Ex-Premier League player Richard Rufus ‘scammed friends and family out of £15m in pyramid scheme’

A FORMER Premier League footballer scammed friends and family out of £15million to maintain his lavish lifestyle, a court heard.

Richard Rufus is accused of pretending to be a successful foreign exchange trader to convince his alleged victims to invest.

But the ex-Charlton star, 47, lost the cash “hand over fist”, Southwark Crown Court heard.

It is alleged he used £7million of the total £15million to pay back investors in a pyramid scheme, while around £2million was used for his own purposes.

Jurors were told this meant Rufus was able to “maintain a lifestyle of a footballer” long after he was forced to retire in 2004.

The centre-back enjoyed the “trappings of wealth” and drove a flash Bentley and wore a Rolex, it was said.

Rufus also lived in a five-bedroom home on a private estate in leafy Purley, South London.

The court was told he spent…