Sting Almost Went Bankrupt When His Team Scammed Him Out of His $550M Fortune to Buy Russian Military Hardware Firm
Sting, the lead singer of the 1970s pop group The Police, became bankrupt due to his group. For their band, Sting sang lead and played bass. In 1977, the band was founded.
The core band members of The Police were Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner CBE, popularly known as Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Henry Padovani. Sting fans were caught by surprise when it was revealed that Sting was once about to get bankrupt because of his team.
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Sting’s financial advisor stole money from him
Unfortunately, Sting’s financial advisor planned to steal his money. He was engaged by Sting to manage his finances. Keit Moore, Sting’s financial advisor, began meticulously taking Sting’s money from his accounts and investing it in numerous other deals. He also got his wish for money thanks to Sting’s cash. United Press International stated,
“The court heard that Moore invested the money in a chain of Indian restaurants in London and Australia, as well as in ventures concerned with the conversion of Russian military hardware. Moore was also accused of using some of the money to pay his own tax bill and other debts.”
Moore deceived the singer of Desert Rose over a long period. Sting discovered the disappearance of his $9.4 million one day. Additionally, he got an unnamed tip.
Sting explains why he didn’t understand he was being scammed by Keith Moore
Sting had confidence in Moore. He had no idea that his trusted financial advisor would turn out to be a robber right in front of him. Sting gave his explanation of why he eventually realized he was being conned during an interview, Sting stated,
“He’d created something like 70 different bank accounts in different countries, and the money was coming in different denominations – Deutschmarks, Japanese yen – from different sources… touring, recording, publishing, merchandising, TV appearances.”
He further added,
“So for that kind of money to be siphoned away is not that surprising. And since it took forensic accountants about two years to sort through the complexities, how could a bass player figure it out? But I understand the cynicism. ‘Oh, he’s so rich he didn’t even notice.”
Moore defended himself by claiming that Sting actually gave him the money that he took from the musician. Moore said that Sting provided him with $669,000 to cover his tax debt since he lacked the funds to do so. Sting remarked in reference to Moore’s assertion,
“I’m a generous man. But not that generous. If he couldn’t do his own, how could he do mine?”
Later on, Moore was found guilty in the case. He was found to have defrauded the singer repeatedly. He was put behind bars for 6 years.
Source: The Things