The Trillion Dollar Conman
The Astonishing True Story of the Most Audacious Fraud in Sport
Published on 26. February 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-83773-141-1 (ISBN)
Description
Based on the hit BBC 5Live podcast series, The Trillion Dollar Conman is a tale of audacious international fraud that is stranger than fiction.
In 2009, Notts County FC were struggling to survive in League Two when they were taken over by a mysterious company supposedly backed by the Bahrain royal family. The club was promised millions of pounds worth of investment and marquee players, including Sol Campbell and Kasper Schmeichel, were signed by former England manager Sven-Goeran Eriksson, who had been appointed to take the club all the way to the Premier League.
However, within months, the dream turned into a nightmare as it transpired that the club, the players and the fans had been duped by a convicted fraudster called Russell King.
The world's oldest professional football club found itself at the centre of one of the most outlandish frauds in sporting history, which spanned the globe from Nottingham to North Korea, involving fake sheikhs, fast cars, broken promises and a trail of destruction.
In 2009, Notts County FC were struggling to survive in League Two when they were taken over by a mysterious company supposedly backed by the Bahrain royal family. The club was promised millions of pounds worth of investment and marquee players, including Sol Campbell and Kasper Schmeichel, were signed by former England manager Sven-Goeran Eriksson, who had been appointed to take the club all the way to the Premier League.
However, within months, the dream turned into a nightmare as it transpired that the club, the players and the fans had been duped by a convicted fraudster called Russell King.
The world's oldest professional football club found itself at the centre of one of the most outlandish frauds in sporting history, which spanned the globe from Nottingham to North Korea, involving fake sheikhs, fast cars, broken promises and a trail of destruction.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Duxford
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 132 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
227 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83773-141-1 (9781837731411)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Ben Robinson is an investigative journalist at the BBC where he's a producer on the Radio 4 documentary series File on 4. He has also been series producer for numerous podcasts including Gangster: The Story of Viv Graham, Sport's Strangest Crimes: The Trillion Dollar Conman and Brixton: Flames on the Frontline. He was previously a reporter at the Sunday Post and Lancashire Post.