evidence, and his lawyers did not call any witnesses in their defence case. His lawyers elected instead to challenge the accusers' credibility during lengthy cross-examination questioning. Advertisement The defence has acknowledged that Combs veered into violence, but his lawyers maintain that the sex acts were consensual. They contend that prosecutors are intruding in Combs's personal life and that he has done nothing to warrant the charges against him.
Daily Mail
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Urgent warning for homeowners: Why you should blur your house on Google Maps - and how to do it
People will go to all sorts of lengths to keep their homes safe, from fancy locks to security cameras. But an expert has warned there's one thing homeowners are forgetting to do that could be putting their house at risk. Blurring your home on Google Maps could help to deter burglars who use the tool to learn about entryways, security measures and possible possessions, he said. And the simple tactic could stop would-be robbers from targeting your home. Ryan Railsback, an officer in the Riverside Police Department in Southern California, said he is aware of some homeowners already taking the protective step. And he urged others to consider doing it too. 'The crooks are looking for new and innovative ways to victimise people,' he told ABC News. 'It's good for the public to be aware of that and counter what the criminals are already doing.' So, how do you go about blurring your home? According to Google, anyone can request to blur their house if they prefer that it appear that way on Google Street View. 'Google Street View cars capture images from public roads, which might include your home,' their website reads. 'If an image contains inappropriate content, or you prefer your home not be shown, you can request it to be blurred. 'Once Google blurs your home, the blur is permanent. Only the home owner or tenant is eligible to request a house blur.' To blur your home on your computer or smartphone, you must first find it on Google Maps. Open the Street View image that you want to blur, and in the bottom right click 'Report a problem'. Complete this form and then submit. 'We'll review your report as fast as we can,' Google says. 'If you entered your email address in the form, we may contact you to get additional information or to update you on the status of your report.' The safety tactic of blurring one's home on Google Maps has been around for years, Christopher Herrmann, a professor of law and police science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, told ABC News. The simple digital fix could stop robbers from targeting a given home, he said, adding: 'Would-be thieves certainly want to scout their locations before they hit them.' When seeking online images of a home, criminals look for valuable assets worth stealing and any security barriers that may be in place to stop them, he explained. That includes identifying a home's layout and entrance, as well as the presence of a front-door camera or exterior surveillance system. However, the manoeuvre also risks backfiring – prompting burglars to wonder what you have to hide if you're the only house on a street which is blurred. A quick look along some of the UK's most expensive streets reveals that certain homeowners have already taken this step. Certain London properties in Phillimore Gardens in Kensington, Grosvenor Square in Mayfair and Knightsbridge have all been blurred out.
