Seven charged over bet365 bonus fraud
Seven people, six men and a woman, have been charged over an alleged fraud against bet365 built around the operator’s free introductory betting money offer for new clients. The case was heard at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, August 8, 2026.
Four of the seven defendants attended and were committed to Gloucester Crown Court for jury trial. Two others could not appear because the prisons holding them were unable to set up a video link, and their cases were adjourned to August 20. The seventh defendant did not attend, and the court issued a warrant for his arrest.
The central defendant
Giuseppe Sangiovanni, 35, of Oakwood Prison, Wolverhampton, faces the most extensive set of charges. He is accused of possessing lists of people’s personal details for use in fraud on February 17, 2022. He is also charged with making false representations to bet365 to claim free introductory client money between January 2021 and August 2023, and with transferring criminal proceeds to other bank accounts.
His hearing was adjourned to August 20 after Oakwood Prison could not facilitate the video link. The court said the delay was due to “unexpected circumstances” and that the prison was “unable to facilitate the link.”
The other defendants
Stephianne Black, 31, of Renfrew Close, Beckton, London, is charged with supplying primary account numbers (PANs) while knowing or suspecting they would be used for fraud, and with entering into an arrangement for free introductory client money from bet365 on Sangiovanni’s behalf. She was bailed to appear at Gloucester Crown Court on September 17.
Julian Mackie, 32, of Hazelrig Drive, Thame, Oxfordshire, is charged with fraud involving the free client money offer between January 16, 2021, and August 28, 2023, and with transferring criminal proceeds from bet365 to other accounts between January 15 and April 18, 2022. His hearing was also adjourned to August 20 because the prison holding him could not facilitate a video link.
Patrick White, 31, of Liddell Road, Oxford, is charged with making a false representation to bet365 to claim free betting money and with transferring criminal property, in cash, from the company to other people, between January 16, 2021, and August 28, 2023. He was unconditionally bailed to the Crown Court hearing.
Adon Bridgman-Simon, 33, of Doyle Road, South Norwood, Croydon, is charged with fraud involving free betting money between January 16 and August 28, 2021, and with transferring criminal property between December 9, 2021, and May 16, 2022. He did not attend court. The court noted that when his case was called at 11.30am, he was not present and had sent no message explaining his absence. A warrant without bail was issued for his arrest.
Benjamin Leach, 32, of Springfield, Hardwicke, Gloucestershire, is charged with transferring criminal money between December 10, 2021, and February 15, 2022, and with fraud involving the free betting offer between January 16, 2021, and August 28, 2023. He was bailed to the Crown Court hearing.
Simeon Redway, 35, of Sotherby Drive, Cheltenham, faces a single charge of transferring criminal money from bet365 to other people between December 10, 2021, and August 25, 2022. He was also bailed to the Crown Court hearing.
A wider money laundering investigation
The case connects to a separate, already-concluded prosecution brought by Avon and Somerset Police. Sangiovanni and White were both defendants in a linked £2.2 million money laundering investigation, in which eight people were arrested in February 2022. Sangiovanni was sentenced to six years and eight months in April 2026, and White received three years and eight months. Two more men in that case, Thomas Dainty and Sara Buffin, were sentenced in February and August 2026.
That investigation, run by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU), traced more than 1,168 transactions moving between £93,000 and £1 million each over four months, and recovered £30,000 in cash from Sangiovanni’s flat.
“While criminals will always need to launder dirty money, this case shows our ability to target those enabling it,” said Peter Highway of SWROCU.
What happens next
The four committed defendants, Black, White, Leach and Redway, are due at Gloucester Crown Court between September and later this year. Sangiovanni and Mackie return to Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on August 20 for the adjourned video-link hearings, and a warrant remains outstanding for Bridgman-Simon’s arrest. The case will test how the sector’s free-bet promotions, a routine acquisition tool for operators, can be exploited at scale when personal data and bank details are put to fraudulent use.
Source: Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court
