X Factor singer Ella Henderson’s father, 55, ordered to pay £435,000 in compensation

The father of X Factor singer Ella Henderson has been ordered to pay £435,000 in compensation to three victims of a ‘get rich quick’ investment scam that previously saw him jailed.

Sean Henderson, 55, was a ‘major player’ in the £4.7million fraud scheme which promised ‘naive’ victims huge gains and then made up excuses when their money was not returned.

He was said to have made more than £565,700 in criminal benefit from the offences, but police have only been able to track down assets of £435,000.

The businessman, from Tetney, Lincolnshire, was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Sheffield Crown Court in April 2018, and has since been released from prison.

He will have to pay the sum within three months, a proceeds of crime hearing ruled, as the final chapter of the case is settled following three separate trials.

Henderson is best known for being closely involved in running 26-year-old Ella’s business affairs and mention of her was made during his trials as part of his defence.

Ella was named in court as the one who greeted police at her father’s address in North East Lincolnshire, but the judge banned the press from naming her in reports until the end of trials. 

She told officers her father was at her own £800-a-month London address which he rented from her, where he was arrested on April 22, 2013. 

Henderson owned sales and marketing company Crystal Power with 50-year-old Stephen Keegan, who he said was the ringleader in the operation and all he did was put the account in the latter’s name – and was unaware of any wrongdoing.  

He had been convicted by a jury in May 2016 of conspiracy to commit fraud between October 2009 and November 2010.

It was the first of the three trials and the total amount involved in that matter was £870,000 to £900,000. 

His co-accused Keegan, from Wimborne, Dorset, was jailed for three years and nine months in April 2017 after pleading guilty.

During that case, the court heard that investors handed over large sums of money in the hope that good returns would be made.

The company was Henderson’s and the money was used by him and Keegan for other purposes.

One of the victims who lost money suffered ‘sleepless nights’ and another said that he and his wife would not be able to retire as planned because they had lost 80 per cent of their assets.

The fraud had caused ‘huge amounts of stress’.

Judge Paul Watson QC said at the time: ‘The whole scheme was a deliberate pre-planned fraud designed to deprive naive victims of a substantial proportion of their life savings.’

Henderson also denied fraudulent evasion of VAT between June and December 2007 but was convicted by a second jury at Sheffield Crown Court in October 2016.

The amount involved in that matter was more than £26,000. 

Henderson was cleared of fraud in September 2017 after a third trial, also at Sheffield Crown Court.

In total, there were seven not guilty verdicts for charges that he was facing across the three trials.

In 2017, he took his case to London’s Court of Appeal but judges upheld the convictions.

Claims by Henderson’s legal team that Judge Watson’s directions to the jury were deficient were rejected and the bid to overturn the convictions was branded ‘wholly without merit’.

The cases resurfaced this week at Doncaster Crown Court, where a long-awaited proceeds of crime hearing was held.

It was originally due to last for five days but, after many discussions in recent months between the sides over assets, benefit figures and available amounts of money, agreed figures were finally reached.

The criminal benefit that Henderson was said to have received was just over £565,711 and his available or realisable assets were put at £435,000.

Compensation will be paid to two victims in the sums of about £235,716 and £165,025 as well as about £34,257 to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

Judge Michael Slater said: ‘An enormous amount of work has gone into this case from the start.’

Those involved ‘should be congratulated on getting this far’ in the matter.

Judge Slater said: ‘I am gratified that the two complainants will receive substantial compensation as a result of everyone’s efforts in respect of this order.’

For Keegan, the benefit was put at just over £531,453, with assets put at just over £552,659.

Compensation will be paid to three victims in the sums of two lots of £202,981 each and a third of just over £125,491.

He also has three months to pay, with a prison sentence of five years in default.

After the hearing, Henderson declined to comment.

Judge Slater commended Humberside Police senior financial investigator Gary Rowlinson for his ‘untiring efforts’ to bring about the financial orders leading to the victims receiving the ‘recompense they deserve’ in the case.

‘The court is most grateful to him for his efforts throughout,’ said Judge Slater.