Louis Tomlinson was unwittingly used as the public face of a fraudulent takeover bid for Doncaster Rovers FC, a court has heard. The One Direction star was approached by a gang of pension fraudsters who used the deal to launder stolen retirement savings.
Kevin Phelan, Daniel Giles and Adrian Bashforth were convicted last month and face significant jail sentences. Leeds Crown Court heard that the trio fleeced millions from over 200 victims' pension pots, with £3.7m stolen and only £1.3m returned.
Tomlinson became involved in 2014 through former club chairman John Ryan. He launched a crowdfunder targeting £6m from his millions of fans, but it raised only £600,000, mostly from a £500,000 loan by one of the fraudsters. The singer agreed to a 10% stake in exchange for promotional support, including attending matches and hosting a fan club.
The deal collapsed after the crowdfunder failed, and Sequentia Capital SA—the Belize-based firm behind the bid—could not complete the purchase. Tomlinson later said he was 'gutted' and claimed he was misled about the deal's dependence on crowdfunding.
Prosecutor Timothy Hannam KC stated, 'These defendants nicked money from people’s life savings.' There is no suggestion Tomlinson or Ryan knew of the fraud. Sentencing is scheduled for January.
