{"id":104965,"date":"2025-10-06T09:34:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T09:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/104965\/"},"modified":"2025-10-06T09:34:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T09:34:08","slug":"cro-to-strike-off-two-co-longford-firms-just-months-after-formation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/104965\/","title":{"rendered":"CRO to strike off two Co Longford firms just months after formation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\" data-testid=\"title-summary\">Fresh Made Homes and Whitestone Investment Capital had been established at virtual address\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">The Irish Independent reported earlier this year that the two companies \u2013 Fresh Made Homes and Whitestone Investment Capital \u2013 had been established at a virtual address in Co Longford.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">The directors included US citizen Crystal Ding, Italian citizen Diego \u00adMartin Marguello, and UK-based Estonian citizen Kristjan Soot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Ms Ding has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Mr Soot, who has had a sideline selling puppies in Coventry, set up a UK company in 2022 called Canine Cargo. It was, its business code noted, involved in cargo handling for air transport activities. It was compulsorily dissolved in 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Mr Marguello and Ms Ding were also directors of a UK firm that was compulsorily dissolved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">They were directors of a firm called Legacy Realty Group, which was established in 2023. In September the following year, it was struck off.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">A Texas company that Mr Marguello and Ms Ding set up in 2022, Brand Express Group, has lost its corporate privileges \u2013 a situation that arises where a business has failed to file annual reports or pay required business taxes.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop5 indo-26838ee5_paddingbottom3 indo-26838ee5_paddingleft7 indo-26838ee5_paddingright5 indo-26838ee5_paddingtop3 indo-b184cee3_openquote\" style=\"border-left-color:var(--color-primary-base);border-left-style:solid;border-left-width:0\" data-testid=\"inline-quote\">\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-91174671_secondary indo-66f0fec7_medium indo-1d70522a_marginbottom0\" style=\"color:var(--color-black-base)\">Ms Ding insisted the article should not have been printed<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Before the Irish Independent reported earlier this year on Fresh Made Homes, Ms Ding declined to comment. However, following publication of an article about the business, she insisted that Fresh Made Homes had representation agreements from suppliers in China.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">She insisted the article should not have been printed in order to protect the privacy of her and her fellow directors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Now the Companies Registration Office (CRO) has warned the two companies that they face being involuntarily struck off the company register.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">That is probably because the firms no longer have any directors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Mr Marguello and Mr Soot both resigned from their roles at both companies on the same day in August this year. Ms Ding remains on the register as the secretary of both Fresh Made Homes and Whitestone Investment Capital.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Companies Registration Office. Photo: File image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/649841fc-c3cf-464d-be2f-be9089a684ce.jpg\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"100%\" data-testid=\"article-image\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_caption1 indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_secondary indo-66f0fec7_regular indo-1d70522a_marginbottom0 indo-1d70522a_marginleft0 indo-1d70522a_marginright0 indo-1d70522a_margintop3 indo-b48c4984_left\" style=\"color:var(--color-grey-60)\">The Companies Registration Office. Photo: File image<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_caption1 indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_secondary indo-66f0fec7_regular indo-1d70522a_marginbottom0 indo-1d70522a_marginleft0 indo-1d70522a_marginright0 indo-1d70522a_margintop3 indo-b48c4984_left\" style=\"color:var(--color-grey-60)\">Today&#8217;s News in 90 Seconds &#8211; October 6th <\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">The CRO has had significant problems with its IT system that have prevented the automated involuntary strike-off of companies breaking the law. It has been manually targeting companies without directors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">However, the number of companies being struck off is just a tiny fraction of the number of companies that either have no directors or have failed to file annual returns, for example.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Mr Marguello\u2019s LinkedIn profile still lists him as the CEO of a company called Shoclef.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">In 2018, Shoclef launched its mobile app. It promised to \u201credefine the status quo approach to consumerism\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">\u201cShoclef users are given access to more than 150,000 cities worldwide to sell or buy products and services, showcase their talents live, and earn money, all in real-time through live stream,\u201d it noted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">Ms Ding was also involved in the business.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">In 2019, Shoclef filed a more than $10m (\u20ac8.5m) lawsuit against a man in Pakistan, and his company there, alleging that Shoclef had entered discussions with them in 2016 \u201cto develop the plaintiff\u2019s e-commerce platform and to create related software and mobile applications\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"indo-ebe0ecc6_root indo-ebe0ecc6_paragraph indo-300db776_none indo-91174671_primary indo-1d70522a_marginbottom5 indo-1d70522a_margintop0 indo-b48c4984_inherit\" style=\"color:var(--color-primary-80)\">The case was dismissed by a judge in 2021 for a failure to prosecute.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fresh Made Homes and Whitestone Investment Capital had been established at virtual address The Irish Independent reported earlier&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":104966,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,18,19,17,24512],"class_list":{"0":"post-104965","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-john-mulligan"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104965\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}