A former chairman of Spalding United Football Club has appeared at Lincoln Crown Court for a Proceeds of Crime hearing.
Christopher Toynton (75) was jailed for four and a half years in May 2023 after he was found guilty of nine fraud charges relating to his role in a Ponzi type lottery scheme.
Toynton, then of Horseshoe Road, Spalding, had denied acting dishonestly but was convicted after a two- month trial at Lincoln Crown Court.
A second defendant, Ross Gibson (29), then of Eve Lane, Upper Gornal, Dudley, was also jailed for four years and five months after he pleaded guilty to two fraud offences and carrying out regulated activities.
Following the convictions police launched a Proceeds of Crime investigation (POCA) to calculate the financial benefit gained by Toynton and Gibson from their criminal conduct and to determine the sums now available to confiscate from them.
The process involves assessing the “benefit figure” and the “available amount” (assets) from each defendant before a judge can issue a confiscation order against them.
Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight adjourned the case for a three-day contested hearing beginning at Lincoln Crown Court on December 14.
Toynton, who has now been released from prison, attended the hearing in person, but Gibson was not present in court.
A further POCA hearing will take place at Lincoln Crown Court on June 23 before the main hearing in December.
Jurors previously heard how the lottery style scheme operated between 2017 and 2019 when an investigation was launched by police following complaints of suspected fraud.
The court heard many investors were left out of pocket after £3.9 million was poured into the spread betting scheme, named the Lottery Syndicate Club.
Police became involved after an account belonging to the scheme’s so-called “whizz kid” trader, Spalding-based Ross Gibson, was frozen by his bank.
This prompted a lengthy investigation by Lincolnshire Police, the court was told.
Prosecutors said Toynton spent £134,000 of the £3.9 million fund on himself, buying two cars valued at £54,000 and sharing a box at Luton Town.
During the trial, prosecution barrister Julian Jones, likened the Lottery Syndicate Club to a Ponzi or Pyramid scheme where investors were paid out from new members joining the syndicate.
Toynton chose not to give evidence during the trial. His barrister, James Bourne-Arton, said there was no suggestion he had squirrelled away any of the money from the fraud.
