find these crooked lawyers

Added: (Sun Mar 04 2007)

Pressbox (Press Release) - Fraud victims in new appeal against lawyer
By Leo Leonidou

VICTIMS of a lawyer and his wife accused of defrauding several foreign investors of more than three million pounds have appealed to the public for help in locating the fugitives.

Police have issued international arrest warrants against the couple, but admit they are no closer to determining their whereabouts

Rumours have been circulating that Marios Shiaeles, 37, and his wife Niki Fasaria, along with their baby girl, could be in the north, Turkey, Greece, Albania or Bulgaria. However, there is no information to substantiate any of these claims.

Shiaeles and Fasaria are both lawyers from Limassol. They are believed to have fled the country in early October 2006, allegedly taking with them client funds estimated to be in excess of three million pounds. Alleged victims cover at least seven different nationalities, with some investors losing hundreds of thousands of pounds
Howard Cox, who has lost some £200,000, has been working with some of the other victims to try and locate the couple.

“There is a small group of us who are working hard to try and determine where Shiaeles has escaped to,” he told the Mail.

Another of his alleged victims attempted to shoot Shiaeles with a shotgun as he was entering his Yermasoyia home two days before he fled.

A website containing pictures and information on the couple has now been created by several of their victims and can be accessed at www.cypruscrookedlawyers.com.
“I would encourage anybody with any information about either of them to use the e-mail link on the website to provide the information to the group,” Cox said. “All communications will be kept confidential. There is also a voice box where people can leave a message on +44 845 868 6384.”

There are believed to be over ten individual victims, as well as many Limassol businesses that provided goods and services that have not been paid for.

“We know of around 13 individuals who have filed statements with the police,” Cox said. “I would encourage anybody who has suffered losses to contact us through our website so that we can share information that may be vital to discovering where Marios and Niki are hiding.

“It is very frustrating to know that there are individuals in Cyprus who have information on the couple’s whereabouts but for incomprehensible reasons choose not to inform the police.”

Chrystalla Demetriou, spokeswoman for Cyprus police, confirmed that the force was looking into 13 complaints against the lawyer. “An investigation is ongoing and we are co-ordinating with our European partners,” she said. “Unfortunately we have not made a breakthrough yet.”

She added that international and European arrest warrants had been issued.

“The actions of Shiaeles have brought shame on his Paphos-based family as well as the Cyprus legal profession,” Cox concluded.