A court has heard Louis Tomlinson was unknowingly drawn into a pension fraud scheme.
Louis Tomlinson was reportedly unknowingly drawn into a pension fraud scheme.
A court heard the 33-year-old former One Direction singer was at the centre the fraud attempt when criminals allegedly tried to use his name in a failed 2014 bid to buy his boyhood club Doncaster Rovers.
Louis became the public face of a crowdfunding campaign that sought to raise £6 million for the takeover. At the time, he was at the height of his One Direction fame and had hoped to transform Doncaster Rovers into a competitive force.
However, Leeds Crown Court was told the main investors who pledged £500,000 towards the takeover were part of a gang involved in siphoning money from pensioners.
According to The Daily Mirror, Irish businessman Kevin Phelan, 62, worked with Daniel Giles and Adrian Bashforth to channel stolen retirement savings into the deal.
Prosecutor Tim Hannam said: “He (Mr Phelan) was no doubt delighted to be part of a scheme which basically provided him with free money from people’s life savings funding his lifestyle, his wife’s debts and his mortgage for his big, lovely house with its long drive.”
Kevin first approached former Doncaster Rovers chairman John Ryan in 2013 with an offer to buy the club.
He allegedly implied he already had a wealthy investor lined up, but in reality he was bankrupt and the only money available came from a member of his fraud gang.
Two of his earlier takeover attempts are said to have collapsed before Louis became involved the following year.
The trial heard the fraudsters met Louis at his home in Cheshire and later at a concert in Dublin, where a deal was signed to give 70 percent of Doncaster Rovers to Belize-based Sequentia Capital SA if the takeover succeeded.
Court documents stated the company was sourcing its funds from stolen pension money, with some victims losing their life savings.
In January 2014, Daniel allegedly texted a co-defendant after visiting Louis’s home: “I’ve been interrogated for the last few hours over 1D boy. Kids want to come to the next meeting mate. I’m thinking 16 million brainwashed followers. Very very interesting. Let’s crack on now together and build a nice fighting fund.”
The crowdfunding campaign ultimately raised only £600,000, far short of the target, and the takeover collapsed.
At the time, Louis wrote online: “I’m absolutely gutted the Doncaster Rovers deal is not going ahead. I am desperate for the club to be given the recognition it deserves. I was explicitly told that the deal to buy the club was not dependent on the money raised by Crowdfunding.
“Unfortunately I was misled. My passion for Doncaster Rovers remains as strong as ever, and I hope that I can still be involved with the club moving forward. And to all the Doncaster Rovers fans, I will do all in my power to help the club succeed. I really do love the club.”
He added: “For the record, I insisted contractually I would never earn a penny from DRFC. I simply wanted to help club and community. Still hoping I can.”
The court heard Kevin, Daniel and Adrian are due to be sentenced in January and face significant prison terms.
Louis Tomlinson unknowingly drawn into a pension fraud scheme, court told
