Fallon charged with corruption

CiaranC

BBC News 24 says Fallon has been charged with conspiracy to defraud Betfair customers over 80 races or so.

scojones

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/horse_racing/5132764.stm wrote:

Fallon handed conspiracy charge
Former champion jockey Kieren Fallon
Fallon was among those first arrested 22 months ago
Former champion jockey Kieren Fallon has been charged with conspiracy to defraud as part of an investigation into alleged horse racing corruption.

Fallon, who denies any wrongdoing, is among 28 people who were due to report to a London police station on Monday.

Former racing syndicate director Miles Rodgers has also been charged with conspiracy to defraud and an offence under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Five other riders and two trainers are also involved in the investigation.

City of London police, whose investigation began in September 2004, are examining allegations of conspiracy to defraud for more than 80 races over two years.

Fallon, 41, arrived at Bishopsgate police station at 0915 BST, wearing jeans and a dark top, and left 20 minutes later without making any comment to reporters.

He flew in from Ireland after winning a second successive Irish Derby on Sunday on board Dylan Thomas.

Jockeys Robert Winston, Fergal Lynch, Darren Williams and Paul Bradley, plus amateur rider Dale Jewett, are also due to answer bail.

Others who have been arrested as part of the inquiry include trainers Alan Berry and Karl Burke.

All deny any wrongdoing.

During the investigation, more than 130 police officers raided 19 addresses across Suffolk, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Hertfordshire.

Interesting news indeed.

masterK

I'd be interested to hear what evidence they have against him. It would be surprising if somebody of Fallon's wealth would be involved in any wrongdoing.

dvdfan

I agree, it would be ridiculous for Fallon to get involved in something like this, i can at least understand an apprentice jockey being tempted but not an established jokeys like Darren Williams and Keiron Fallon.

Im guessing from the details being realeased that 2 people have been charge with money laundering aswell as corruption and these are not jockeys or trainers so i presume these were the people placing the so called bets and that the jockeys and trainers were either passing the information to these people or passing money on to them to bet or both. Again its only speculation at this stage and im sure well hear alot more of the next few weeks.

Will Fallon also loose his license in Ireland and abroad now or does that just apply to the U.K. He may end up going abroad to continue hes career or can he if hes charged or proved to be involved in this?

boycie100

When I left Bishopsgate police station at about lunchtime today there had been a total of 7 people charged (3 of them jocks). 6 others have been released but the police won't say who they are (we now know though that one of those released is Karl Burke, so he's ok).
There's another 15 still to account for including for example Robert Winston we'll know all the names of those charged by the end of today (5.30ish).
Fallon will appear at City of London magistrates court on the 17th July and I guess we'll get more of an idea of what he's alleged to have done form there on in.
I've no idea what the outcome of all this will be and the police here have had some spectacular debacles of late but what I would say is that this is the biggest investigation of its kind that City of London (distinct from the Met) have ever undertaken. They have arrested 28 people, raided loads of addresses and processed more than 5000 items of evidence. The Crown Prosectuion Service have been very closely involved in recent weeks. Given the time and money that's gone into this there must clearly be pressure to get convictions now but on the other hand several of those who were balied are now being released so those that are charged must face pretty serious allegations and there must be a degree of confidence on behalf of the CPS that they can make those charges stick. Whether or not that confidence is misplaced we'll have to wait and see. None of us can or should prejudge what the outcome will be of course so we'll all just have to wait and see.
Boycie

boycie100

Now a total of 8 charged and 8 released.
As for Fallon's licence - he can apply to have it reinstated here in the UK and if successful in that application could still ride here. Whether he'll want to and whether he'd get it back is of course another matter.

masterK

I still have to wonder what he could possibly have gained in being involved in any sort of wrong doing, it's not as if he's a young apprentice stuck for some cash or that he needed to assist certain people to further his career. I just can't see how what incentives there would be for somebody at the pinnacle of their profession to be involved in something like this.

The only reasonably explanation I can come to is that he was passing on information for no reward, he may have thought he was doing somebody a favour. It could possibly be a similar situation to the News of the World sting when he passed on his opionions to a reporter free of charge and was stitched up for revealing inside information.

fade2black

Thanks for the updates.

Can't help but think that those that have been charged are probably thinking to themselves that there are hundreds more out there that are getting away with similar.

boycie100

Now a total of 8 charged and 8 released.
As for Fallon's licence - he can apply to have it reinstated here in the UK and if successful in that application could still ride here. Whether he'll want to and whether he'd get it back is of course another matter.

boycie100

Sorry posted the same message twice. Apologies.
Unless we know what's involved it's pretty hard to guess at anyone's motives isn't it. A lot of the press guys today were saying the same. 'why would someone who has so much take such risks?'.
Lester was doing alright so why didn't he pay his taxes was my response. The bosses at Enron were making more money in a year than most of us will earn in a lifetime but they cooked the books anyway. Police and prosecutors don't have to work out why we've done something just whether or not we have done it. That's the stage we're at now, Like I said before I've genuinely no idea how this will pan out. I don't imagine though that when he pitches up at the City of London Magistrates court on the 17th that Fallon is going to be charged with passing on his opinion for free.

Crumbs

Homer: "Ya know Mr. Burns, you're the richest guy I know"
Mr Burns: "Yes, but I'd trade it all for a little more."

Collie D

masterK wrote:

I still have to wonder what he could possibly have gained in being involved in any sort of wrong doing, it's not as if he's a young apprentice stuck for some cash or that he needed to assist certain people to further his career. I just can't see how what incentives there would be for somebody at the pinnacle of their profession to be involved in something like this.

The only reasonably explanation I can come to is that he was passing on information for no reward, he may have thought he was doing somebody a favour. It could possibly be a similar situation to the News of the World sting when he passed on his opionions to a reporter free of charge and was stitched up for revealing inside information.

Horse racing is a sport than revolves around money and when was the last time you heard someone say "Ah, I've got enough cash"

wb

Just listening to the news. They said that he can still ride in Ireland as he has a seperate Irish licence, and our horse racing board is taking the 'innocent until proven guilty' stance.

I really hope it is proven untrue, I really do. I know every sport has levels of corruption, and Im sure horse racing has a certain level too, but I'd hate to think that races were fixed. It would mean that we (the punters that keep the business alive) have been screwed, which would be extremely annoying and dis-heartning.

Corben Dallas

On a sidenote, what do top and average jocks earn these days?, if yur a nominated stable jock do u earn more?like R Hills for Al Maktoum, Frankie for Godaulpin etc, or is it better to hire yur services out to the highest bidder.
Any facts and figs about this?

[nicK]

are bookies insured in any way against this kind of thing?

if it can be proven that a race was infact fixed, have punters not got a case to look for refunds?

Bluetonic

Does anyone know any of the races in particular which have been flagged?

Are we talking about short or long priced horses or a mixture of both?

Are we talking about listed races, group ones, or just your run of the mill mid week race?

Bluetonic

[nicK] wrote:

are bookies insured in any way against this kind of thing?

I'd imagine their only 'insurance' is what they cover themself on the track.

Corben Dallas

How long is Fallon banned from riding in the UK? he can still ride in Ireland right?, also I know(think) R Winston is on a 28day ban for his fcuk up on Confide, how come R Winston' hasnt been banned from riding as well?(outside of his 28 day one)

wb

Corben Dallas wrote:

How long is Fallon banned from riding in the UK? he can still ride in Ireland right?, also I know(think) R Winston is on a 28day ban for his fcuk up on Confide, how come R Winston' hasnt been banned from riding as well?(outside of his 28 day one)

He has been posponed indefinitely, BUT there is a meeting of the BHB on Thursday or Friday (not sure) to hear an appeal, in which fallons side will argue that he should be allowed to ride until any allegations are proven.

He has a seperate Irish licence, and the Irish Board are not going to impose a ban unless he is found guilty, so yeah, he can ride in Ireland. Not sure about winston though.

Bluetonic

Former champion jockey Kieren Fallon fails in a High Court challenge to British racing ban

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ChuckProphet

Bluetonic wrote:

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balls to that.

trojaneater1

he should be banned for life. Cheating bxxtard.............................

wb

trojaneater1 wrote:

he should be banned for life. Cheating bxxtard.............................

Guilty until proven innocent eh?

fade2black

trojaneater1 wrote:

he should be banned for life. Cheating bxxtard.............................

I think you can make your point a little more maturely?