£30m pound Investment scam

Michael McIndoe, 35, is accused of taking huge sums from top players, including £500,000 from each of Robbie Keane and Jimmy Bullard, for the failed venture. The former Wolves and Coventry midfielder, from Edinburgh, is due in bankruptcy court on Wednesday as his creditors, including other big names, chase him for money.

The scheme is currently being investigated by police, while McIndoe has a bankruptcy hearing this week after previously telling the court that he was living off the generosity of friends and family.

At the height of his spending, McIndoe hired a modernist £2million mansion for £27,000-a-week for a three-week holiday spree in Marbella.

His friends had bottles of champagne and vodka at their tables whenever they went to nightclubs, while back in London he hired pop star Alexandra Burke to perform at a party and invested in a private members club.

The scheme is thought to have attracted 300 players, including a number from the lower leagues, and he told original investors to get others involved so they could make more money. Former player Bullard, who recently appeared on the TV show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and Robbie Keane are thought to have lost more than £500,000 each.

McIndoe was made bankrupt in October last year with disclosed debts of £3 million and he told the court in London at a hearing last month that he was penniless. McIndoe said he had no income and was living off £13,900 surplus from the sale of his mother’s house but £6,000 of that had been given to his girlfriend, who lives in Epping, Essex.

‘That money has been running thin of late so I have been getting help from friends and family,’ he told the hearing. Details of his account with bookmakers’ William Hill, which were given to receivers as part of the bankruptcy proceedings, showed he had staked a total of £391,955 and his winnings were £309,505.76.

In our view, this case highlights the importance of doing your own checks on investment schemes to ensure that they are not actually just a scam where you are likely to lose your money. No matter who the person fronting the scheme is, it is always important to do background checks.

Many scams we have seen are sold by very good salesmen, have extremely professional-looking brochures and literature and even have celebrity endorsements, but behind all of that are simply get-rich-quick schemes for crooks.

If you have been caught up in an investment and feel you may have been scammed or are worried about a scheme you have invested in then speak to us immediately, we may be able to help.