Brit Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Defrauding Thousands of Gamblers

A former police officer has been imprisoned for running an illegal betting scheme that defrauded thousands of people. The 68-year-old was running his scheme for years, using his supporters’ money to fund a lavish lifestyle.

The Man Tried to Run an Honest Business at First

Mike Stanley, 68, was found guilty of running a fraudulent scheme that defrauded over 6,000 gamblers. His business, Layezy Racing, was founded in 2010 as a legitimate source of income.

Stanley claimed that he had a formula for betting on horse races, attracting investors who wanted to benefit from the scheme. Unfortunately, this formula was not as efficient as the man had hoped and was unable to turn up sufficient profits.

As a result, in 2013, Stanley started cheating people instead, taking their money to fund a luxurious lifestyle. He continued to submit false reports to his investors, telling them that the scheme was still making a profit.

When people demanded their money back, Stanley would send them money spent by other participants in the scheme.

In the meantime, he used the proceeds to fuel a luxurious lifestyle for himself. The man spent some of the money on gambling and once lost more than a million pounds in a single year.

The Daily Mail eventually got wind of the scheme and questioned its legitimacy. The operation was then busted following what Kent Police said was one of the most complex investigations they had ever been involved in.

The Man Will Serve Six Years in Jail

Kent Police officers launched a criminal investigation into Stanley’s syndicate soon after he filed for bankruptcy in 2019. The operation of his scheme was extensively analyzed by the authorities, who understood that many of the man’s victims were his friends or acquaintances or people related to his circle.

After looking through Stanley’s computer and data from his syndicate, the detectives determined that the defrauded people’s money had been spent on a variety of luxuries, which included a £400,000 ($535,200) property in Spain, expensive cars and jewelry. Stanley also bought 23 racehorses and invested £1.6 million ($2.14 million) in crypto and £622K ($832K) in silver bullion.

In total, Stanley took £44 million ($58.9 million) from his victims. Because of it, he was charged with multiple offenses, to which he pleaded guilty in March.

Stanley was now charged with six years in prison.

Detective Sergeant Alec Wood of Kent Police spoke on the matter, saying the fraud had negatively impacted hundreds of people who believed Stanley’s false promises. The sergeant thanked these people for collaborating with the investigation.

I hope the outcome of this investigation sends a clear message that anyone who seeks to lie and cheat their way to financial prosperity will be brought to justice.

Detective Sergeant Alec Wood

Earlier this month, authorities jailed a Halfords manager who stole $120,000 through an elaborate customer coupon inflation scheme.