Online Poker Addict Terrorised By Loan Sharks Over £1 Million Gambling Debts

Father of two and gambling addict Antony Demarco knew he had a problem after running up over a million pounds of gambling debts, particularly at online poker site Ladbrokes.
In deperation, the 37-year-old registered asset finance broker from Edinburgh, Scotland turned to loan sharks as a means to extradite himself from his immediate troubles, but in the process put his own life as well as that of his family’s in extreme danger.
Before long, Antony Demarco fell behind on his repayments and the gang of loan sharks, which included Imran Sakur (35), Jamie Robertson (25), Craig Kelbie (25) and Francis McGlone (39), decided to send him a very clear message that they wouldn’t be waiting around for their money.
After making various threats, the gang then targeted Demarco’s 64 year-old father, Tony, shooting him in the back of the head outside the Gala Maybury Casino in Edinburgh on June 3, 2008. Incredibly his father survived, but a month after the shooting Antony Demarco then became involved in a £1million fraud involving Lombard Finance and Hitachi Capital Finance.
The financier managed to steal £285,000 from Lombard Finance and £715,000 from Hitachi over the period of a year, before the Royal Bank of Scotland finally became suspicious and called in the police.
After Antony Demarco’s arrest, all the gang members were similarly under lock and key and have now been jailed for a combined total of 43 years, for the shooting of Tony Demarco. Commenting on the series of tragic events, Antony Demarco’s solicitor Joe Mooney said:
“He almost knew it was inevitable that he would be caught but … if his father was not shot, he would not have become involved in these activities to pay back the moneylenders.”
Antony Demarco is now bankrupt and attending Gamblers Anonymous, while he awaits his own sentencing.