Phillip Pass (59), from Chorley, Lancashire, incorporated Young Forever Limited in June 2018 and the company sold vitamins and healthcare supplements.

The Insolvency Service, however, conducted confidential investigations into the health supplements company after receiving complaints about Young Forever’s trading practices.

Investigators found that the company was cold calling vulnerable or elderly members of the public using call centres based in India. Victims said sales staff would call repeatedly and made claims they were linked to the government or the NHS.

Young Forever also applied excessive mark ups of over 1000% and failed to keep suitable accounting records of the business.

Following the winding up of the company in February 2019, the Official Receiver conducted further investigations into the conduct of Phillip Pass as director of Young Forever.

Enquiries uncovered that while Phillip Pass incorporated the company, he allowed all sales activities to be controlled by an overseas call centre, claiming he had no knowledge of what they were doing.

Bank statements showed that in just over a year between June 2018 and September 2019, Young Forever made sales worth more than £147,000.

On 7 December 2012, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Phillip Pass, after he did not dispute that he had caused Young Forever to trade with a lack of commercial probity and use improper sales techniques.

Effective from 28 December 2020, Philip Pass is banned for 9 years from directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.

Rob Clarke, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:

Phillip Pass’s company took advantage of elderly and vulnerable people with their excessive cold calls and illegitimate orders. Phillip Pass claimed he did not have a day to day role but this was not a suitable defence as company directors are ultimately responsible for ensuring their business is operated with commercial honesty and decency.

Nine years is a substantial disqualification and this ban means Phillip Pass has now been removed from being in control of any other businesses for a lengthy period.

Phillip Pass is from Brinscall in Chorley and his date of birth is May 1964.

Young Forever Limited (Company number: 11438575) was incorporated on 28 June 2018 with a serviced office address of Office 4, 219 Kensington High Street, London, W8 6BD. The company was wound up on 19 December 2019.

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of restrictions.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct.

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Huseyin Gozel (41), from Norwich, was appointed director of Mardin & Maras Limited in June 2014. The company had been incorporated two years earlier in May 2012 and traded as Caesar’s Pizza & Kebab on Dereham Road.

In September 2019, however, Mardin & Maras entered liquidation as it could not pay its debts and Huseyin Gozel’s conduct was referred to the Insolvency Service for further enquiries.

Investigators found that from February 2013 until May 2018, Huseyin Gozel had caused the company to deliberately supress its takings on returns submitted to the tax authorities.

Huseyin Gozel had also deliberately failed to account for the correct PAYE tax and National Insurance tax contributions for four consecutive tax years between 2015 and 2019. This meant Mardin & Maras’ corporate tax returns were also found to be inaccurate from May 2014 until May 2018.

In total at liquidation, Mardin & Maras owed the tax authorities more than £400,000, including interest and penalties.

On 11 December, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted an undertaking from Huseyin Gozel after he did not dispute that he failed to submit accurate tax returns.

His disqualification is effective from 1 January 2021 and Huseyin Gozel is banned from acting as a director or directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company

Lawrence Zussman, Deputy Director of Insolvent Investigations, said:

Huseyin Gozel did not take his responsibilities as a director seriously enough and, throughout the time he was involved in the company, deliberately underdeclared sales to avoid the takeaway meeting its tax obligations.

More than £400,000 is missing from the public purse due to Huseyin Gozel’s misconduct and this disqualification means he will be banned from acting as a director in any business for seven years.

Huseyin Gozel is from Norwich and his date of birth is June 1979.

Mardin & Maras Limited (Company Reg no. 08059225).

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on: