Wife of Rangers goalie ordered to pay back £860k from dodgy firm
‘Self-made property magnate’ Cheryl hit by legal order at Court of Session hearing
The wife of Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor has been ordered by a judge to return more than £863,000 she received from a company branded a “Ponzi scheme”. Cheryl McGregor was taken to court on behalf of HGEC Capital Ltd and its administrators after the firm went bust. The Court of Session in Edinburgh heard the 43-year-old mum of two received massive sums for introducing investors to HGEC. Judge Lord Braid said the nature of the firm’s business was “unclear” but “appears to have involved fraudulent activities”. Lawyers for the defunct company said the WAG received “gratuitous alienations” from HGEC in the form of huge payments.
The Insolvency Act can prevent such payments being made if they put assets beyond the reach of creditors when a business collapses.
She married Gers goalie McGregor, 40, in 2020 in a wedding at Loch Lomond and has been described as a “selfmade property magnate”. Cheryl McGregor was hit with the legal action at the Court of Session by Asertis Ltd, a litigation funder specialising in insolvency disputes, under her previous name of Cheryl Dunn.
Asertis was acting on behalf of HGEC Capital.
In his ruling, Lord Braid concluded: “The nature of its business and activities is unclear but appears to have involved fraudulent activities along the lines of a Ponzi scheme whereby money was received from new investors which was not invested but was used for other purposes.”
The judge pointed out Asertis didn’t infer Cheryl McGregor “was in any way implicated in that fraudulent activity”.
The court heard HGEC went into administration in February 2020 and administrators discovered company funds were paid to Cheryl McGregor and others for “no apparent consideration”.
Cheryl McGregor told the court she had an agreement with HGEC to introduce investors in return for a commission of 25 per cent.
The court was told administrators sent a letter to Cheryl McGregor as early as August asking her to explain the payments from HGEC but received no reply.
Asertis argued that between March 2018 and October 2019, HGEC transferred cash from its bank account to
Cheryl McGregor totalling £594.896.
Its lawyers said HGEC was “never solvent in the sense of its assets exceeding its liabilities” and they were seeking £583,896 back from Cheryl McGregor.
The judge said Cheryl McGregor contended “she was never a director or employee of HGEC but that she was an independent contractor to it”.
Her lawyers argued she introduced investors to HGEC who put in more than £6million, including £1million from a single person, entitling her to a commission of £1.5million.
They said Cheryl McGregor had a salary of £10,000 per month for about a year to find HGEC investors.
Lord Braid ordered Cheryl McGregor to cough up £583,896 from the action.
He also ordered Cheryl McGregor to shell out another £280,123 paid by HGEC to her company, Cheryl Dunn Holdings Ltd, which were the subject of a second legal case.
A spokesperson for Cheryl McGregor and Cheryl Dunn Holdings said: “We note the court’s decision and are in the process of lodging an appeal.
“It would be inappropriate to comment further.”