麻豆社
tracks down North East financier in Florida
Inside
Out, 麻豆社 ONE (North East & Cumbria), Monday 26 January, 7.30pm
The
head of a management firm who left customers with thousands of pounds
of unpaid debts has been tracked down in North America by Inside
Out presenter Chris Jackson.
In
a special report to be broadcast on 麻豆社 ONE (North East & Cumbria)
today (Monday 26 January) Chris follows a trail from Newcastle's
Quayside to a tattoo parlour south of Orlando in Florida, where
Virginia Gibson Barkess is now working.
A 麻豆社
camera crew film a shaven-headed and tattooed Ms Gibson Barkess
wearing a dark vest in the hot Florida sun as she steps out of a
dark green saloon car and into a tattoo parlour with her son Jason
and daughter Jade.
Viewers
will also see the large house which is registered as the home of
Ms Gibson Barkess on her Florida marriage certificate - in a neighbourhood
where the houses have swimming pools and large driveways.
Ms
Gibson Barkess will not be interviewed and hides from the 麻豆社 camera
crew.
Her
son Jason does not give the 麻豆社 investigative team a warm welcome.
He
tells Chris Jackson: "I don't appreciate you upsetting my mother.
My mum is not a well woman and you are just creating grief for her."
Ms
Gibson Barkess ran debt management agency Gibson-Barkess, which
promised to take the stress out of personal debt by arranging to
pay creditors for a small fee.
But
it appears that Ms Gibson Barkess did not pay all of the money she
received.
Ray
Austin, from Houghton-le-Spring, tells Inside Out that he had debts
of 拢16,000 and remortgaged his home to pay 拢3,000 to
Ms Gibson Barkess agency.
When
Ms Gibson Barkess' debt agency was declared bankrupt, Mr Austin
was forced to sell his home and has now been offered a two-bedroom
bungalow by his local council.
He
says the experience has split up his family because there is no
room in his new council house to accommodate his son's wish to move
back to home.
He
tells Inside Out: "People like me have lost a way of life and
it's down to the licensing of these companies."
Dave
Ellerington, from Newcastle Trading Standards, says: "These
people have been dealt with very badly in relation to what happened.
"The
system has let them down and the existing legislation has not been
able to cope with these types of experiences."
Ms
Gibson Barkess was investigated by the police, but the Crown Prosecution
Service decided no action should be taken.
Inside
Out presenter Chris Jackson travels to Florida, where he hears that
Ms Gibson Barkess has got married and finds her home address on
the marriage certificate in the county public records office.
No-one
is at home at the property, which is thought to be in the region
of US $150,000.
But
Anika Smith - a former Florida employee of Ms Gibson Barkess - tells
Inside Out: "She had enough money that got
sent over for her to buy a big, expensive car. Large lump sums were
coming over. She had the money, but she was spending it."
The
special report on Inside Out is part of a week of programming by
the 麻豆社 devoted to debt and personal finances.
There
will also be network television and radio programmes during the
week tackling the issue.
Notes
to Editors
Please
credit 麻豆社
ONE's Inside Out if any of this story is published.
Pictures
are available by contacting 麻豆社 North East & Cumbria Press Office.
All
the 麻豆社's digital services are now available on ,
the new free-to-view digital terrestrial television service, as well
as on satellite and cable. Freeview
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from 麻豆社i, as well as 11 national 麻豆社 radio networks.
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