Scammers who made thousands of pounds preying on innocent football fans
The ECHO has taken a look at fraudsters who got caught for their crimes

This week, a man found himself behind bars after scamming football fans with fake Champions League tickets. Lee Waldron received thousands of pounds from 20 victims who were sent counterfeit PDF tickets.
But the 41-year-old has not been the only person to find themselves in trouble after targeting innocent victims. Back in March last year, Liverpool FC said it had seen a "worrying increase" in the number of innocent supporters scammed into buying fake or non-existent tickets for home games. The ECHO has taken a look at recent scammers who got caught for their fraud.
Lee Waldron
Waldron made nearly £40,000 scamming 20 fans with fake PDF Champions League tickets. His arrest came after detectives from the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit investigated reports made to Action Fraud by victims who had attempted to buy tickets to the May 2022 Champions League final in Paris between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid.

The football fans, who were eager to see the highly anticipated match, were left devastated when they discovered the tickets were fakes. At Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, January 13, Waldron of Norbury Road in Kirkby, was jailed for 21 months after being found guilty at trial for acquiring/ using/ possessing criminal property.
Waldron's associate, David Windsor, pleaded guilty to fraud offences back in March 2024 and was also jailed for 21 months.
John Gill

John Gill took advantage of fans ahead of Jürgen Klopp's final game as Liverpool manager. Gill, from Fazakerley preyed on desperate fans wanting to be inside Anfield on the final day of the 2023/24 season.
He sold fake tickets to two people outside the stadium ahead of Klopp's final match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, May 19 2024. The 50-year-old pleaded guilty to fraud after selling the tickets for Liverpool's 2-0 victory.
Gill was sentenced to 17 weeks in prison for the incident and was issued with a fine at Liverpool Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, October 15. Due to the demand and the urge for so many being at the match, ticket prices on the black market surged well above the face value price with some people reportedly paying up to £20,000 for Klopp's final game as Liverpool boss.
John Stuart and Greg O'Neill

John Stuart, 42, of Jarrett Road in Kirkby was jailed for eight months in August last year after scamming football fans. Stuart was the prime mover in the scam and stole thousands of pounds from three men who were trying to get tickets to see Liverpool in the Champions League Final in May 2022.
One man paid £8,500 for two so-called “category one” tickets for the Final in France. Two other men paid £2,500 for two tickets each. Their contact had been with Stuart, via his mobile phone, but the money was paid into accomplice's bank account who would then transfer the money to some of Stuart’s relatives and friends.
Stuart was later arrested and interviewed at St Helens Police station on October 20 2022. He admitted he had scammed the men and told officers: “I took the money off them, I didn’t provide the tickets, It was my f*** up.” However, he claimed it was due to circumstances beyond his control.
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At a hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on June 26 2024, Stuart pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud. A charge of transferring criminal property was allowed to lie on file. Along with his eight-month jail term, he was told he had to repay all of the money he took from his victims.