Mike's Shell Game: Too Much of a Good Thing?

UPDATE: Mike Henry has moved his web of NZ shell companies to a holding company in the U.K.

Some people can really get carried away at a bargain sale.

It costs very little to register a company in NZ, just NZ$100 (about US$66). The idea behind this is to encourage entrepreneurship, but Mike Henry, founder of Mike Henry Travel Insurance Limited, seems to be trying to take advantage of the NZ government's benevolence in a big way.

Mike Henry is listed as a shareholder and/or director in a complex web of over 30 companies listed with the New Zealand Companies Office. Total investment: around NZ$3,000. Many of these companies have nearly identical names and less than a handful appear to be viable business concerns. Although Mr. Henry claims to be one of the largest insurance product providers in the region, the numbers just don't support those claims. Total gross revenues (after commissions paid) of the so-called "Mike Henry group of companies" are estimated at less than US$5million, and net income is estimated at well under US$1million.

If most of the Mike Henry companies are shells, then what's going on here?

One aggrieved former Henry business partner claims that Henry issued shares to him in one shell company, but ran the business through another, and then Henry claimed that the company was bankrupt at the time Henry decided to get rid of him.

Another possible explanation is that Henry likes to crow that he's chairman of 30 companies, no doubt to create an illusion of credibility. For those not familiar with Henry's accounting methods, the sheer volume of companies gives the appearance that the so-called "Mike Henry group of companies" is a massive conglomerate, when in fact the only thing massive about this so-called group of companies is Henry's efforts to make it appear that way.

Case in point: Mike Henry Travel Insurance Limited. Sales of NZ$45million certainly sounds impressive, but that’s only part of the story. According to industry insiders, 46% of each sales dollar goes to pay commissions to travel agents, and 50% goes to the insurer. What's left? Just 4%, or NZ$1.8 million (US$1.2million), out of which all the overhead has to be paid, leaving maybe 10 cents on the dollar or an estimated US$120,000 in net income.

Out of the 30-odd companies in Henry's so-called "group", only about 5 are estimated to earn any profit, and all are in similarly low-margin businesses. It therefore comes as no surprise that Henry was dabbling in things like importing rocks from Africa to sell at the Matopo Gallery.

An examination of NZ Companies Office records indicates that Mike Henry frequently registers and de-registers companies or changes the names for no apparent reason, often using his longtime accountant, Philip Judge, of Auckland-based HLB Wylie McDonald, to file the paperwork. Mr. Judge is listed as a shareholder in some of the Mike Henry-controlled entities, including Mike Henry Travel Insurance Limited, a potential conflict with his auditing role.

Following is a list of NZ-registered companies naming Mike Henry as a director. You can find the same list if you go to the NZ Companies Office site and do a director search. Run a name search on any of the companies and you can see any name changes, director changes, and examine all documents filed in connection with that company. Be sure to check the list of "struck off" companies (Matopo Gallery appears there). Contrast this with a major corporation like Microsoft, which has only one company registered, and you will realise that this is something the IRD should have a closer look at.

Multiple companies dealing with the same business are grouped together

• Mike Henry Travel Insurance Limited

• MH Group Holdings Limited
• Henry Corporate Trustee Limited
• Henry Calder (International) Limited

• First Rescue and Emergency (NZ) Limited (a.k.a. First Assistance)

• Inbroke Corporation Limited
• MH Inbroke Limited

• Cover-More Insurance Services (NZ) Limited

• CMAC Limited
• CMAC Injury Management Limited
• Claims Management and Consultanty Limited
• International Claims Management Limited

• Driveright Limited
• M H Driveright Limited

• Interglobal Limited
• Interglobal (South East Asia) Limited
• Interglobal Insurance Services Limited
• MH Interglobal Limited
• Global Insurance Limited
• Global Healthcare Limited
• Global Healthcare (Japan) Limited

• Henry Thomson Holdings Limited

• Premium Group Marketing Limited
• Premium Group Holdings Limited

• Insure Direct Limited

• Timtech Chemicals Limited
• Timtech International Limited

• Travel Wizard Limited
• MH Wizard Limited

• ICM Limited

• M G A Insurance Services Limited

• Net Sentry International Limited

• MH Management Services Limited

Mike Henry Chairman Gets Naked for Charity

A nude bag-snatch-and-run race, sponsored by the New Plymouth Nudists Association for the benefit of local charities, was held on April 1st.

Mike Henry, chairman of the Mike Henry Group of Companies, snatched 3rd place in the 50m relay in the men's over-age-60 category, and raised $135 for the Paralympics Organisation of New Zealand http://www.paralympics.org.nz

"I got such a big rush, that I'm going to participate again next year," gushed Henry.

Allegations Against Interglobal: Their Response?...Denial

Mike Henry and Steve Nichols dig themselves into a deeper hole...

http://www.interglobalpmi.com/index.php?page_id=95

Denial Mode
It seems that Mike Henry and Steve Nichols are stunned that they have finally been caught.

Their letters containing indeciferable scrawl for signatures posted on Interglobal Limited's web site simply deny the well-documented allegations, without any rebuttal, and irrelevantly state the credentials of unrelated third-party companies as if to say, "we do business with these big companies, so that means we can't possibly be guilty of any crimes". Mike Henry complains that no proof of the allegations is offered. But ironically, most of the evidence was created by Mike Henry and/or Steve Nichols, so it must be very familiar to them already. Those who know Mike Henry and Steve Nichols well may find it quite out of character that they refuse to enter into a public debate, as this is their usual method of settling disputes. However, as they are the accused parties, and in light of the overwhelming evidence against them, it comes as no surprise that Mike Henry, Steve Nichols, their lawyer, and their underlings have nothing of any substance to say.

The impossible task at hand for a Mike Henry defense counsel: Defending the indefensible and justifying the unjustifiable. Recommended advice: Tell Mike Henry and Steve Nichols to give back their illicitly-obtained gains and leave the insurance industry permanently, and thus avoid the inevitability of total loss and the likelihood of joining Mike Henry's daughter in the NZ correctional system.

Winner: Dubious Medical Insurance Provider of the Year "Award"

Mike Henry-controlled Interglobal Limited likes to crow about all the so-called industry "awards" it has won. What Interglobal doesn't mention is that the insurance-buying public does not play any role in choosing the winners.

In fact, the winners are chosen either by the brokers selling the insurance, who are likely to "vote" for their favorite product, giving them another sales tool should their favorite product "win", or by an panel of people who get some free publicity and their photo posted on a website in return for acting as a "judge", who appear to merely pass the awards around from year to year.

These awards are part of a PR campaign created by various trade publications, which use these so-called "awards" to promote their own industry and their customers (advertisers), which are the companies in the industry. Three different trade publications have been identified which annually give out their own version of these so-called "awards". They are:

• Health Insurance Magazine
• Portfolio International
• International Investment

Note by the titles that these are not mainstream magazines for the public, but are for the industry, and in fact, are not even available to the public. There are so many different categories of awards, that almost no company participating in this slick PR scheme goes home empty-handed. Such awards are meaningless if the actual users of the product do not pick the winners.

As health insurance customers play no role whatsoever in selecting the winners, there is therefore nothing democratic at all in this "voting" process, and to use the word "vote" or to use these "awards" in advertising as an implied endorsement of any particular product to unknowing consumers is a serious misrepresentation of facts and borders on fraud.

Editorial: Stop Doing Business With the Mike Henry Companies

Insurers, brokers, intermediaries, service providers, and customers should stop doing business immediately with Mike Henry.

The insurance business is built on honesty and good faith. Persons involved in this industry must conduct themselves and their business affairs with the highest levels of integrity. It is necessary that the industry self-police itself in order to avoid erosion of public trust. Thus, the industry is responsible for ridding itself of persons that refuse to play by the rules.

The evidence provided by a number of parties proves beyond a reasonable doubt the allegations of multiple acts of fraud, embezzlement of several million dollars, conspiracy, and a host of other acts of wrongdoing and bad faith on the part of Mike Henry and Steven Murray Nichols. Furthermore, Mike Henry been proven in court to have had long-term relationships with criminals involved in the illegal drug industry, with links to organised crime, an industry that has a detrimental effect on society and ruins millions of lives. The native of South Africa is furthermore disgracing his adopted country, New Zealand, by flouting its laws and making New Zealand appear to be easy on white-collar crime.

Mike Henry and Steve Nichols are unfit to work in this industry and must be removed from it immediately. It's a joint effort, and it's up to you to do your part by ceasing to do business with these corrupt individuals, and to pass the message on to anyone you know who does business with the companies listed at the bottom of this page.

A one-hour presentation containing documents and highlights of evidence against Mike Henry has been prepared for the corporate market. A representative is available to give your company or government agency a personal presentation of the evidence. An appointment can be arranged by sending email to The Moderator: insurancewatch@gmail.com

Why stop doing business with Mike Henry? Because it's the right thing thing to do.

UPDATE:
The March presentation road trip was a resounding success. Persons in a number of entities and others that do business with the so-called Mike Henry "group of companies" expressed grave concern when viewing the overwhelming body of evidence against Mike Henry and Steve Nichols, and indicated that they have commenced their own investigations. Appointments for the next road trip are nearly booked solid, so contact The Moderator now in order to avoid missing out.

Mission Improbable: Exponential Growth

The fabrications just keep coming...
The latest tall tale from the Interglobal spin department on its website is that Interglobal Limited has experienced "exponential growth over the last few years". That must be news to Interglobal's accountant, as an examination of the last two published financial statements points to a 20% dropoff in business.

Globally Fictitious

Interglobal-sponsored advertising like the one on the left does nothing to inspire confidence among consumers.

With revenues of only GBP1.9million (US$3.2million), the actual number of customers is less than 1% of the puffed-up number in the ad. This is obviously an attempt by Mike Henry to deceive consumers, by making Interglobal Limited appear to be massive and successful, when in fact Interglobal Limited is tiny by industry standards, and barely afloat.

If Mike Henry can't be honest about appearances and has to resort to outlandish embellishments in order to sell insurance, how can a potential client realistically expect fair and honest dealings with Interglobal?