Rugby star Gareth Cooper said he felt like his “world was collapsing” when his wife and friend conned him out of more than £1 million.
The former Wales and British and Irish Lions scrum half has detailed the impact of the offending of his now ex-wife Debra Leyshon and friend and business partner Simon Thomas.
“I was always taught in sport that you learn from your mistakes,” he said in a statement read out as they were sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court .
“As a result of what happened, I now know who my real friends are. I am trying to keep the trust I would naturally have in people, but I find that extremely difficult.”
The case of his then-wife Leyshon, friend Thomas and associate Mark Lee was listed for sentence on Friday.
Roger Griffiths, prosecuting, previously said the case involved the defendants fraudulently obtaining mortgages and loans .
Leyshon, 41, from Wind Street in Laleston, Bridgend , admitted 13 counts of fraud, amounting to just over £1 million.
Mr Cooper said: “I am very aware how lucky I have been in life through my sporting ability and how it has taken me beyond my wildest dreams to play for Wales and the Lions.
“In 2006 when I met Simon, my public profile and my level of personal success was probably at an all time high after touring with the Lions in 2005.
“I had my shoulder repaired that summer and Simon spoke to me about what I would do after rugby.
“The Simon Thomas I met was confident, self-assured and appeared very knowledgeable. It was him who suggested setting up the business with his business success and experience.”
They set up companies called Cooper Freight Services, No 9 Fitness and KGS Gym. Mr Cooper trusted his friend and his wife with the day-to-day running of the businesses.
He said: “He [Thomas] would help me to create a future for my family for when I would have to retire. The ideas for starting the business really came from him.
“I feel now he targeted and courted my company and wanted to use my profile.”
Mr Cooper added: “Simon’s sophisticated air, outward self-assurance and his ability to woo people initially appeared to be successful for the business.
“Sadly I now feel foolish. I didn’t really have the business knowledge that I now have.
“I didn’t have the background or the experience and, in many ways, felt that Simon was intellectually superior to me.
“He certainly cultivated that and would always reassure me the business was doing well.
“Debra my ex-wife, like myself, comes from an ordinary background. She has totally betrayed my trust and jeopardised our children’s financial future.”
Mr Cooper said it was only when Thomas’ “web of lies” began to unravel, he discovered that he had been bankrupt and had a history of failed businesses.
He said: “His entire image of having class, sophistication and business success was a complete lie.
“He had taken me in. I feel he manipulated Debra and played people off one another so that he would always gain.
“I will never forget the shock when I discovered I was made bankrupt without my knowledge and that the houses had been re-possessed. It was as if my world was collapsing.
“To then find out it was my wife and mother to our children left me dumbstruck.
“It is particularly cruel he convinced Debra to protect him. He went further, trying to encourage me not to go to the police because he would sort it all out and stop Debra going to prison."
Thomas was arrested in 2017 and Mr Cooper said he felt “very nervous” about the prospect of having to give evidence at a trial.
He said: “It took a long time for him to be charged, for him to finally plead guilty and admit what he had done wrong."
Mr Cooper said Thomas spread rumours he was actually the victim and Mr Cooper had “ripped him off”.
He added: “I have had to endure these lies and the impact on my family for far too long now. I have been eagerly awaiting this sentence to finally put an end to the lies.”
Mr Cooper said he felt relieved when Thomas pleaded guilty and he would not have to give evidence at trial, involving his private life.
He said: “My overwhelming feeling was one of relief that he had finally publicly admitted his deceit and his behaviour.
“I was very nervous about having to give evidence because I would have to discuss intimate and private details of my life.
“Although I have been a sportsman with a public profile, in reality I have always been private and have avoided press interviews and the like.
“By nature, I have always been someone who trusted others. This dreadful experience has destroyed my trust in others.”
Mr Cooper said his father was due to retire in 2017, but had to help him out financially with legal fees. He now owes his parents more than £100,000 in legal fees.
He said: “But for my parents, I would have lost everything. My dad has been a working man all his life.
“He had to sacrifice his pension in order to pay the legal fees to try and stop me losing everything and to keep the gym business alive. He had done physical work all his life.
“For my parents to sacrifice all of their plans for retirement and all of their hard-earned money in order to help me says everything about them.
“They have always been honest, hard-working people. The only honest thing Simon has done is plead guilty.
“Debra at least admitted to me what she had done and pleaded guilty. Simon dragged everything out.
“I do not expect an apology from him because I do not expect remorse from him.
“The betrayal he has carried out upon me is not just a betrayal of my trust, but a betrayal of my family, my future and my children’s future. "
Mr Cooper said the properties have still not been transferred back to him, his credit rating is zero and he still spends “countless hours” at the bank trying to sort everything out.
He said employees – local people with families – lost their jobs when the businesses went into administration. His own mother had to take anti-depressants due to the stress.
Mr Cooper continued: “One of the most difficult things has been to come to terms with Debra being so deceitful. I can see her getting herself in over her head.”
He asked the court to consider the impact on himself and his new family.
He said: “Whatever has happened with Debra and this episode, she is still the mother of my children.
“It was a privilege to play rugby and I hoped it would give me a start for my future outside the game. I have had to start again.
“I consider I am a wiser and tougher individual because of what happened.
“I was brought up to be honest, work hard and as a result, you will get your reward. I still believe this, but it will take a long time for me to trust anyone properly again.
“I have a new partner and child and her support and that of my parents has been what has held me together through all of this. I don’t know where I would be without them.”
Judge David Wynn Morgan noted Leyshon’s three children would be “seriously affected” if he sent her straight to prison. She was given a two-year jail term, suspended for 24 months.
Thomas, 47, from Beaconsfield in Wick, Cowbridge , admitted two counts of fraud, with his involvement adding up to £380,000.
He was given a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for 24 months, and disqualified from being a company director for eight years.
Lee, 43, from Lower Hill in Barton Road, Exeter, admitted one count of fraud amounting to £50,000. He was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for 24 months.
