McCracken 'took £10,000 off pensioner'

A PENSIONER who handed over more than £10,000 to tipster John McCracken for an ‘extra special' betting scheme never saw his money again, a court heard on Tuesday.

Peter McClean was giving evidence at the Lewes Crown Court trial of three men accused of taking part in a £5 million betting scam.

Unemployed McCracken, 47, from Brighton, who was effectively warned off for life in 2004 after refusing to co-operate with a race-fixing investigation, is charged with conspiracy to defraud between April 30, 2003 and February 13, 2008.

His co-defendants, self-employed John Brice, 40, of Hove, and Matthew Thole, 40, a company director and tipster from Cardiff, face the same charge. All three men have pleaded not guilty.

McClean, from Coventry, received a brochure with McCracken's picture on the front in spring 2006, and paid £227 for a three-year membership.

He said: "In quick succession within about a week or so I got four tips. To my surprise three of the damn things won."

McClean said he only bet in small amounts as he "wasn't convinced to begin with" because of the short odds, but subsequently received a second brochure in the name of John Jock McCracken offering the opportunity to take part in a "record-breaking mystery horses" scheme.

The court heard he received a phone call shortly afterwards from someone claiming to be an associate of McCracken.

McClean said: "I received a phone call asking me to pay for another service. The fact I had three winners out of four, I thought I was on to a good thing. I was very interested."

McClean said no specific amount of money was mentioned at this point but he said he wouldn't pay anything unless he could speak to somebody higher up, "preferably McCracken himself".

He told the court that "within minutes" he received a phone call from someone who said, "this is Jock McCracken".

McClean said: "I only remember the price he mentioned, £10,000. He said [the service] was better than the one I had already joined."

The pensioner then said he would need to speak to McCracken face to face and they agreed to meet at McDonalds restaurant at Gatwick airport at 8am on June 12, 2006.

He said McCracken told him to come alone. McClean said he went to meet McCracken with a £10,000 cheque in his pocket because he was "anxious to join" the scheme.

He said: "I asked him what the £10,000 was for. He said I would be getting the best racing information possible. He said by Christmas of that year I would be worth in the region of £100,000. And in three or four years I would be making somewhere in the region of £1 million."

McClean said he gave the cheque to McCracken, explaining: "I thought I'd get horseracing information at least as good if not better than I had already got," adding: "After that he just melted away."

He told the court he was rung by one or two other people on McCracken's behalf, but only to try to sell more services.

McClean attempted to get in touch with McCracken through phone calls and writing only to find the mobile number disconnected and his letter returned.

In cross-examination Matthew Farmer, defending McCracken, said the service being offered was to actually back horses that were going to lose.

McClean denied this and said he didn't know how to put bets on like that.

Asked why he hadn't clarified what special service was being offered for £10,000, McClean replied: "It had worked before three out of four times, you can't argue with that. I wanted to be part of it."

The trial, which is expected to last up to four weeks, continues.