The ex-wife of a notorious financial scammer has denied any knowledge of his activities, only finding out when armed police raided their Borehamwood home.

Hannah David, now a Conservative party activist and planning consultant, was married to the infamous Ponzi scheme architect Freddy David until evidence of his criminal wrongdoing came to light. She has now spoken out about her feelings of betrayal on finding out her husband had stolen millions to feed a gambling addiction.

Freddy-David

Freddy David, who was released earlier this year after serving half his sentence for fraud

She told the Sunday Times: “The moment he confessed to what he had done, I knew our marriage was over.”

“My children were thankfully old enough to fend for themselves. But more than four years later, I don’t think that any of us have fully come to terms with what has happened.

“I am fortunate that I have always worked and that I am in a position to rebuild my life. I do not feel like a victim. Freddy did far more damage to others than he did to me. Nevertheless, what has happened has taken an emotional toll.”

Cover 4.08.2018

The JC front page when Mr. David was convicted - Aug 04, 2018

The former Mrs. David is now calling on the government to take action on online betting. Working with Labour MP Carolyn Harris, David is hoping for changes to legislation to ensure that red flags are raised when individuals repeatedly lose large sums of money.

0 Carolyn-Harris MP

Labour MP Carolyn Harris

In the depths of his gambling addiction, Freddy David routinely gambled more than £100,000 a day online and even once lost £240,000 in a single day. Over the course of his scam, he spent £15.6 million on gambling websites between 2005 and 2017.

David was jailed for six years in July 2018 and released in June 2021 after swindling 55 investors out of £14.5 million in a Ponzi scheme.

 During his trial, the court heard he used the money to fund his gambling habit, pay for family holidays and pay his children's school fees.

David's friends were among the victims. He convinced them their money was being held in a bank account, accruing up to eight per cent interest a year.

One of his victims was a pensioner, who lost £300,000 in the scam and said he contemplated suicide but wanted to confront his fraudster in court.

In a victim impact statement read out in court, Mr. David's victim said: "Just as I was about to jump in front of a train, I thought I would deny myself the chance to tell Freddy David in court what he had done to my family.

"The money was going towards buying a flat for our special needs son. This will no longer be the case."