Katie Price's husband, Lee Andrews, has been accused of attempting to scam his wife's fans from behind bars with the help of an accomplice. After tying the knot just days into their relationship in January, Dubai-based Lee vanished from Katie's life on May 13, standing her up live on Good Morning Britain, where they were booked for a joint live TV interview. A baffled Katie later told the world he had been kidnapped and tied up in a van. Eventually, the pair were put in touch by his father, with Lee claiming he had been arrested on suspicion of espionage, before it emerged he had actually been arrested and detained at the notorious Al Awir central prison for alleged fraud.
Last week, Katie flew back to the UAE again in an attempt to straighten things out on her husband's behalf, but it has been reported that it will cost £140,000 to secure his freedom. However, while Lee sits in prison, a member of the public claims he was targeted by his account and a man saying he was his business manager, who attempted to convince him to invest £5,000.
Alleged scam details
A man identified as David told The Sun: 'I messaged Andrews' Facebook account as a joke and said I had money to invest on May 20. I was stunned when I got a response on June 3. The person claimed to be Lee's business manager and asked me to send my number.' Two days later, David says he received a message from a British number on WhatsApp, advertising Lee's dissolved business Aura, complete with a photograph and message from Lee at the top.
The message was reportedly from a man called Robert Davis and read: 'CEO Lee Andrews send me your WhatsApp number...because you're interested in our company investment.' Responding 'to see how far they would take it,' David says Robert, in an effort to prove his identity as Lee's associate, 'even sent me a dodgy image which was clearly AI' of 'a little bald man in an office.'
'When he sent me the picture, he wrote: "I have not done this to any of our clients, but I'm doing this for you because I respect my boss Andrews." The whole thing was laughable,' added David, who says he is convinced the image is AI because Robert said he was sending it in real time, but the computer in the background gave a different time on the screen.
When David continued with the suggestion he would be investing, his instructions were reportedly to send his money using a direct bank transfer as 'the company's accounts were still being set up.' David then says he was sent the sort code and account number of a man called 'Rayan Hashmi,' and when he queried the fact it was a different name and not a business account, he kept being 'fobbed off.' He also claims Robert said he could send the money via Western Union instead, transferring it 'to a woman called Ethel who lives in Mississippi.'
David also asked outright, he says, if Lee was in prison, with messages sent back from Robert claiming he was not in jail and adding: 'My boss Andrews has misunderstanding with him wife Katie, that's why people think he's in jail, he's not.' He later blocked 'Robert' after he was sent further pushy messages about his money when he started ignoring the conversation.
Insider's perspective
An insider with knowledge of Lee's alleged past schemes told The Sun they believed he worked with an associate 'to try and legitimise what he was doing,' deliberately taking calls where you could 'hear him talking business to another male who seemed to be in on the whole thing.' 'It was his way of pulling you in because he would have these conversations about multi-million-pound business deals. It all sounded so legitimate at the time, but clearly so much was a sham,' they continued, adding they would not be 'shocked' if Lee was now using this man to try and gather further 'investments' while he is in jail.
The Sun reports that, when it contacted the number to speak to David, the associate identified himself this time as 'Robert David,' denying 'in broken English' once more that Lee was in jail and insisting 'we don't scam anyone here.'
Katie Price's stance
Katie has recently said that Lee will be released from prison 'within days' – thought to be early next week – and that she 'cannot wait' to be reunited with him. She also insisted that she has never given him any money during their relationship. In a surprise turn of events while in Dubai, Katie met up with Lee's ex, personal trainer Dina Taji, who had a 'warning' for her after he allegedly forged her signature to take out a £200,000 mortgage in her name. Upon being reported to the authorities, Lee was arrested and spent time behind bars last autumn. After he was released, he was slapped with the travel ban he long denied having, which Katie has now confirmed he does.
Katie has since revealed to The Sun that meeting with Dina 'opened [her] eyes,' having spent six hours examining the evidence she has, admitting she 'needs some time to think.' 'I still cannot end things with Lee until I've spoken to him, but that was a lot,' she added. However, upon her return to the UK, she shared a defiant snap of her engagement and wedding bands firmly in place – after being photographed without them as she touched down at Gatwick airport – and insisted she still loved her husband.
Previous allegations against Lee Andrews
Lee Andrews has faced multiple accusations since marrying Katie Price. He was accused of misleading claims of being a multi-millionaire business owner, with his profile showing AI-generated photos with celebrities. He was banned from leaving Dubai due to alleged fraud involving a mortgage in his ex-girlfriend's name. He and Katie teased a fake pregnancy, and several exes accused him of being a 'liar, narcissist and manipulator.' He also 'ghosted' his wife, leading to a missing person report before it emerged he was squatting in a villa in Dubai.
Metro has attempted to contact a representative for Lee Andrews for comment.
