BANKRUPT SYNDICATE CHIEF OWES VICTIMS £150m
THE man at the centre of a doomed betting syndicate, who has been bailed by police following a
Sportsmail investigation, owes members more than £158.7million, according to creditors.
Mike Stanley, whose Layezy Racing group collapsed following a probe by this newspaper, was handed a 14-year Bankruptcy Restriction Order (BRO) at the High Court, where the staggering details emerged.
The 64–year- old filed for bankruptcy shortly after our damning investigation, published in January 2019, examined grave concerns from panicked members that the syndicate, which appeared to be delivering incredible returns, was actually a Ponzi scheme.
Following the collapse, Stanley told insolvency practitioners that he owed £22m to members, many of whom had given Layezy Racing their life savings.
But the court, which extended restrictions against him, was told that creditors have now made claims for £53.4m in money paid to the syndicate and a staggering £158.7m on reported profits — money members believed they were due from ‘winning’ bets.
After Layezy’s demise, some members were initially told by administrators Duff and Phelps that the liabilities from the syndicate could be as much as £80m. But the bombshell details delivered at the hearing far outstrip that figure.
Kent-based Stanley is currently on bail having been arrested on suspicion of alleged fraud offences. If correct, the creditors’ claims would make the syndicate one of the biggest schemes of its kind in UK history.
The court heard that for nine years between January 2010 and February 2019 former police officer Stanley operated Layezy, which had started as a hobby, initially serving family and friends.
It placed bets on their behalf, earning profits thanks to Stanley Stanley’s s ‘system’. In 2012, it expanded beyond friends and family and received at least £40.3m from 6,000 members.
The court heard that the syndicate used at least £1m to place bets and of the remaining £39m, used £27.4m to make payments to members so it would appear they were earning profits. The court was also told Stanley bought 23 horses totalling £1.6m and caused the syndicate to make payments of at least £780,000 to third parties.
Stanley did not attend the hearing, at which Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Prentis handed down the 14-year BRO, viewed as one of the most severe and restrictive orders possible.
Along with being forbidden to own a limited company, p y, Stanley y will have to disclose his status should he attempt to secure £500 or more in credit.
Administrators are continuing their work, but the reality is that members are likely to be paid a fraction of what they invested, let alone what they believed was in their accounts.
Deputy official receiver Barry Gould said: ‘ Throughout the syndicate’s existence, Michael Stanley acted in a duplicitous manner. For nearly a decade, he duped his members into thinking they were making profits on their bets but, in reality, the money received was secured from new members joining the syndicate and not on the scheme’s success.’
Stanley remains on bail until November.