Boss of Rogue Mag Firm Banned for 11 Years Over Scam Ads
Alan Peterson, from Liverpool, has been slapped with an 11-year ban after his company, Sage Media National Limited, was exposed for ripping off clients with dodgy advertising sales. Peterson ran the show solo at Sage Media, which produced the ‘Copperwheel’ magazine for the West Midlands Police Motor Club.
Shock Claims of Misleading Sales Tactics
- Sage Media cold-called businesses to flog ads in the bi-annual magazine.
- The Insolvency Service launched secret investigations amid complaints about aggressive and misleading sales tactics.
- Clients were tricked into buying ads they never ordered.
- The firm falsely claimed the magazine had a huge subscription list and ties to emergency services to lure advertisers.
One charity even paid for extra adverts it hadn’t agreed to, digging into a volunteer’s own pocket to settle the invoice. All told, Sage Media raked in a staggering £74,000 for ads that never appeared in any issues.
Hidden Cash Transfers Raise Eyebrows
Sage Media also failed to keep proper financial records. This blackout made it impossible for investigators to verify business dealings — including why over £32,000 ended up in Peterson’s personal account.
Following a court order, Sage Media was wound up in November 2020, and the Official Receiver was made liquidator. After a lengthy probe, the Insolvency Service secured Peterson’s disqualification, banning him from managing companies without court approval.
Insolvency Service Cracks Down on Corporate Trickery
Karen Maxwell, Deputy Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, said:
“Sage Media National Limited unscrupulously targeted companies using aggressive sales tactics to advertise in a magazine that didn’t have the reach or associations that it falsely claimed to have.
As sole director of the magazine publisher, Alan Peterson was ultimately responsible for the company’s objectionable tactics and abusing clients of thousands of pounds.
11 years is a substantial ban and Alan Peterson has rightly been removed from the corporate arena for a significant amount of time.
From petitioning the courts to wind-up the company, through to securing Alan Peterson’s disqualification, this case clearly demonstrates the full abilities of the Insolvency Service to tackle serious financial misconduct.”
