Happier times Keith and Louise Gough celebrate £9m lottery win in 2005
Keith Gough is a National Lottery winner whose life came to a tragic end bizarrely due to the stresses and strains of financial problems despite winning £9 million.
Keith and his wife Louise, from Bridgnorth in Shropshire, won the National Lottery in 2005 and proceeded to enjoy the winnings. He wasted no time in spending their new found wealth on properties, horseracing and alcohol. He bought an executive box for his favourite football team and was duped into investing in a range of business ventures by a con man. None of them turned out to be real.
It was not long after winning the National Lottery that Keith’s downfall began to take shape. The immediate spending included Keith and his wife buying a £1 million mansion in the countryside, £80,000 on a chauffeur and gardener, £500,000 on a new house, £180,000 on horseracing, £35,000 on the executive box with Aston Villa and £60,000 on a new BMW.
Friends said that Keith’s mood soon changed after the win and it was not long before he allegedly turned to alcohol. This alcohol abuse would not only start the demise of his 25 year marriage to Louise but was also the first step towards Keith meeting the con artist that would eventually put Keith into financial ruin.
REHAB
Keith checked himself in to the Priory rehabilitation clinic in Birmingham as his alcohol use began to get out of hand. It was at the rehabilitation clinic where Keith became acquainted with James Prince. Between August 2006 and July 2008, Prince persuaded Keith to invest his final £700,000 in a number of fake business ventures that were never real. Keith lost all of his money.
Keith had been given £1.5 million by his wife during the divorce proceedings in 2007 but after squandering half of it before his time in rehab, his final fortune was taken away by the scrupulous actions of the fraudster.
Prince’s campaign over two years to bleed Keith dry was relentless and parasitic. He gave off an image and persona of wealth and success to lure Keith in and began to persuade Keith to invest in various ventures that were totally bogus. One venture included convincing Keith to hand him £407,000 to purchase a bungalow that he was already renting to his lover for £300 per month. Prince was later found guilty of conning Keith and was sentenced to three years and four months in jail.
One woman hired by Prince to help squeeze money out of Keith even resorted to sharing her experiences with Keith to a close friend. The details were revealed in court.
The woman was alleged to have said to her friend “He’s asked me to marry him. But I’ve no feelings for him. It’s just a job. I’ll do it until the money runs out.”
One friend of Keith said “Keith always put a brave face on things but he was financially screwed. A combination of carelessness, naivety and generosity left him skint and he was finding it hard to get back on his feet. I know the stress of not being able to pay his way was weighing on his mind.”
Before his death, Keith himself admitted “My life was brilliant. But the lottery has ruined everything. What’s the point of having money when it sends you to bed crying?”
He added “I thought the lotto win was going to be the answer to my dreams. Now those dreams have turned to dust.”
Another friend of Keith’s stated “It’s very sad. He’s a testament to the saying ‘money can buy you everything — except happiness’.”
TRAGEDY
Keith collapsed and died at his nephew’s house in 2010 after suffering a suspected heart attack whilst drinking alone. It was speculated that his heart attack had been brought on by the financial stress he had suffered after the con he was made a victim to. His story is one of total heartache and proof that money cannot guarantee you anything.
His story has a likeness to Canadian man Gerald Muswagon, who died tragically following an epic spending spree and a run in with the law.