Louis Tomlinson was reportedly duped by pension fraudsters who fleeced retirees out of millions of pounds after they launched a failed takeover bid of his boyhood football club.
The One Direction star had hoped he could transform Doncaster Rovers into a football powerhouse and became the public face of the campaign to find the club a buyer in 2014.
He launched a crowdfunder aimed at raising £6million of investment for the takeover from his millions of online fans.
However, Louis was unaware that the primary investors – who had pledged a whopping £500,000 to the cause – were in fact a gang of criminals.
Details of the scam emerged last month after Kevin Phelan and his co-defendants Daniel Giles and Adrian Bashforth were convicted of siphoning cash from people’s retirement funds, The Mirror has reported.
Their trial at Leeds Crown Court heard the group had hoped to use the Doncaster Rovers deal to cover their tracks and explain away where all the money had gone.
Irish businessman Phelan first approached Doncaster Rovers’ former chairman John Ryan in 2013, saying they wanted to buy the club.
He implied that he already had an investor ready who was willing to provide millions of pounds.
Louis Tomlinson was reportedly duped by pension fraudsters who fleeced retirees out of millions of pounds after they launched a failed takeover bid of his boyhood football club
However, Phelan, 62, was in fact bankrupt and the only cash he had on the table was £500,000 – which was provided by a member of his fraud gang.
The court was told that Louis then became involved with the group the following year, when he was at his peak of One Direction fame.
It came after two of Phelan’s attempts to buy the club collapsed.
A new deal was subsequently agreed with Louis and Ryan acting as a public faces of a crowdfunding to raise the rest of the cash.
The fraudsters met Louis at his home in Cheshire and he also invited members of the gang to a concert in Dublin.
It was there that a deal was signed that would hand over 70 per cent of Doncaster to Belize-based Sequentia Capital SA if the takeover was successful.
However, the trial heard that the firm was sourcing its funds from ‘stolen pension money’.
It is understood that some pensioners lost their life savings in the scam.
There is no suggestion that Louis, who was set to become co-chairman of the club, knew about the pension fraud.
Prosecutor Tim Hannam told the court: ‘He (Mr Phelan) was no doubt delighted to be part of a scheme which basically provided him with free money from people’s life savings funding his lifestyle, his wife’s debts and his mortgage for his big, lovely house with its long drive.’
Pictured: John Ryan – the former chairman of Doncaster Rovers
According to The Mirror’s report, Phelan, 62, went to Louis’s home in January 2014.
His co-defendant Giles then texted that day: ‘I’ve been interrogated for the last few hours over 1D boy. Kids want to come to the next meeting mate.
‘I’m thinking 16 million brainwashed followers.
‘Very very interesting. Let’s crack on now together and build a nice fighting fund.’
The deal ultimately fell through as the crowdfunder raised just £600,000 and Phelan’s investment promises were empty.
At the time, Louis claimed he was ‘misled’ over his efforts to step in to take over Doncaster Rovers.
In a series of posts online, Tomlinson wrote: ‘I’m absolutely gutted the Doncaster Rovers deal is not going ahead. I am desperate for the club to be given the recognition it deserves.
‘I was explicitly told that the deal to buy the club was not dependent on the money raised by Crowdfunding. Unfortunately I was misled.
‘My passion for Doncaster Rovers remains as strong as ever, and I hope that I can still be involved with the club moving forward.
‘And to all the Doncaster Rovers fans , I will do all in my power to help the club succeed. I really do love the club.’
Tomlinson added: ‘For the record, I insisted contractually I would never earn a penny from DRFC. I simply wanted to help club and community. Still hoping I can.’
The fraudsters are due to be sentenced in January and are expected to receive ‘significant’ jail terms.
Louis’s reps have been contacted for comment.
