I was fooled by rugby fan fraudster’s fantasy life, admits Scots hero Logan
Court told of lavish lifestyle
FORMER rugby star Kenny Logan has told how he was unwittingly t aken i n by t he fantasy life of a multi-million pound fraudster.
The ex- Scotland i nternational admitted he believed businessman Gerald Porter was simply a rugby fan willing to invest heavily in the team he was playing for at that time.
But unknown to the player, husband of TV presenter Gabby Logan, the 51-yearold had cheated his firm, Greenfield Property Management, out of millions of pounds to fund his luxury lifestyle with his wife Jacqui, a court heard yesterday.
Giving evidence at London’s Southwark Crown Court, Mr Logan said he believed Porter was a property developer who was ‘happily spending money and I knew no reason to believe he was dodgy’.
He told jurors Porter, who has admitted fraud, was well known in the world of rugby and ‘he had the fast cars and consistently spent money for years’.
Jacqui Porter, 40, of Ruislip, west London, denies concealing or converting proceeds of crime and denies any knowledge of her husband’s fraud.
Mr Logan said: ‘I had heard Porter
‘He was extremely
plausible’
described as a wealthy businessman who had made his money as a property developer and was chief executive of the Comer Homes Group, which had talked about buying Aston Villa.’
The player continued: ‘Porter was extremely generous and I established a rapport with him without ever being good friends. He invited me and my wife and family to his castle in Scotland but I did not feel comfortable about accepting.
‘He was a very likeable, wealthy businessman who was passionate about rugby. He attended events with the MD of Comer Group, Brian Comer, so I had no reason to think he was dodgy.’
But he said the illusion fell apart in 2010 when Porter came to his house and confessed he was a thief. The rugby star added: ‘He told me he had been stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds from Comer Group. He sounded desperate. I ordered him out of my house and have not seen him since.’
He added he had received a call from Mr Comer accusing him of being involved in Porter’s fraud, but Mr Comer had quickly realised Mr Logan was innocent.
Mr Logan added: ‘I feel thoroughly let down. I acted in good faith with everything I did with him. He called himself Dr Gerald Porter, I suspect it was all part of his life of fantasy we all seemed to be tangled in.’
David Aaronberg, defending, told Mr Logan, who played for Wasps rugby union side: ‘You were completely had by Mr Porter.’
Mr Logan, 42, replied: ‘This man was extremely plausible.’
Porter donated £ 100,000 of Greenfield cash to Championship side London Scottish while the club were struggling financially.
Prosecutor William Boyce, QC, asked Mr Logan about his police statement made in July 2011.
The Scot had noted: ‘He always drove expensive vehicles and was often seen around at functions in his Bentley. He would also think nothing of hiring helicopters to fly people to events.’
Porter put £100,000 into a joint venture in the London Scottish club which also included Mr Logan. Porter sponsored an endof-season dinner which Mr Logan believed would have cost about £15,000. He also recalled that Porter had paid £5,816 for a table at a dinner which he never used.
Mr Logan confirmed: ‘I was also in his company at restaurants where he would purchase the top wines. It was the top restaurants such as Claridge’s in London.’
The sports star said that on Porter’s advice he hired a man to carry out building work at his home but l ater sacked him because the quality of the work was not good enough.
Mr Logan said he felt guilty because he trusted Porter enough to introduce him to his mother-inlaw Christine Yorath, who had a property investment opportunity.
Earlier, Mr Comer told the court Porter had never been chief executive or held a directorship of Comer Group, an international property group.
The businessman said: ‘If he was honest and doing his job well he could have done well. But he preferred the crooked pound to the straight pound. He did not want to work, he was creaming money off left, right and centre.’