Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? contestant forced to pay back huge sum after being jailed for financial crimes

On December 19, it was determined Arundell had illegally gained £4.8million through his criminal activities.

Bristol Crown Court subsequently issued a confiscation order for £4,140,428.59, representing the available assets.

More than £220,000 from this sum will be returned to his victims.

Arundell was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison in October 2023 following his conviction for multiple offences, including fraud and money laundering.

The crimes stemmed from financial dealings he conducted during 2016 and 2017, during which he portrayed himself as an experienced trader.

His scheme began in November 2016 when he approached a friend with what he described as a guaranteed money-making opportunity involving pharmaceutical company shares.

Arundell, who appeared on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in 2000, winning £1,000, claimed to possess inside knowledge the share price was about to rise significantly.

He personally guaranteed the investment, persuading his friend and several of the friend's relatives to hand over their money.

In total, the group entrusted him with approximately £108,000 to invest on their behalf.

At Bristol Crown Court, he was found guilty of three counts of fraud by false representation and one count of money laundering relating to £86,000 received from the victims.

Rather than investing the funds as promised, Arundell placed the money on spread betting trades in early December 2016.

He subsequently informed his victims that their investments had been lost and that he could not honour his personal guarantee to repay them.

Arundell had in fact made profits on several of the trades, a fact he concealed from those who had trusted him with their savings.

Using these winnings, he continued placing further bets and trades throughout the following months.

By August 2017, his gambling activities had generated a substantial windfall totalling £4.6million. The friend and family members reported the matter to police in January 2017, triggering the investigation that would eventually expose the full extent of his deception.

When questioned by police, Arundell claimed he could have repaid the guarantee because he had received roughly £100,000 in inheritance from his late mother's estate earlier that year.

This assertion prompted a separate fraud inquiry, which uncovered he had taken money from his mother while acting under power of attorney, doing so years before her death.

His actions deprived other family members of their rightful inheritance. Arundell was convicted of fraud by abuse of position regarding his mother's finances in April 2021.

DCI Carlos Filippsen, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: "This is a significant result against an offender who was convicted of fraud and money laundering offences in November 2023.

"The convictions and subsequent confiscation orders in this case show how we will pursue offenders who directly target victims, including stripping them of any assets they have gained through crime.

"Ensuring that we have been able to return those funds to the victims and for the perpetrator to not be able to benefit from his criminal activity demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that crime does not and will not pay.

"I hope this will deter other criminals who may be involved in these despicable offences, by showing that they will be convicted and have their ill-gotten gains removed."

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