Commonwealth gold medallist Steve Scutt jailed for fraud
Steve Scutt, a former Commonwealth Games gold medallist, has been jailed for fraud after investors lost tens of thousands of pounds in a series of failed energy drink companies he set up after retiring from athletics.
Published: 8:00AM BST 29 Aug 2009
Scutt, who won a gold medal for England in the 4x400m relay at the 1982 Brisbane games, convinced friends to pour money into the firms even though he was banned from serving as a company director.
St Albans Crown Court heard that Scutt, 54, had become obsessed with his idea for a new energy drink called Hyposport.
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Jason Queally riding towards London 2012 ParalympicsAlthough a success on the running track, his business ventures struggled and he ran up thousands of pounds worth of debts as companies crashed.
On two occasions he was made bankrupt and forbidden from running companies, but went on to raise funds for new firms to promote the drink.
Scutt also took money from the companies to pay personal expenses including his son’s school fees and trips to Alton Towers and Disneyland.
Sentencing him to 30 months in prison on Friday, Judge Martin Griffith said that the former runner had exploited his sporting reputation to defraud his investors over a period of eight years.
“When it comes to business you have been thoroughly dishonest,” he said.
Scutt, from Hertford, Hertfordshire, was also disqualified from being a director for eight years.