AN APPRENTICE star facing jail in Dubai says she is having a breakdown – and has lost her business.
Selina Waterman-Smith, 39, who starred on the BBC show in 2015, could be locked up over a £27,750 “bounced cheque”.
But she has claimed she never wrote the cheque – and has been the victim of threats, harassment and extortion.
A UAE court found Selina guilty in her absence without any examination of the evidence – after a former business associate supplied the wrong contact information for her.
Selina said the man, from South Africa, has been harassing and extorting her since 2019.
The man allegedly offered to invest £200,000 in her business – but never paid her a penny.
She told the Mirror: “This man entered into an agreement with me in bad faith, bullied me into giving him money then cheated me out of my business I had spent years developing.
“Around six months after the business closed, I found that he had made an allegation against me – wrongly filed as a bounce cheque case – but claiming in his testimony I borrowed money.
“I have suffered extreme depression, as I can’t see any other way of escaping his abuse.”
Selina was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, anaemia, a kidney infection and adrenal exhaustion.
The stress of losing her £75,000 personal investment in her business even made her hair fall out.
UK charity Detained in Dubai said there is no proof of a bounced cheque in the case file – which was never examined in court.
The businesswoman appeared on The Apprentice in 2015, and was fired in Week 9.
She has since become a finance coach and mentor for CEOs and entrepreneurs.
Contact the Samaritans
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, contact The Samaritans on 116 123.
They are available for free at anytime.
Or email https://www.samaritans.org/