Father of Gareth Bale's girlfriend on remand in US
Football
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- Indpendent
| Sep 04, 2013
The father of Gareth Bale’s girlfriend is on remand in a US prison after being extradited over a £3million fraud case, it has been reported.
Martin Rhys-Jones is on remand in an American jail accused of a global boiler room scam in which he allegedly tricked investors into handing over millions.
Bale, who this week became the world’s most expensive footballer, has had his childhood sweetheart Emma Rhys-Jones at this side during his rise to fame.
According to Daily Mail, Martin Rhys-Jones faces 30 years if found guilty over 'boiler room' scam
He was extradited to the US over the claims and if found guilty could face up to 30 years in prison and a fine of £160,000
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Mr Rhys-Jones, 49, has been charged with 11 others with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
It is alleged that the team ran a telemarketing scam from offices in Barcelona between 2006 and 2009, using high pressure sales techniques to trick people into buying expensive shares which were almost worthless.
Rhys-Jones set up business in the Spanish city in 2005 after separating from his wife, Suzanne, in Cardiff.
The case may mean that he has not yet met granddaughter Alba Violet Bale. He would have been unable to leave Spain last year while fighting extradition to the US.
He is alleged to have hired six people to make the fraudulent calls to the UK and Canada, offering them free rent in Barcelona and commission for sales.
US investigators claim that the team did not tell customers that the stocks were restricted, meaning they could not be easily sold on the open market.
When they were eventually sent share certificates “the value of the stock had dropped to nearly nothing”, the charges allege.
More than £3.2million was invested which was then transferred to bank accounts in New York, Spain, the UK and Switzerland, prosecutors say.
The investigation in the US is being run by the Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service and Immigration and Customs.
Rhys-Jones was arrested by the Spanish Police last September before being extradited to New York in June.
His trial is expected to begin next year, and he is currently being held in a federal prison, it is believed.
It is not clear whether Emma, 23, will move to Spain with Bale following his £85.3million transfer to Real Madrid, and friends say the shy girl is happiest in her Cardiff home town.
A spokesman for Bale said: ‘I’m aware, but what’s it got to do with us? We are not commenting.’
- Adaped from The Independent