Inder Daggar, 32, was jailed for six years at Reading Crown Court on Monday after he admitted to scamming 29 people in a fraudulent investment scheme. 

The court heard how Daggar, who captained Slough Hockey Club and lived in the town at the time, scammed his victims all while losing £3m as a result of his gambling addiction. 

He completed an average of 247 bets every day over two years, gambling £78 million in total which was described as “quite frankly astonishing” by sentencing Judge Neil Millard.

The court was told that the 32-year-old’s investment business was “rotten to the core” and led to some victims losing their life savings.

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Prosecutor Robert Forest said that from autumn 2019 to the end of 2021, Daggar “lied to family, friends and associates, telling them he had a lucrative business into which they could invest substantial amounts of money.”

Daggar, who claimed to run a marketing and consultancy business, told his victims they would receive their capital back with significant returns on their investment.

The fraudster, who now lives in Brent Road, Ealing, west London, claimed he needed funds to show large companies that his firm had financial clout.

Mr Forest said: “He represented to them (the victims) that there was absolutely no risk involved.

“As a result the people he approached would pay their money into his accounts or the company accounts. This was an offer that was obviously too good to be true.

“In order to get people to invest Mr Daggar needed to involve himself in planned and practiced deception to convince the people to take part.”

The court heard how he abused his standing in his local Rajasthani and sporting community, using two companies for his crimes including Hashtag Social Media. 

Daggar incorporated Companies House on February 11 2020 to set up a company called The Social ID – a limited company.

Mr Forest added: “The reality is there was never a legitimate business and there was no business output whatsoever.”

Around a million pounds were paid into accounts linked to The Social ID and the money was quickly transferred to other accounts and gambled away, Judge Millard heard.

Daggar targeted family members and friends including his uncle, brother-in-law, girlfriend, an old school friend a family friend, ex-colleagues and people from his hockey club.

The court heard emails, invoices and bank statements were faked and used as a means to further his fraud.

Police found 11 bank accounts in his name and two accounts linked to The Social ID.

Daggar would also provide excuses – including saying the bank had frozen his assets.

He would also use creditors’ money to pay dividends to other victims, the court heard.The offending took place between September 2019 and December 2021.

The defendant stood in the dock, dressed in a black shirt with a smart grey suit jacket,  having been charged with carrying on a business with intent to defraud creditors, fraud by false representation and making articles for use in fraud.

He was disqualified from being a company director for 10 years and was given a restraining order for eight years in regards to four victims.

John Hurlock, mitigating said his client had lost his family and friends but has since taken steps to address his addiction. 

He added: “Initially it was meant to be a legitimate business but matters got out of hand in relation to his gambling addiction.

“I hope the court feels there is a chance for him to get his life back on the straight and narrow.”

But Judge Millard said the same was “nothing more than lies and deceit by you so you could get other people’s money and you could gamble away their future, their savings, to fund your gambling addiction.”