Louis Tomlinson, known for his association with the band One Direction, was unknowingly involved with a group of pension fraudsters who swindled millions of pounds from retirement funds. The fraudsters, Kevin Phelan, Daniel Giles, and Adrian Bashforth, were recently convicted and are facing substantial prison sentences. The trio used the Doncaster takeover deal as a cover-up for their illicit activities. Louis had initiated a crowdfunding campaign to raise £6 million for the club’s acquisition from his vast online following.

In 2014, during the peak of One Direction’s fame, Louis met the fraudsters at his home and later at a concert in Dublin, where a deal was signed transferring 70% ownership of Doncaster to Sequentia Capital SA. However, the source of the offshore firm’s funds was revealed to be stolen pension money. Despite the crowdfunding efforts yielding only £600,000, mainly from a fraudulent loan, the deal proceeded.

The court disclosed that Doncaster was financially unstable, relying on loans from investors like John Ryan. Sequentia Capital SA made two unsuccessful attempts to acquire the club before Louis and Ryan took on the role as the public faces of the ownership deal. Louis agreed to a 10% stake in the club with ambitious plans to elevate Doncaster to the Premier League.

Unfortunately, the crowdfunding campaign failed, and Sequentia lacked the funds to complete the purchase, leading to the deal’s collapse. Louis expressed disappointment, stating he was misled about the deal’s financial dependencies. Despite the ordeal, there is no implication that Louis or Ryan were aware of the pension fraud scheme.

The fraudsters had siphoned £3.7 million from over 200 victims’ pension pots, with only £1.3 million returned to them. The gang will be sentenced in January for their crimes.