According to a report by the Financial Times newspaper, Mr Justice Moor ruled at the High Court in London that Scot Young – described as a ‘fixer’ to wealthy clients – failed to obey orders to provide details of his finances to his wife and was in ‘flagrant and deliberate’ contempt of court.

Expensive cars

Mr Young, 51, was reportedly worth £400 million in 2006 but now claims to be penniless after a property deal collapsed. He was led away from court in handcuffs clutching a Louis Vuitton overnight bag.
According to Ms Young, the couple – married in 1995 and separated in 2006 – enjoyed a lavish lifestyle with luxury homes and expensive cars. Despite Mr Young’s claims, his estranged wife alleges he is still a wealthy man, and that he has covered up considerable resources to keep them from her and their two children.
Mr Young, who represented himself in court, was ordered to pay his estranged wife, Michelle Young, £27,500 per month maintenance two years ago, but he has paid almost nothing, with the debts close to £1m.

Sending a signal

Ms Young told reporters after the hearing: ‘It has been a very long, rough ride. I hope I can make a stand for other families who have been left in such dire circumstances after long marriages.’
Commenting on the case, leading family law specialist lawyer, Mark Harper, a partner at London-based international law firm Withers, told the newspaper: ‘Prison sentences are still very rare for anything to do with financial orders on divorce. It may be that the courts are sending out a signal that people are going to have to obey court orders ahead of April, when the family courts are going to be swamped with litigants in person because of legal aid changes.’