Syndicate could have more victims

There could be many more fraud victims of a Spalding lottery syndicate as details of the large police operation that brought it down were revealed.

There were 233 people recorded as victims by Operation Safeway, the investigation launched by Lincolnshire Police following two initial complaints made against the Lottery Syndicate Club in 2019.
The court ruled on 184 people who made a total loss of £2,397,002 as a result of the scheme with 11 losing more than £50,000 and 61 more than £10,000.
Officers estimate though around 325 lost out as a result.
Police say many did not respond, possibly because of the embarrassment of the situation.
“The victims were a full cross section of society,” said Lincolnshire Police PC Phil Gidlow who led Operation Safeway. “Many of the themes expressed to us by the included initial disbelief and reluctance to accept the truth, shame and embarrassment as well as a loss of trust in others.”
The sole director of the Spalding Lottery Syndicate was former Spalding United chairman Chris Toynton.
Last month, after a seven-week trial, he was jailed for four and a half years for four counts of fraud by false representation and five counts of fraud by abuse of position.
The judge called the syndicate a ‘get rich quick’ ‘ponzi-style’ scheme.
Ross Gibson, of Dudley, had already pleaded guilty to the charges against him and was jailed for 53 months.
“The investigation started around April 2019 and the defendants were charged in November 2021,” said PC Gidlow. “Work has then continued up to and through the trial.
“This was a team effort and while I led the investigation, others who played notable roles included DS Mike Billam, PC Chris Roberts, DC Jennifer Green, DC James Norton and Financial Investigation Jemima Cholmondeley-Smith.
“However investigations like this rely on a large number of others to help in various ways including from within the Economic Crime Unit, Tactical Support Team, Digital Forensics Unit and Witness Care.

“We also worked closely with CPS’s Serious Economic Organised Crime and International Directorate (SEOCID) as well as the appointed Counsel (Park Square Barristers).”
The trial heard Toynton (73), of Horseshoe Road, Spalding, spent £134,000 of the money on luxury cars with private plates for himself and his wife, holidays and an executive box at Luton Town.
He met Gibson by chance in a Spalding restaurant in 2017 and was convinced into giving him £50 to speculate with.
Toynton encouraged six other people to also give the-then 22-year-old rookie trader £50.
Within a week Gibson falsely claimed he had turned the £350 into more than £1,300.
From there the scheme grew quickly, despite Gibson having no experience or qualifications and Toynton – who was roping in more and more people to invest – making no checks on his associate’s background and keeping poor records.
Of the officially recorded victims, 52 were from Lincolnshire.
Judge Sjolin Knight at Lincoln Crown Court praised Lincolnshire Police’s Operation Safeway.
“The judge’s commendation was very kind and recognises the dedication and effort involved in investigating cases like this,” continued PC Gibson. “Ultimately we all worked hard on this case to get justice for the victims and it has also been lovely to receive so many words of thanks from victims.”
When asked about the sentence handed out, he said: “I’m not going to comment on the sentence, other than to say that our commitment was to deliver justice for the victims and hopefully they feel this has, at least in part, been achieved.
“We are now working on the POCA Confiscation proceedings.”