Failed Rams bidder Chris Kirchner jailed for fraud

Chris Kirchner tried to buy Derby County out of administration

An American businessman who unsuccessfully tried to buy Derby County Football Club has been jailed for an unrelated fraud.

Chris Kirchner, 37, was sentenced on Thursday to 20 years in a US federal prison.

A court in Texas heard the logistics entrepreneur spent millions of dollars of investors' money on luxury items for himself, including a private jet.

He scrapped a bid to buy the Rams out of administration in June 2022 after the funds needed failed to clear.

Kirchner's bid to buy the club ultimately failed

Kirchner founded logistics software company Slync in 2017 and was its chief executive until he was sacked by the firm's board of directors in 2022.

In February 2023 he was charged with fraud and in January this year was convicted by a jury of four counts of wire fraud and seven counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from unlawful activity.

US District Judge Mark Pittman sentenced Kirchner to 20 years in prison and ordered him to pay more than £50m ($65m) in compensation.

The court in Fort Worth, Texas, heard between 2020 and 2022 - including while he was trying to buy the Rams - Kirchner fraudulently raised more than £55m ($71m) from investors in Slync.

He made numerous false representations and promises about the firm's current level of business and predicted future income.

Kirchner then misappropriated over $25m (£19m) of the funds to buy a $16m (£12.35m) private jet, Rolls-Royce and Mercedes super cars, plus luxury watches and jewellery.

Between April 2020 and March 2022 Kirchner initiated nearly 100 transfers to move money from one of Slync’s bank accounts into another only he had access to.

He also wired $20m (£15m) directly into his personal account.

US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Leigha Simonton, said: "Even as his company was circling the drain, Chris Kirchner was spending millions of his investors’ money on himself.

"Apparently, projecting personal prosperity was more important to him than making payroll.”

Kirchner joined fans to cheer on the Rams as he worked to acquire the club

When Slync struggled to pay staff in spring 2022, he attempted to replace some of the money by convincing at least four investors to wire $850k (£655k) as an added cash injection.

But the firm's board of directors had never authorised any fresh fundraising.

The court heard Kirchner offered various explanations for Slync’s payroll issues – all of which were untrue.

He also fired an employee who reported to the directors that Kirchner may have falsely exaggerated Slync’s financial performance to investors.

After he was suspended in late July 2022, he removed IT administrator privileges from key Slync employees, preventing them from accessing the firm's computer systems.

A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) inquiry found he then attempted to delete millions of pieces of Slync data, including emails.

Ms Simonton added: “His duplicity earned him 20 years in prison.

"We are proud to hold him accountable for his crimes and are committed to pursuing all business people engaged in criminal conduct.”

'Better governance needed'

In April 2022 Kirchner was appointed "preferred bidder" to buy Derby County after it had earlier been placed in administration by previous owner Mel Morris.

The new Labour MP for Derby North, Catherine Atkinson, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the case highlighted the need for a football regulator.

She said: "The days of people like Chris Kirchner believing they have a home in the EFL [English Football League] are numbered.

"The government will protect our clubs, creating a football regulator to ensure they are run responsibly and treated as genuine community assets."

The new Labour MP for High Peak, Jon Pearce - a Derby County fan - made a similar point in a post on X.

He said: "There is no clearer example of the urgent need for better governance of football in this country and to protect football clubs."

Follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.