Get psychiatric help!
What phones billionaire ‘told heiress business partner’ now battling him in court for £17m
THE billionaire founder of Phones 4u told his ex-business partner to get psychiatric help in a row about her expenses, a court heard yesterday.
Tycoon John Caudwell is suing French wine heiress Nathalie Dauriac-Stoebe, accusing her of abusing her position at the wealth management firm they ran.
But Miss Dauriac-Stoebe, 39, is counter-suing, claiming she was forced out of her chief executive role, losing out on shares worth £17million and a £300,000 bonus. Both sides dispute the allegations against them in a case that finally came to trial yesterday at the High Court in London.
It heard that Mr Caudwell’s company Signia Wealth Management launched an investigation into Miss Dauriac-Stoebe’s expenses in 2014. Miss Dauriac-Stoebe, a Cambridge graduate, resigned in January 2015 and says the ‘ulterior motive’ behind the investigation was to force her ou.
Lawyers for Signia say she quit to escape the consequences of the probe. Among the expenses claims she made were flights to Malaga for a friend’s birthday, beauty treatments, gifts for her children, a £104 birthday cake for her ex-husband, and travel to visit Mr Caudwell across the globe – including in the Seychelles and the French Riviera. Lawyers for Miss Dauriac- Stoebe said Mr Caudwell, 65, had called her ‘corrupt’ at a meeting at his Mayfair mansion in December 2014 after the company launched the investigation.
The court heard she was pressed to sign a ‘confession’ to expenses fraud after Mr Caudwell said he could report her to police. He also told her to see a psychiatrist and demanded she remortgage her home to put £2.5million in to the business, the court heard.
Monica Carss-Frisk QC, for Signia, said Miss Dauriac-Stoebe – described by one colleague as a sociopath – had stolen at least £33,000 in expenses and blamed her staff when an investigation began. The banker would have been sacked had she not resigned, she said.
‘Her approach to expenses was brazen and fell seriously short of the relevant standards. Her attempts at coverup, using subordinate employees, evidences the wrongdoing and is misconduct in itself.’
Miss Dauriac-Stoebe’s lawyers said she ‘devoted herself completely’ to the business, which by November 2014 had assets of close to £1.5billion.
Mr Justice Marcus Smith heard the banker – who was on a £200,000 salary – had told a colleague she deserved the money because ‘she worked 24/7 for the business… and felt [Mr Caudwell] had never paid her properly.’
She was also upset at missing out on her annual bonus again. Miss Dauriac- Stoebe, whose family owns a vineyard in Bordeaux, used to be ‘very good friends’ with Mr Caudwell, the court heard. They founded Signia together in 2009 and he is godfather to her first child.
She now claims she is owed up to £17million from Signia shares sold to her after she left for £2. Signia’s lawyers claim her shares are worthless as the company is not profitable.
Court papers show that Signia director David Canfield described Miss Dauriac-Stoebe as ‘unhinged’ and ‘a sociopath’ in emails to colleagues.
Signia lawyers say she is trying to embarrass Mr Caudwell with the legal action. But Miss Dauriac-Stoebe’s lawyers said her expenses were ‘appropriate’.
The case, which is expected to last three weeks, continues.
‘Brazen approach to expenses claims’