Members of the Layezy Racing betting syndicate who now fear they are the victims of a Ponzi scheme have spoken for the first time, telling stories of the lives that will be ruined if they have indeed lost their savings.
There are 5000 people, predominantly in the South East, who have been left deeply concerned that their money has gone after former Kent police officer Mike Stanley responded to a Sportsmail investigation by shutting down the syndicate and the Layezy Racing Owners Club and filing for bankruptcy.
It is understood the shortfall between how much Mr Stanley has in cash and investments and how much insolvency experts will now be asked to repay to members could be as much as £70million.
Members of the Layezy Racing syndicate fear they may have lost huge sums of money
According to members who have posted information on social media, the administrators at Duff and Phelps have advised them that Stanley has not been placing bets for a number of years and fear he was in fact operating a ‘Ponzi scheme’.
Craig, a 32-year-old a father-of-three from Kent, does not consider himself a victim even if he says he has now been advised by his bank that some of the money he sent to Layezy went straight on to a pre-paid credit card. He describes it as little more than a ‘flutter’.
But he is horrified by many of the stories that are being shared on private members groups on Facebook.
‘I have seen a number of accounts from members where it is fair to say their lives may have been ruined,’ said Craig, who has his own business and asked Sportsmail not to use his surname.
‘I have had communication with a lady who is in her sixties, who sold her house, and deposited the funds from that sale into the betting account. She is now facing the very real possibility that the money probably doesn't exist and she now has to start to look for a new job.
‘I also know of another lady who unfortunately lost her husband at a young age and received a six-figure life insurance pay-out. She was advised by friends and family to pay into this scheme because they knew Mike personally. She did so. That was money for her three children, effectively. And it now looks like that money has gone.
‘She feels she has let her children down and she doesn't know how she is going to be able to provide for her children with that hole in their financial stability.
‘She is devastated. She believes she had her life ruined when her husband passed and it has now been completely shattered again.’
Craig insists he is not looking for ‘sympathy’. ‘I went into it with my eyes open,’ he said. ‘But we have drawn up a list of accounts we have paid into and there are more than 17 separate bank accounts we’ve identified so far. Some people, including myself, paid into a pre-paid top up card, from a company called PrePay Solutions. I have been advised by my bank that this is a card to use on the high street. That makes me feel more angry than anything else.
’But so many people are now in desperate situations. It's just terrible.’
Robert, 40, from Essex, is another member who is more concerned about those who invested far more than he did. There is concern that people could lose their homes; others their pensions.
‘I put a little bit in, never a huge amount,’ said Robert, who also asked us not to use his full name. ‘But there is one bloke I know who put in over £100,000. Another
