Richard Rufus

A former Premier League soccer player was handed a 7½-year prison sentence Thursday for defrauding his family and friends of £15 million ($18.2m).

Rufus, who only played for Charlton in his pro career, was forced into retirement in 2004 because of a knee injury. Prosecutors found that Rufus used some of the money invested to pay back others in a pyramid scheme and the rest of the cash to "maintain a lifestyle of an elite professional footballer." Richard Rufus, who played in England's top division with Charlton Athletic from 1998-2004 and also was an England under-21 international, claimed he was a successful foreign exchange trader and convinced his victims to invest in what he said was a "low-risk" scheme with promises of returns of 60% a year.

Former Premier League star Richard Rufus has been jailed for seven and a half years after masterminding a £15 million investment fraud on associates, ...

“He was clear to say he had made colossal sums of money for his church, for friends and family,” he said. “He claimed that he had been successful with his investment strategies previously, but the investments were fraught with risk and he lost his victims’ much needed money to the amount of £15million. “He took advantage of his status as a professional athlete, a respected church member and he used the goodwill of his family and friends to scam them and associates out of millions of pounds by falsely claiming he was able to offer a low-risk investment in the Foreign Exchange Market.

Rufus 'deliberately deceived those who were close to him and those who trusted him to scam them out of substantial sums of money', police said.

Roger Makanjuola, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “Rufus acted in a selfish manner without any concern for his victims. He took advantage of his status as a professional athlete, a respected church member and he used the goodwill of his family and friends to scam them and associates out of millions of pounds by falsely claiming he was able to offer a low-risk investment in the Foreign Exchange Market. Among the lies he told was that he did not need a licence from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as there was an exemption that permitted him to trade on behalf of friends and family.

The former Charlton Athletic player claimed he was a successful foreign exchange trader and convinced his victims to invest in his scheme.

"He took advantage of his status as a professional athlete, a respected church member and he used the goodwill of his family and friends to scam them and associates out of millions of pounds by falsely claiming he was able to offer a low-risk investment in the Foreign Exchange Market. Ex-Charlton Athletic player Richard Rufus was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years after he claimed to be a successful foreign exchange trader and convinced victims to invest in his "low-risk" scheme. The former Charlton Athletic player claimed he was a successful foreign exchange trader and convinced his victims to invest in his scheme.

Former Premier League defender Richard Rufus has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years.The 47-year-old, a Charlton Athletic great, was sentenced at S.

Detective Constable Claire Sandford-Day, from the fraud operations team at the City of London Police, said Rufus “(made) it appear that he was leading a life of wealth as a result of his former career and investments”. But he appeared ‘able to maintain a lifestyle of a footballer’ long after he was forced into retirement in 2004 because of a knee injury. Prosecutors said he lost money ‘hand over fist’, using some of the funds to pay back investors in a ‘pyramid scheme’.

Former Charlton player Richard Rufus has been jailed for seven and a half years for tricking family and friends into investing in a currency exchange scam.

Rufus claimed he was an experienced foreign exchange broker but was using his victims’ money to reimburse those who had paid in as part of a pyramid scheme. Of the £15m paid to accounts controlled by Rufus, investors received back about £7.6m. The 48-year-old was sentenced at Southwark crown court on Thursday.

Richard Rufus used his status to scam friends and family in a pyramid scheme, his trial hears.

Rufus claimed he was an experienced foreign exchange broker but was in fact using his victims' money to reimburse those who had paid in as part of a pyramid scheme, the statement said. In a statement, City of London detectives said Rufus, of Purley, used his status as a sportsman to give the impression he was wealthy and successful, when in reality he was failing to make a profit from his trading activities. Prosecutors said he had claimed he was a foreign exchange trader, convincing victims to invest in a low-risk scheme.

Rufus 'deliberately deceived those who were close to him and those who trusted him to scam them out of substantial sums of money', police said.

Roger Makanjuola, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “Rufus acted in a selfish manner without any concern for his victims. He took advantage of his status as a professional athlete, a respected church member and he used the goodwill of his family and friends to scam them and associates out of millions of pounds by falsely claiming he was able to offer a low-risk investment in the Foreign Exchange Market. Among the lies he told was that he did not need a licence from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as there was an exemption that permitted him to trade on behalf of friends and family.