The fashion boss who made the shoes that Meghan Markle and Beyonc wore was jailed for 500,000 frauds

A fashion boss whose shoes have been worn by Meghan Markle and Beyonc has been jailed for defrauding more than 500,000 companies he founded.

Roy Luwolt, 38, co-founder of Malone Souliers, squandered the money he stole on luxury holidays abroad, jewellery, clubbing around the world and 650 cigars, the court said.

He spent 34,000 in one night at Annabel’s nightclub – but ordered other company employees to pay 7.82 when he paid Uber fees, the Southwark crown court was told.

The company’s footwear is loved by celebrities, including Gemma Arterton and Kristen Stewart.

Co-founder Mary Alice Malone replaced Luwolt as the face of the shoe brand at World Wide Shoes LLP in November 2018 after she was accused of defrauding the company, which later traded as Malone Souliers.

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Prosecutor Adam Davis, told the court: “This case is about the systematic abuse, by the defendant, of this position as Managing Director of Worldwide Shoes LLP, a position he held from starting with the company on March 25, 2013 until his dismissal on November 14, 2018.

“It is accepted that the profit for the defendant is not less than 500,000.

A graduate of the University of Arts, London, Miss Malone designed, manufactured and sold shoes worldwide under the Malone Studio label until her resignation in October 2018, although she has now returned to the company since the defendant’s departure.

“Mary Alice Malone met the defendant at a dinner party a few months after she started the company.

“He was a very confident individual, he thought, and prided himself on his success as a venture capitalist.

“He told him he had made his first million while at university and said he had built the Lipsy London brand and had built a product line for Burberry.

“His claim is false. He did not do his last interview at Burberry and previously worked at MoneySupermarket.

“Miss Malone was sufficiently persuaded by the defendant that they should cooperate, when he contacted her in 2013, to offer her the position of managing director at a salary of 35,000 per year.

“As a result and, apparently, after proving his value to the company in helping him find his footing, the defendant was awarded a new contract on 13 April 2015 which provides an annual salary of 150,000 and the pseudonym ‘Co-Founder and Managing Director’.”

Pauline Doyle was hired as Finance Manager at Worldwide Shoes in April 2015, bringing in the in-house corporate accounting function of accounting firm HW Fisher.

At the time, the company “appeared to have a general cost base disproportionate to the revenue generated from sales”, the court heard.

Doyle claims he warned Luwolt to be “nagging” with his spending, especially when it came to handing over receipts.

Davis said: “In 2017 the defendant was paid nearly 300,000 expenses, in 2018 about 470,000 expenses up to and including October 23.

“These figures are impossible to reconcile.

“As part of their audit, HW Fisher made a schedule of admissions available between August 24, 2017 and October 23, 2018.

“Receipts as of October 31, 2017 amounted to 38,668 compared to expenses paid from August 24 to year-end of 135,500 – a difference of almost 100,000.

“Receipts for 2018 total 387,000, a difference of 82,000.”

Mr Luwolt was given a corporate credit card on which, between 1 January 2017 and 23 April 2018, he spent 670,000.

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In early January 2018, Luwolt also picked up a Harrods American Express card.

The bank statement revealed that, between February and November 2018, Luwolt spent more than 390,000 on the card.

During the same period, Luwolt made regular payments to reduce the balance of his American Express account.

From 1 February 2018 to 11 November 2018 these payments totaled 375,000, more than 90 percent of the fees he paid during the period.

This payment reveals a direct correlation between the American Express card and its spending claims.

Most of that expenditure was for trips abroad, to places like Paris, Milan, Tuscany, New York and Tokyo.

On these trips, Luwolt stayed exclusively in luxury hotels, shopped in high-end shops, and was driven by chauffeurs from place to place, all at the expense of his employer.

Again, Luwolt’s bank statements reveal he spent thousands of nights in these cities, including 34,500 at Annabel’s in Berkeley Square and 13,000 at The Box, Soho.

Luwolt’s huge expenses for himself and his friends did not reach his employees.

An email exchange between Luwolt and his Personal Assistant, Nicola Trethewey, from October 2016 revealed that he scolded Luwolt for filing a 7.82 expense claim for an Uber house after he asked her to sit flat for him.

Trethewey filed the claim as a ‘reasonable cost of work’ because he had been led to believe he could use Uber for work trips.

Despite defrauding his own company of half a million pounds, Luwolt wrote: ‘Let’s get this over again. You think you have a good basis as to why the company should pay for your driver’s trip back from delegated duties. Right?

‘Allow me to clarify this once and for all. The dialogue we are having here is NOT really a democratic request to vote for you, Nicola Trethewey.

‘The fact is it’s a company-wide policy that you must contractually comply with… I instruct you to comply with the expense code. Period.

‘Despite some instances where you have overcharged my company or invoiced due to your fault, the fees below will initiate the refund process for unapproved fees.’

Luwolt appeared in court wearing a navy suit and Cuban heels, to receive his sentence.

Prosecutors said Luwolt’s crimes “left the company in a precarious position and went bankrupt”.

Judge Philip Bartle rejected this claim. He said: “Given the company’s financial position, I can’t say that, despite the large sums of money involved, that in itself was the cause of the company’s bankruptcy.”

The judge also rejected the defense’s submission that Luwolt’s sentence be reduced due to the impact of Covid-19 in prison.

Judge Bartle said: “Today is August 20, 2021. The country is no longer under lockdown and since July 19 we have been in Phase 4 of reopening.

“Most adults have been double-vaccinated and most restrictions have been lifted.

“It is the responsibility of the government, not the sentencing court, to ensure the benefits of easing restrictions are passed on to those in prison when they eventually occur.

“Therefore, I am not prepared to make any reductions due to the impact of Covid on the prison regime.”

Judge Bartle sentenced Luwolt to 51 months in prison and disqualified him from acting as a Director of any company for 5 years.

His assets were valued at 1 meaning, even though Luwolt profited 500,000, he was ordered to pay only 1 in compensation.
Luwolt, from Marylebone, central London, admitted fraud with abuse of position.

The allegation alleges that he abused his position as managing director of World Wide Shoes LLP, which is traded as Malone Souliers, ‘by claiming personal expenses that are not yours’.

He denied four other charges of fraud with abuse of position and the number was ordered to be put in court files after prosecutors accepted his defense.