People could lose homes and pensions. Lives may be ruined

VICTIMS OF RACING ‘PONZI SCHEME’ OPEN UP

M EMBERS of the Layezy Racing betting syndicate who now fear they are the victims of a Ponzi scheme have spoken for the first time, telling stories of the lives that will be ruined if they have indeed lost their savings.

There are 5,000 people, predominantly in the South East, who have been left deeply concerned that their money has gone after former Kent police officer Mike Stanley responded to a Sportsmail investigation by shutting down the syndicate and the Layezy Racing Owners Club and filing for bankruptcy.

It is understood the shortfall between how much Mr Stanley has in cash and investments, and how much insolvency experts will be asked to repay to members, could be as much as £70million.

According to members who have posted information on social media, the administrators at Duff and Phelps have advised them that Stanley has not been placing bets for a number of years and fear he was in fact operating a Ponzi scheme — a term for a scam promising high rates of return.

Craig, from Kent, does not consider himself a victim even though he says he has now been advised by his bank that some of the money he sent to Layezy went straight on to a pre-paid credit card. He describes it as little more than a ‘flutter’.

But he is horrified by many of the stories that are being shared on Facebook.

‘ I have seen a number of accounts from members where it is fair to say their lives may have been ruined,’ said Craig, who has his own business and asked

Sportsmail not to use his surname.

‘I have had communication with a lady in her sixties who sold her house and deposited the funds from that sale into the betting account. She is now facing the very real possibility that the money probably doesn’t exist and she now has to start to look for a new job.

‘I also know of another lady who unfortunately lost her husband at a young age and received a six-figure life insurance pay-out. That was money for her three children, effectively. And it now looks like that money has gone.

‘She is devastated. She believes she had her life ruined when her husband passed and it has now been shattered again.’

Robert, a 40- year- old from Essex, is another member who is more concerned about those who invested far more than he did. There is concern that people could lose their homes, others their pensions.

‘I put a little bit in, never a huge amount,’ said Robert, who also asked us not to use his full name. ‘But there is one bloke I know who put in over £100,000. Another guy sold his house and put in about £200,000 of that about five years ago, thinking he now had about £700,000 in his pot.’

The members, in most cases recommended to the Layezy syndicate by family, friends and work colleagues, represent a broad spectrum of the public.

They range from bankers to builders, pensioners to young professionals. Sportsmail understands one is a journalist who works for a leading news broadcaster.

But they were all drawn into the syndicate by stories of people doubling, sometimes even trebling, their investments thanks to 62- year- old Mr Stanley’s brilliant system for laying bets.

Last month Sportsmail raised concerns that millions of pounds members thought was being paid into the syndicate for betting was in fact being paid into bank accounts used to buy and maintain horses owned by Mr Stanley. But while the owners’ club has only been running since last April, we have seen evidence that suggests the syndicate has been running since 2010.

Indeed, Sportsmail has seen a number of the introductory emails that Mr Stanley sent to potential investors, all of which make similar claims about his ‘winning system’.

One such email said: ‘ I am feeling rather smug, because I know that I have found a missing link, my holy grail — that is a winning system. I have now worked out that the definite way of beating the bookies is to become one!

‘As from 1st January 2010 I will be operating a betting syndicate which will be known as the Layezy Racing Syndicate. As the name suggests its aim will be to make substantial profits by laying horses on the exchanges to lose!’

CALL FOR POLICE TO PROBE RACING ‘SCAM’ How Sportsmail broke news of the scandal on January 22