England rugby ace left homeless and sleeping in car after losing house and famous wife | Rugby | Sport
Paul Sampson’s life fell apart after the ex-rugby star lost everything due to fraud scam (Image: Getty Images)
Former England rugby international Paul Sampson, who was once married to TV presenter Kirsty Gallacher, has spoken out after being left broke and without a roof over his head following a £450,000 fraud. Sampson shares two teenage sons with the ex-Sky Sports News host, though the pair went their separate ways in 2015. He is now working 53 hours a week in a warehouse in a bid to rebuild his life.
The three-cap England international told The Times he has been diagnosed with severe post-concussion syndrome (PPCS) following his rugby career, a condition which impacts his memory and decision-making. Sampson’s world fell apart in 2019 after he was conned into pouring vast sums of money into a defence start-up company.
He made five payments totalling £450,000, selling a property, draining his savings and taking out a loan from his partner’s parents. He was guaranteed returns of £11,000 a month but, after initially receiving them, the payments dried up and the company’s directors began to ghost him.
The 48-year-old lost both his home and his relationship, and was forced to sleep in his car. He has since sought medical assistance for persistent headaches and received a PPCS diagnosis in 2023. He is also among a group of former rugby players pursuing legal action against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union over brain injuries sustained during their careers.
The governing bodies deny liability. “It’s only in the past few years I’ve understood the effect it’s had. My brain gets overwhelmed and can’t process situations – it just shuts things out,” he told The Times. “For that reason it took me years to even realise I’d been a victim of a fraud. I suspect it’s a vulnerability that the people who took my money could see in me immediately. For them it was an opportunity to exploit me while they were pretending to help me. It has devastated my life.”
Kirsty Gallacher and Paul Sampson separated in 2015 (Image: UK Press via Getty Images)
The alleged fraudsters informed Sampson they were tendering for contracts with NATO, the UN and the UK Government. He was entertained for an evening at London’s Special Forces Club and offered a position involving military mental health. The scam commenced when Sampson transferred an initial £50,000, having purportedly been informed the firm was tendering for contracts with Nato, the UN and the Government.
He was subsequently wined and dined at London’s Special Forces Club and promised a position in military mental health, he claimed. Sampson reported the fraud to Barclays in 2025, but his claim was rejected as it fell outside the six-year time limit. The National Fraud helpline subsequently became involved, requesting Barclays and the Financial Ombudsman to review the case.
Barclays stated: “We have every sympathy for Paul, and the position this has left him in. Five payments were made in early 2019 to two companies. When Paul attempted to make the payments, we held four scam prevention conversations with him to check he did not believe he was the subject of a scam. Two were by phone and two face-to-face in branch. At the conclusion he confirmed he wanted the payments to be made.
“All customers have six years to report scams and complaints. Unfortunately, Paul did not do this and the case has fallen outside the deadline. At no point during that time did he tell us he had been scammed.” The Financial Ombudsman Service stated it does not comment on individual cases.
Martin Richardson from the National Fraud Helpline told The Times: “The fraudsters not only took advantage of Sampson’s affinity for the military and desire to work with them in a mental health environment, they clearly also took advantage of his own neurological deficits in rushing him into making the supposed investment.
“[He was] induced into making the investment while still going through an extremely difficult period of his life following the collapse of his marriage.” Sampson added: “I have to live the rest of my life having lost everything, and thinking about the manner in which it was taken just doesn’t go away.”
