Andy Pilley: sentencing date set for Fleetwood Town FC chairman guilty of fraud

A sentencing date has been set for Andy Pilley who has been found guilty of fraud charges in relation to allegations of mis-selling energy supplies.

Wearing a navy suit with a white shirt, the Fleetwood Town FC Chairman appeared before Preston Crown Court on Tuesday for a pre-sentence hearing. Pilley and his sister Michelle appeared together in the dock after both were found guilty on Friday of numerous fraud charges relating to mis-selling energy supplies.

Pilley, 52, was found guilty of two counts of running a business with the intention of defrauding creditors, one count of false representations, and one count of being concerned with the retention of criminal property. His sister Michelle Davidson, 49, of Holmefield Avenue, Cleveleys, Lee Qualter, 52, of Holmefield Avenue, Cleveleys, and Joel Chapman, 38, of Kingston Road, Willerby, Yorkshire, who were also found of a number of offences relating to fraud.

Addressing His Honour Judge Knowles KC, his defence – Mr Laidlaw, said that Pilley, who was remanded in custody after Friday’s verdict, wanted to be sentenced as “quickly as possible” as his situation was “far from ideal”. When asked by His Honour Knowles roughly the scale of amount taken to be in its thousands or millions, Miss Khan, acting on behalf of the prosecution, said that while an exact amount could not be obtained, she believed it to be in the £15 million ball park. When further asked if the Crown was likely to hold in law that the quality of goods at Pilley’s surroundings could amount to this unless proven otherwise, she responded “yes”.

After a complex fraud trial at Preston Crown Court which began in October, Pilley was found guilty last Friday (May 19) by an unanimous verdict by the jury on all counts of the charges facing him. He has been remanded in custody until his sentencing on Monday, July 3, which could however be subject to change later this week.

Fleetwood have since released a statement, which read: "Following news of a verdict in a court case involving Andy Pilley, Fleetwood Town would like to reassure supporters the Club will continue to operate as normal and there will be no risk to the future of the club. The Club’s Senior Management Team and directors have been planning for a number of months for the event of a verdict of this nature.

"We’d like to reassure supporters charges are solely brought against Andy Pilley and not Fleetwood Town Football Club or any of the businesses attached to the group. Talks have already taken place with the EFL and an announcement regarding the next step will be made in due course.”