Former police officer charged with defrauding thousands of investors into failed racing and betting syndicate

A former police officer has been charged with defrauding thousands of punters who invested into his racing and betting syndicate Layezy Racing.

Michael Stanley, who served as a sergeant for Kent Police before setting up Layezy Racing, was charged on Tuesday with five counts of fraud relating to the “alleged misuse of his clients’ money” between 2013 and 2019.

Stanley, 67, established Layezy Racing in 2010 initially as a hobby with backing from family and friends. The group expanded from 2012 and by the time of its collapse in 2019 there were 6,000 members paying for shares in racehorses and for betting advice.

However, the operation, which had horses in training with John Best, Amy Murphy, Rebecca Menzies and Ivan Furtado, collapsed in early 2019 following newspaper allegations around the management of the company. 

Layezy Racing filed for bankruptcy in January 2019 claiming debts of £22 million. At a high court hearing in September 2020, it was revealed that creditors were owed £158.7m, with Stanley having allegedly operated a Ponzi scheme paying out members with the funds from new subscribers.

In a statement on Tuesday, Kent Police said it had charged Stanley with one count of dishonestly making false representations to members of Layezy Racing, one count of knowingly running a business for fraudulent purposes in contravention of the Fraud Act and three counts of knowingly running a business for fraudulent purposes contrary to the Companies Act.

The statement continued: “Michael Stanley is accused of defrauding members of the Layezy Racing group between 2013 and 2019. He was arrested in August 2019 and has now been charged after a complex investigation by detectives from the Kent and Essex serious crime directorate.

“Mr Stanley has been bailed to appear at Sevenoaks Magistrates' Court on Thursday, March 7.”

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