Former professional poker player Andrew Feldman’s name has cropped up after the recipient of his £100,000 gift on the 2012 Secret Millionaire has been arrested on charges of fraud.
Andrew Feldman.
Now there’s a blast from the past.
The last the poker world heard from the former British poker star, he had left the industry after appearing on Channel 4’s Secret Millionaire show back in 2012. He is back in the news, but this time he is not the headline hogger.
Anyone who tuned into the Secret Millionaire will remember that Feldman gave £100,000 to the Little Heroes Cancer Trust. Colin Nesbit, 54, founded the non-profit organisation in 2008 after his young grandson, Reece, was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of two. He is still being treated for the condition today.
According to a story in the Daily Mail, Nesbitt’s involvement with the Little Heroes Cancer Trust is being investigated by the Charities Commission, after being arrested at his home in Bigley, West Yorkshire over allegations of fraud. He was arrested on Tuesday and released the same day without charge. The charity website is currently down for maintenance.
The Daily Mail also noted that the charities most recent accounts showed a shortfall of £16,000. Payroll costs totalled £34,000 and toys distributed to children connected with the charity cost £14,300
“I am very confident that Little Heroes will continue to grow from strength to strength,” Mr Nesbitt commented on the report.
At 24 years old, Feldman was the youngest person ever to appear on Secret Millionaire. Several news reports circulating at the time suggested that Feldman was worth £6m.
Feldman was never far away from controversy. In 2012, he was exposed by Chris Sly as the professional who owed Sam Trickett €25,000 after receiving a loan from Europe’s most successful player during the Big Game in Vienna.
Trickett told me personally that Feldman decided he wasn’t going to return the money because he was ‘done with poker’ after realising there was more to life than money after appearing on the hit show. It seems Feldman believed that because he was owed money, he didn’t have to return the money he owed to Trickett.
Speaking to JC.com at the time of his TV show appearance, Feldman said, ‘Poker players are the greediest in the world,’ and ‘money doesn’t make you happy.’
A black coloured kettle just sprang to mind.
