Ex-One Direction star Louis Tomlinson 'duped by pension fraudsters' amid failed Doncaster Rovers takeover bid
Former One Direction star Louis Tomlinson was unsuspectingly duped by pension fraudsters aid a failed takeover bid of his beloved Doncaster Rovers.
The Doncaster native had launched a potential takeover bid of his childhood team in 2014, posing as the public face of the campaign to find the a buyer to in a bid to catapult the team to the Premier League. Louis launched a crowdfunder to raise £6,000,000 investment for the takeover.
However, according to reports in The Mirror, the singer was duped by the primary investors who had pledged £500,000 to the takeover bid, but turned out to be a criminal gang. Details of the fraus emerged after Kevin Phelan, Daniel Giles and Adrian Bashforth were convicted last month of stealing millions of pounds from people’s pension nest eggs.
During the trial, the court heard that an unsuspecting Louis had become involved with the fraudsters via ex-Doncaster chairman John Ryan. The gang had aimed to use the Doncaster takeover bid as a means to cover their tracks and explain missing cash to police.
Phelan had first approached John Ryan about a takeover bid in 2013 and told him that he had an investor willing to provide millions of pounds. Phelan himself was bankrupt at the time, and two attempts at buying the club crumbled before Louis became involved in the crowdfunding attempt.
The court heard that the criminal gang met the chart-topping singer at his home in Cheshire at the height of his 1D fame. The now-convicted criminals also attended a concert in Dublin, where Louis signed an agreement that would hand over 70% of the Doncaster ownership to Belize-based firm Sequentia Capital SA if the takeover went as planned.
The court heard that the source of the offshore firm’s fund was “stolen pension money”, with some pensioners losing their life savings in the fraud. There is no suggestion that Louis or Mr Ryan had any knowledge of the pension fraud.
Sequentia Capital SA was described as a “a silent participant, behind the scenes” during the takeover bid involving Louis, having been involved in the two pervious takeover bid which collapsed. The court heard that Phelan met with Louis at his home in January 2014 to discuss the deal and Phelan’s potential position at the club should the takeover go through.
Phelan’s co-defendant Giles text later that same day with a message which read: “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.”
However, the takeover collapsed after the crowdfunder only raised £600,000 and Phelan’s claims of an investor lined up to inject millions did not appear.
Louis said at the time that he has been “misled” about the situation, saying in a series of social media posts: “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.
He 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 court heard that the criminal gang had scooped £3.7m from the pension pots of more than 200 victims. They are due to be sentenced in January 2026.