A gambler who swindled his own friends and family out of more than £800,000 to bankroll a jet-set lifestyle of luxury cars, designer watches and sun-soaked holidays has been jailed.
Kenny Sanders, 38, from Canterbury, Kent, posed as a successful businessman but was secretly a hopeless gambling addict who blew his victims' life savings on all-day betting binges.
For six years, Sanders duped more than 30 trusting friends, relatives and colleagues into investing in a fake IT company then frittered away their cash - between £50,000 to £350,000 - in a string of high-stakes gambling sprees that ran from dawn until the early hours.
Some of his victims were left homeless, others lost their businesses, and one woman - who invested three-quarters of her life savings - was left devastated when the truth emerged.
Desperate to keep up appearances, Sanders dressed the part of a city high-flyer — splashing out on designer clothes, flashy watches and first-class holidays — while his victims were plunged into debt and despair.
