Bad financial advice has left dozens of Premier League soccer players “suicidal,” according to a report from the Daily Mail. The distraught players incurred massive amounts of debt from tax-avoidance schemes and bad investments in properties and films.
Many players invested in schemes connected with Kingsbridge Asset Management, which is under investigation over alleged fraud of £100M ($127 million).
Tax rebates, in some cases, were used by financial advisors to fund the purchase of overseas properties and then resold to players on “vastly inflated terms,” according to Stuart Cotton, founder of the Investor Rescue Organization, a financial investigation agency. The strategies used by the alleged bad actors were apparently a tax-deferral scheme, not a tax-avoidance scheme, leading to bankruptcy for some players when the tax bills came due.
“Each investor is risk-assessed as to their mental health and we will have an average of three people on suicide watch in a typical year,” said Cotton. “That is how many we have on watch now.” The players’ union, the PFA, has not been helpful for the players, said Cotton.
London police have reportedly made three arrests in the investigation.
