Shamed ace Richard Rufus told to pay back just £372,740 of £9m he scammed from family and friends
SHAMED footballer Richard Rufus has been told to pay back just £372,740 of the £9million he scammed from family and friends in a pyramid scheme.
The ex-Charlton Athletic star, now 49, was jailed for seven-and-a-half years in 2023 after conning friends and family into investing in the fraudulent get-rich-quick plan.
Southwark Crown Court heard yesterday how Rufus had fleeced a grand total of £9,388,112.99 from his nearest and dearest.
But the court ordered him to pay back just £372,740.20, with the sum representing all that he has left.
Posing as a foreign exchange trader, he had urged friends to invest with him – lying that footie contacts such as Rio Ferdinand had done the same.
Instead he splurged the money on a flash Bentley, Rolex and a mansion.
But the once-millionaire star is now left with just £372,740.20 – which he will have to pay back to his victims.
Rufus had tried to reduce the cost – insisting that he needed the money to keep up his flash lifestyle.
But Judge Dafna Spiro said he was lying about how much he needed to live off.
She said: “I have not found him to be a credible witness.
“I do not agree they are reasonable expenses – perhaps the lifestyle could be considered reasonable when you’re a Premier League footballer.
“I consider that he is not telling the court the truth at all.”
He was ordered to cough up the money by March next year or face another three years behind bars.
Judge Dafna went on: “I make a confiscation order –which will be paid to victims as notified to the court by the Crown.
“We will be able to provide the court with a schedule of victims and how much each should be paid.
“This is an application for a confiscation order in respect to Mr Rufus following his conviction for his offences in 2022.
“I am satisfied that he will not be able to make that sum today so it must be paid before the 12 March 2025.”
If he fails to pay off the money he will serve another three years and nine months in prison – which will run consecutively with his current sentence.
During the height of his money-spinning scheme the ex-footballer also splurged £200,000 on flash cars.
Thousands more were splashed on shopping and meals at top-end restaurants.
Meanwhile the only legitimate income he was receiving was £850-a-month rent from his Surrey property.
Rufus duped investors by claiming he could return their original capital within 14 days of them asking.
He took more than £15million in total – paying some of it back to investors to prop up his con.
And he carried on the scam even after his accounts were frozen by the Financial Services Agency in 2011.
Charlton legend Rufus earned six England caps during his career.
He played his entire career at Charlton – making 288 appearances after his debut in 1994, aged 19.
His first goal came in the side’s historic win over Sunderland in the 1998 play-off final at Wembley.