A victim of David Beckham ’s fraudster brother-in-law has revealed how he was left penniless and living in a car.
Reg Bisson was hoodwinked by Darren Flood into handing over £130,000, including £100,000 from the proceeds of his late mother’s house.
The rest came from pawning his mum’s jewels and heirlooms and a payday loan he was conned into taking out.
Bankrupt Reg, 57, who used to work as a driver, told the Sunday People: “I’ve lived on absolutely nothing for eight years.
“It’s only been by the kindness from ladies in my church that I’ve managed to survive somehow.”
Flood, married to Victoria Beckham’s sister Louise Adams for five years, traded on the famous footballer’s name to lure in victims.
But former England skipper Becks, 44, and wife Posh, 45, had no involvement in the scheme. Reg was trapped into the con by Flood’s accomplice Paul Muldoon.
He was one of at least 24 victims, who included a widow in her 80s, a retired policeman and a multiple sclerosis sufferer.
David Beckham’s ex brother-in-law, Darren Flood traded on the famous footballer’s name to lure in victims.
With promise of big profits the victims pumped nearly £810,000 into The Commodities Link that invested in “rare earth elements metals and oxides” which were actually worthless.
The firm, with its posh brochures and office in London’s Canary Wharf, was a facade and the cheats stole the money.
In January, Flood, 40, of Hertford, Herts, was convicted at Kingston crown court of conspiracy to commit fraud between April 2012 and August 2014, and jailed for 30 months.
Among the other six jailed was main company salesman Muldoon, 34 of Basildon, Essex, who got four years after admitting a similar charge.
Darren Flood pictured with ex-wife and sister of Victoria Beckham, Louise Flood in 2011. Louise knew nothing of the con.
Muldoon had “made great play of Darren Flood being David Beckham’s brother-in-law” during a pitch to a victim who lost £62,000. In July, Flood, who was wed to Posh’s sister Louise – who knew nothing of the con – from 2009 to 2014, was ordered to pay back £190,000.
Flood and his gang were found to have a total of £370,634 in assets by financial investigators, which the court said they must repay under Proceeds of Crime laws.
Dad-of-two Reg thinks he might get just a fraction of his cash back.
He said: “They came out with all these pukka brochures. They made it look as professional as they could.
“They reeled me in a little bit more each time.
David Beckham and wife Victoria, who had no involvement in the scheme
“Then they left me alone for a few months while they found another victim, and then they come back on you – bang, hit you again.”
When his suspicions about the con artists grew, he took out a payday loan to pay £15,000 in “capital gains tax” the gang said would free up his cash. But that disappeared.
He reported the cheats and the police confirmed his worst fears.
Last year, with mounting bills, Reg declared himself bankrupt – and lost his house on his 56th birthday.
Victims pumped nearly £810,000 to invest in “rare earth elements metals and oxides” which were actually worthless
He started living in his car and has only now managed to secure a place on a social-housing waiting list.
Reg said: “My lowest was probably after the police came round. I knew it was a scam. I knew it wasn’t right.”
He added: “I kick myself now to think. I’m not somebody who wastes money. That was my pension money.”
Det Insp Matt Durkin, of Surrey Police’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “These people destroyed their victims’ lives without a second thought. They took life savings, left investors destitute and took away the confidence and independence of their elderly victims.”
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/fraud-victim-david-beckhams-brother-18823400