LOUIS DUPED

Pension fraud gang hijacked 1D Tomlinson's Doncaster bid

- NICK SOMMERLAD

AS the public face of a takeover of boyhood club Doncaster Rovers, Louis Tomlinson had dreams of helping it become a major force in football.

But the One Direction singer was unaware some of the investors were a gang of pension fraudsters who fleeced millions of pounds from people's retirement nest eggs.

It can be revealed today that Kevin Phelan, Daniel Giles and Adrian Bashforth were convicted last month and face "significant" jail sentences.

Prosecutors said the Doncaster deal was used by the crooks to try to cover their tracks and explain away to police the missing cash.

Their trial at Leeds crown court heard how Louis became involved with the gang in 2014 through the club's former chairman John Ryan.

He launched a crowdfunder aimed at raising £6million of investment for the takeover from his 36 million X followers and 20 million online fans.

The fraudsters met Louis, 33, at his Cheshire home at the peak of ID's fame in 2014.