Peter Foster

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Peter Foster (born 26 September 1962) is an Australian businessman and convicted criminal. He has been nicknamed and referred to himself as the "human headline" ^[1][2] after his involvement in helping Cherie Blair, wife of United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair buy properties in Bristol.

He had already been convicted on numerous occasions for frauds involving weight loss products.^[3]

In Nigel Blundell's 2004 book, The Sting: True Stories of the World's Greatest Conmen, Foster was described as "the greatest conman of all time."

Contents 1 History 1.1 Cheriegate 1.2 Activities in Fiji 2 Trivia 3 References

[edit] History

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Foster began marketing and selling products at an early age. He has stated that at age 14, he leased a string of pinball machines to high-rise apartment buildings in Surfers Paradise, and that by 15 he was earning several times more money than his teachers, and soon decided it was time for him to leave school and go into business full-time.^[4]

Foster first hit the headlines as the "world’s youngest boxing promoter" when at the age of 17 he staged a world elimination title fight featuring British and European Light Heavyweight Champion Bunny Johnson and Australia's Tony Mundine. At age 20, he was fined £40,000 for his involvement in an attempted insurance fraud; this marked his first criminal conviction.^[3]

In 1983, Foster became a television producer, and filmed a documentary with retired boxer Muhammad Ali while living with Ali at his home near Wilshire Boulevard for a period of time.^[3] Foster had won over Ali's confidence by presenting him with a bronze sculpture that had taken an aboriginal artist over two years to produce.^{[citation needed]} Foster would repay Ali’s trust by deciding not to release the film he wrote, produced and directed, as the behind-the-scenes access showed the rapid deterioration in Ali's health, at the time thought to be brain damage from too many punches, but years later diagnosed as Parkinson's Disease.^{[citation needed]}

Ali's wife, Veronica Porsche Ali, introduced Foster's mother to a supposedly slimming tea called Bai Lin Tea. Foster obtained the rights for Bai Lin Tea for Australia where it became an overnight success, however he was investigated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and charged with fraudulently claiming that the product could result in weight loss.^[3] Foster expanded to South Africa, England and throughout Europe where he reportedly made over $20 million in the mid 1980s selling the dieter's dream.^{[citation needed]} In marketing the tea, he employeed celebrities such as model Samantha Fox, jockey Lester Piggott and Sarah, Duchess of York to endorse the tea, and he became the main sponsor of Chelsea F.C. in 1987 with the team wearing the Bai Lin Tea logo on their jerseys.^[5] He was fined £21,000 in 1994 in the United Kingdom for fraud over Bai Lin Tea, in 1995 was jailed for breaching laws regarding his distribution of slimming granules, and he was also investigated for his conduct as a director of Foremost Body Corporation.^[3]

Following the Bai Lin Tea venture, he subsequently promoted a similar product, Chow Low Tea, in the United States. After creating advertisement which falsely claimed that the tea lowered the cholesterol levels of its consumers and placing these in The New York Times and The Washington Post, he was convicted of fraud and sentenced to four months in prison. Foster next marketed Ageless Aging, a product which claimed through advertising to be able to counter toxins that "contribute greatly to the ageing process."^[3]

When he was allowed out on day leave as he served his 1995 prison sentence, Foster fled to Australia using a fake passport. He was immediately charged by the ACCC for his marketing of Biometrics, a thigh contour treatment, and later fined A$15,000. This conviction was followed by Foster appealing against an extradition request from the United Kingdom, but his appeal failed and he was charged with fraud relating to the Foremost Body Corporation in 2000. After serving 33 months in prison, including time spent on remand during his extradition hearings, Foster moved to Fiji.^[3]

In September 2005, Foster was found guilty in the Federal Court of Australia of making A$1 million as part of a fraud involving the marketing of TRIMit, a weight loss pill. He was fined A$150,000 and the Chaste Corporation responsible for the product was fined A$600,000; in addition, Foster was banned from commercial involvement in weight loss or health products for five years.^[3]

[edit] Cheriegate

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Foster was at the centre of the 2002 Cheriegate scandal after it was revealed that Foster was the financial advisor to Cherie Blair and assisted her with the purchase of two flats in Bristol.^{[citation needed]} It was later revealed that Foster committed no crimes. Foster claimed he never sought any financial reward for assisting the Blairs and helped them only out of friendship.^[6]

Cherie Blair tried to distance herself from Foster and released a public statement claiming that Foster was not involved with the property deal. The Daily Mail newspaper provided e-mail evidence that she had lied; in one email between Blair and Foster she described him as "a star" and said, "We are on the same wave length, Peter".^[7]

She went public herself, tearfully reading a prepared statement blaming her "misfortune" on the pressures of running a family and being a mother.^{[citation needed]} It was later revealed that she and Tony Blair had agreed to be godparents to the yet-to-be born child of Foster and his partner Carole Caplin; Caplin later had a miscarriage. Foster was also invited to Chequers to celebrate Christmas with the Blair family, and had gone to 10 Downing Street on the night of his 40th birthday.^[3]

[edit] Activities in Fiji

This section documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

Prior to the parliamentary election of 2001, Foster invested more than F$1 million in the New Labour Unity Party, a group which broke from the Fiji Labour Party (FLP) in May 2001 in the wake of the coup d'état which deposed the FLP-led government in May 2000. ^[3] Foster said he supported Dr Tupeni Baba, the former Deputy Prime Minister, because he saw him as the "Nelson Mandela of the South Pacific." ^[8] Describing himself as a "freedom fighter for Fiji", he was concerned that there could be another coup if the FLP leader and former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, who had been deposed in the 2000 coup, returned to office.^[9]

On October 25, 2006, Foster was arrested by Fiji police after injuring himself under a boat while attempting to evade police capture. ^[10] He spent time recovering in a hospital in Suva before being handed over to authorities for questioning.^[11] The following day, the Fiji Live news service reported that the Republic of Fiji Military Forces had called for an investigation into Tupeni Baba's links with Peter Foster.

Foster was not formally charged but police wanted to interview him about a range of matters. These included presenting a falsified police clearance certificate to immigration authorities in Fiji to obtain a work permit, obtaining loans from the Federated States of Micronesia using some lease documents from Fiji, and impersonating a rival developer to discredit a resort development at Champagne Beach in the Yasawa Islands. ^[12].

On October 30, 2006 it was reported that Foster had proposed to Fijian police to drop assault charges against them, if he was allowed to leave the country with no charges lodged against him. ^[13].

Foster pleaded not guilty in Suva Magistrates Court on three charges: forgery, uttering forged documents and obtaining a work permit on forged documents. Foster was not granted bail at that stage and was sent to Suva's Korovou Prison for the night.^[14]

On 12 November 2006, Foster's sister Jill was arrested before boarding a Pacific Blue flight from Nadi Airport bound for Brisbane when she was stopped by immigration officers. One of the officers said she was wanted by police in Suva to answer allegations in fraud-related cases regarding her brother.^[15]. On November 13 it was reported that she was released on bail after pleading not guilty to fraud charges and she did not have to be present when the case is to be called again on November 20.

Foster had re-appeared in a Fiji court on 24 November 2006 to ask for his bail conditions be varied. He had appeared in the Suva court before Magistrate John Semisi to apply "for variance to bail conditions". The reason for a relaxation in his bail was to allow him to move to his house in Nadi from a place at JJs on the Park, where he was "virtually" under house arrest.^{[citation needed]} Foster's lawyer, Mehboob Raza, asked for a week to prepare submissions but Mr Semisi adjourned the case to December 11, 2006.

The Fiji Times reported on 5 December 2006 that Foster had moved to support Frank Bainimarama following the 2006 Fijian coup d'état after being closely involved with deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase's political party before the election. Foster was also quoted as saying that "corruption in Fiji was out of control."^[16]. Earlier, deposed Qarase had been quoted by the Fiji Village news service on 26 October as admitting that the then-campaign minister of the ruling Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL) Party, Jale Baba, had been in contact with Foster prior to the election, but insisted that Baba had acted without the authorization or knowledge of the party. On 21 December, Fiji Village quoted the Britain Times as claiming that Foster had negotiated an agreement with the Fijian Military to expose corruption in the deposed government in return for his own freedom. Fiji Live made similar claims. ^[17]

It was reported on 13 December 2006 that Foster could return to jail in Suva after Fiji's Department of Public Prosecutions had applied for him to be remanded in custody.^[18]. The DPP made the application in response to Mr Foster's bid to have his bail conditions changed so he could move from house arrest at a Suva hotel to his home on Denarau Island, off the coast of Nadi on the western side of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. ^[19]

Foster had tendered an affidavit to the Suva court by former Australian Federal Police (AFP) officer Ian Eriksson that Foster worked as an informant for the AFP during the 1990s. Two other affidavits had been submitted from former solicitors to convince the court that Foster would not be a flight risk if he were allowed to move from house arrest in a Suva hotel back to his home near Nadi, a three-hour drive away.^[20]

Foster had concerned Fijian prosecutors by checking out of the hotel where he had been ordered to stay as per his bail conditions. Foster failed to appear in court after leaving Suva's JJ's on the Park hotel, where he had been under house arrest awaiting trial on fraud charges relating to his business dealings in the country in 2006. Foster told The Australian that he had been given permission by the Suva court to return to his rented villa near Nadi in a decision by Fiji police.^[21]

On 1 January 2007, the Military released what it said was a secretly obtained video of a restaurant conversation between Foster and Navitalai Naisoro, the electoral strategist of the SDL party. Naisoro told Foster that the 2006 elections were rigged, with the full knowledge and cooperation of certain elements of the police. ^{[22] [23] [24]} Several Cabinet Ministers were implicated. Ousted Prime Minister Qarase angrily denied the claims. ^{[25] [26] [27] [28]} He suggested that the conversation recorded on video could have been staged. ^[29]

Fiji Television reported on 10 January 2007 that Foster, who was out of prison on bail, ^[30] had disappeared. On 11 January 2007 it was reported that police in Vanuatu were looking for Foster. Foster had been under house arrest in Fiji, but failed to appear in a Suva court on 9 January 2007. It was also mentioned that police are searching for him after reports he arrived in the capital Port Vila on a yacht.^[31] On 14 January, Foster was arrested in Vanuatu at 5.05a.m. He would appear in court the next morning on charges related to his illegal entry into the country on 8 December aboard Retriever 1 a former Australian minesweeper.^[32][33]

It was reported on 18 January that Foster had struck a deal with Vanuatu authorities to be deported to Australia and would possibly avoid facing charges in Fiji. State Prosecutor in Vanuatu, Alfred Bice said Foster was likely to be flown to Brisbane. He said a deal had been struck for Foster to plead guilty to illegally entering Vanuatu in return for a fine of 100,000 vatu (AUD $1,250). Foster faced the Vanuatu Magistrates Court on 18 January, where his hearing was adjourned until the next day, when the deal for his deportation is expected to be formally agreed to. Bice said the Vanuatu government would pay for Foster's flight to Australia, where it's believed he is not wanted for any alleged offences. The deal to deport Foster means he will not face justice in Fiji, where he is wanted after skipping bail while facing charges of using a forged document to enter that country.^[34]

Fijian police Criminal Investigations Director Ravi Narayan said on 31 January 2007 that Fiji wanted to extradite Foster from Vanuatu, but admitted that it was unlikely, as Vanuatu authorities were keen to prosecute and imprison him for violating their own laws. He considered that Fiji would have a better chance of a successful prosecution, because Fijian authorities had sufficient evidence to secure a conviction. Foster is due for sentencing on 2 February, having pleaded guilty to a charge of entering Vanuatu without a valid visa, in return for the withdrawal of a more serious charge of entering without a valid passport. The offence carries a maximum prison term of one year or a fine of $200,000 vatu ($A2400). ^[35]

On 2 Feburary Peter was sentenced to six weeks imprisonment on a charge of entering Vanuatu without a valid visa. The sentence was backdated to the date of his arrest and he was fined 120,000 vatu ($A1,400). ^[36] He was released from jail on Feburary 4 after serving only three weeks of the six week sentence.^[37]

[edit] Trivia

Foster was the first to try and secure a record deal for Kylie Minogue in England. After seeing her on television in Australia in 1986 whilst touring with Samantha Fox, he approached Zomba Records in London, who turned him down saying Minogue would never make it in England.^{[citation needed]}

He has worked as an undercover operative for the Australian Federal Police (1993 and 1997) and Derbyshire Force Intelligence (1997)^[38] during dangerous operations which required him to wear listening devices and covertly record conversations with criminal targets. Former Australian Federal Agent Ian Erikkson in a signed Affidavit tendered to the Supreme Court said Foster had "placed his life at risk" on several occasions and had "put his life in danger to assist the community."^{[citation needed]}

Foster donates 10% of his income to children’s charities. He has been a major contributor to the Help a London Child charity since 1986 and more recently he has been sponsoring underprivileged teenagers in the South Pacific to go to University. It is reported that he has personally given over $ 5 million to children’s charities. He does not seek publicity for his philanthropic work. ^[39]

Foster became Australia's highest paid first time author when he received over $1 million advance for his biography from the Daily Mail newspaper. Written by Daily Mail journalist Richard Shears in 2003, it remains unpublished because of the threats of law suits from people in high places. ^[40]

[edit] References

Confidence tricks v • d • e
Terminology	Confidence trick • Mark • Shill • Sucker list •
Notable Confidence Tricks	Badger game • Black money scam • Bogus escrow • Booster bag scam • Clip joint • Drop Swindle • Embarrassing cheque • Employment scams • Hustling • Penny and Dime Scam • Pig in a poke • Pigeon drop • Reloading scam • Shell game • Slavery Reparation Scam • Spanish Prisoner • Thai gem scam • Three-card Monte • White van speakers •
Internet Scams	Advance fee fraud • Bidding fee scheme • Click fraud • CyberThrill • Domain slamming • E-mail authentication • E-mail fraud • El Gordo de la Primitiva Lottery International Promotions Programmes • Employment scams • Grapefruit seed extract • Internet crime • Internet vigilantism • Lottery scam • PayPaI • Phishing • Referer spoofing • Ripoff Report • Rock Phish • Romance scam • Safernet • Scam baiting • Spear phishing • Spoofed URL • Spoofing attack • Stock Generation • Username theft • Web-cramming • Whitemail •
Pyramid Schemes	Ponzi scheme • Pyramid scheme • Dona Branca • Caritas • Charles Ponzi • Bernard Cornfeld • Foundation for New Era Philanthropy • High Yield Investment Program • Investors Overseas Service • MMM • Make money fast • Reed Slatkin •
Notable con artists	Frank Abagnale • Storme Aerison • Philip Arnold • Nicky Arnstein • Lou Blonger • Ed "Big Ed" Burns • David "Race" Bannon • Tino De Angelis • Louis Enricht • Billie Sol Estes • Peter Foster • Oscar Hartzell • Kenny Kimes • Sante Kimes • Henri Lemoine • Victor Lustig • Gregor MacGregor • Steven Jay Russell • Soapy Smith • Titanic Thompson • William Thompson • Joseph Weil • Fictional con artists