Racing ‘scam’ victims to get 10p in pound
THOUSANDS of unsuspecting punters who poured life savings into a syndicate exposed by a Sportsmail investigation will receive a fraction of the money they thought they were due.
Administrators Duff & Phelps have been recovering assets from Layezy Racing, which collapsed following our probe last year amid concerns it was a Ponzi scheme.
It is understood investors — many of whom handed over their savings — are set to pick up 10 pence in the pound of sums they put into the scheme, minus any ‘winnings’. Some will receive nothing.
At the High Court, where syndicate founder Mike Stanley, 64, was made the subject of a 14-year bankruptcy order, it emerged that 6,000 members thought they were set to receive a total of £158.7million.
The Kent-based syndicate gave members their own online accounts. When they logged in, they found they had pocketed staggering returns on investments, and would often pour in more money and watch it grow thanks to Stanley’s system.
However, the court heard that Stanley, a former police officer, took £40.3m but only placed bets worth £1m.
Of the remaining £39m, he is alleged to have used £ 27.4m for payments to make it look as though the syndicate was legitimate.
Those payments were not winnings but made up of investments from new members, it is alleged.
Stanley is being investigated by police and remains on bail until November.
A spokesperson for Duff & Phelps said: ‘We are in the process of preparing an update for creditors which we aim to issue in the early part of next week.’