The CVA, the second put to creditors after the first was voted down in April, was approved in July following a bitter battle among creditors behind the scenes to sway the vote.<\/p>\n
Fortress was an investment scheme whose backers included several celebrities as well as members of a southeast London church. It promoted returns of up to 18 per cent a year, before collapsing in September 2023.<\/p>\n
Its failure has triggered an investigation by the Metropolitan Police<\/a> and led to an extraordinary dispute between administrators and the Fortress creditors\u2019 committee. Begbies has claimed Fortress has \u201call the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n Borrowers included Kevin Maxwell, son of the late media baron Robert Maxwell and brother of Ghislaine Maxwell, and celebrity investors including Scott McTominay, the Napoli and Scotland footballer.<\/p>\n Kevin Maxwell, the son of the late media baron Robert Maxwell and brother of Ghislaine Maxwell<\/p>\n LEV RADIN\/ANADOLU AGENCY\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n In total, unsecured creditors have been left with a deficit of \u00a319.5 million, mostly owed to investors, the administrators have previously stated.<\/p>\n Their latest report claims Maxwell, 66, has breached the repayment terms of a two-year \u00a31.25 million settlement. They said payments had been sporadic because of delays selling overseas property and that a statutory demand was served on August 12 \u201cin respect of the settlement arrears \u2026 of \u00a3597,000\u201d.<\/p>\n Maxwell, who became Britain\u2019s biggest bankrupt in 1992, had been warned of the risk of being pursued for bankruptcy<\/a> for a second time if he failed to repay the debt. It is now for the supervisor of the CVA, Kirker & Co, to pursue the debt. Maxwell was approached for comment.<\/p>\n The sole director of Lend Corp, incorporated at about the time Fortress entered administration, is Mario Falcone, who made his name in the television series The Only Way is Essex.<\/p>\n Falcone, 37, was previously listed as Fortress\u2019s head of business development and is listed as being owed \u00a3450,000 by Fortress. He voted in favour of the CVA.<\/p>\n In a report to creditors ahead of July\u2019s vote, administrators said Lend Corp has been set up to \u201coperate in a similar way\u201d as Fortress and will be \u201cutilising the services\u201d of Ashley Reading<\/a>, Fortress\u2019s former chief executive who was made bankrupt in 2010.<\/p>\n Lend Corp has committed to pay 50 per cent of the net profits into the CVA over five years, including the \u00a3350,000 payment it has now made.<\/p>\n In return, Lend Corp agreed to acquire Fortress\u2019s assets, including an overdrawn directors\u2019 loan account of Reading, as well as for his daughter Cameron Reading, a model, Fortress\u2019s former head of investor relations and the girlfriend of McTominay. It also includes any interest in a luxury Kent home contentiously occupied by Reading\u2019s family, as well as other debtors to Fortress.<\/p>\n Cameron Reading is a model and the girlfriend of Scott McTominay<\/p>\n BRADLEY COLLYER\/PA<\/p>\n Administrators said ahead of the CVA vote that the proposal was \u201chighly speculative\u201d and \u201cthere may be little further return\u201d.<\/p>\n Commenting on the vote, Ashley Reading, 56, said: \u201cCreditors have backed me, have backed Fortress, and the company has come through the process in a positive way. I\u2019m genuinely proud the CVA received overwhelming support and now offers real clarity and value for those involved. <\/p>\n![\"Kevin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/\/bba8588f-5ab5-4940-967d-734529ed071f.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Cam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/\/477e871d-2be8-4591-8833-fbca7db55f42.jpg\")
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