Lotto Winner Left Penniless After Fraud
Last Updated: Wednesday 12th September 2018, 12:11
A fraud trial was told yesterday how a lotto winner was left penniless after he lost around £4 million through investing in Livingston Football Club. John McGuiness loves football and after winning the lottery thought he could live the dream by investing in the club and enjoying their success. However things quickly turned sour and he lost the whole lot.
Mr McGuiness agreed to help the club, but only after seeing the signature of a millionaire friend on the paperwork. He now suspects the signature was a forgery hence the fraud trial now taking place.
In the trial Livingston’s former chairman, Dominic Keane denies duping Mr McGuiness who was a director at the club, as part of a scheme to obtain money from the Royal Bank of Scotland. It is alleged at the trial that he fraudulently obtained facilities worth over £2 million and as a result of this the lottery winner had to resort to court action to recover the cash.
Mr McGuiness won £10 million on the lotto in 1996 when his lottery numbers came up in the lottery results. He was working as a nurse at the time but immediately afterwards gave up his job and lived off interest from the win. He had an interest in football and finally decided to invest in Livingston Football Club in 1998.
In total the lotto winner lost around £4 million to the club and now has nothing left of his winnings and is unemployed. The trial continues and the result is not yet known, although Mr McGuiness must be bitterly regretting his involvement.