Waterford FC owner Andy Pilley will be sentenced this afternoon following an eight-month-long fraud trial.
Pilley and his associates were responsible for targeting small business owners and deceiving them into signing long-term energy contracts between 2014 and 2016.
He was convicted in May and will face sentencing at 2.15 pm at Preston Crown Court.
The 52-year-old is set to be sentenced for fraud charges in relation to allegations of mis-selling energy supplies.
Mr. Pilley was found guilty of two counts of running a business with the intention of defrauding creditors, one count of false representations, and one count of being concerned with the retention of criminal property following an eight-month trial.
His defence had said he wanted to be sentenced as quickly as possible as his situation was far from ideal.
Pilley, his sister Michelle Davidson, and two other associates - 52-year-old Lee Qualter and 38-year-old Joel Chapman - were told on Monday afternoon that Judge Graham Knowles will not now be ready to pronounce sentence until 2:15 pm on Tuesday.
Pilley's barrister Jonathan Laidlow urged the judge not to come down too hard on the club owner, saying his client was "fundamentally a good man who has led and is capable of leading a productive and worthwhile life."
The court was told Pilley had been helping illiterate inmates while on remand in Preston Prison to write letters to loved ones.
After the convictions in May Lord Michael Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards, said:
“This is not a victimless crime – small business owners have lost vast sums of money to this fraud and many businesses have gone under.”
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The trial concludes this afternoon.
