Kirsty Gallacher’s rugby ace ex-husband Paul Sampson was left penniless and sleeping in his car after a head injury made him fall victim to a £450,000 scam, he claimed.
Sampson, who won three England caps, and TV presenter Gallacher split in 2015 after 15 years together and share two teenage sons, Oscar and Jude.
He later developed severe post-concussion syndrome (PPCS), diagnosed in 2023, which he claims impacted his memory and ability to make decisions.
He saw his life fall apart in 2019 after being persuaded to invest in a supposed defence start-up, he claimed, which would see him make five payments totalling £450,000.
He took the cash from his savings, a loan from his girlfriend’s parents and used proceeds from a property sale.
The father-of-two was promised guaranteed returns of £11,000 a month, initially receiving the payments until April 2019, when contact with the directors dwindled before stopping completely.
Sampson claimed he lost his home, his relationship ended and he was forced to sleep in his car or sofa surf.
While trying to recover the money, he began investigating persistent headaches, eventually being diagnosed with PPCS in 2023.
‘It’s only in the past few years I’ve understood the effect it’s had. My brain gets overwhelmed and can’t process situations – it just shuts things out,’ he told The Times.
‘For that reason it took me years to even realise I’d been a victim of a fraud.
‘I suspect it’s a vulnerability that the people who took my money could see in me immediately. For them it was an opportunity to exploit me while they were pretending to help me. It has devastated my life.’
The scam started when Sampson transferred an initial £50,000, having allegedly been told the firm was bidding for contracts with Nato, the UN and the Government.
He was then wined and dine at London’s Special Forces Club and promised a role in military mental health, he claimed.
The company directors trained him on what to say if Barclays, his bank, questioned the transactions, he also alleged.
After reporting the fraud to Barclays last year, the rugby star’s claim was rejected for being outside the six-year time limit.
He then asked for help from the National Fraud helpline, which complained to Barclays and the Financial Ombudsman, asking it to review its initial rejection of the case.
The law firm said: ‘A brief examination of the accounts filed at Companies House are indicative of a scam company. The figures are almost replicated every year for the past five years.’
Sampson also joined a group legal action created in 2022 against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union, who all deny liability.
He is still left without a home and is unable to properly see his two sons, who are 16 and 19.
Sampson is now working more than 50 hours a week in a warehouse while studying part-time for a master’s degree in psychology.
Barclays said in a statement: ‘We have every sympathy for Paul, and the position this has left him in. Five payments were made in early 2019 to two companies.
‘When Paul attempted to make the payments, we held four scam prevention conversations with him to check he did not believe he was the subject of a scam. Two were by phone and two face-to-face in branch. At the conclusion he confirmed he wanted the payments to be made.
‘All customers have six years to report scams and complaints. Unfortunately, Paul did not do this and the case has fallen outside the deadline. At no point during that time did he tell us he had been scammed.’
The Financial Ombudsman Service said it does not comment on individual cases when approached by the Daily Mail.
