Chichester man swindled from in-laws and friends to fund gambling addiction David Gale, 51, admitted using bank and Betfair accounts in ex-wife's name He convinced her father and grandfather to part with cash in failed scheme Told investors it would pay 'dividends' but blew the money on gambling Mr Gale appeared in court today where he admitted three counts of fraudÂ Ex-wife Faye Gale also appeared in dock but proceedings were dropped Due to be sentenced on December 12 and could face Christmas in prison A fraudster swindled nearly Â£2million from his in-laws and friends in a Ponzi-style sports betting scheme to fund his gambling addiction. David Gale, 51, admitted using bank and Betfair accounts in the name of his ex-wife Faye - and convinced her father and grandfather to part with cash in the failed scheme. The financial advisor told investors the scheme would pay 'dividends' if they signed up, but he conned his father-in-law out of Â£145,000, a court heard today. David Gale (right) and his ex-wife Faye (left) appeared at Guildford Crown Court today where he admitted using bank and Betfair accounts in her name to con people, including her father and grandfather, out of cash Mrs Gale was 'swept off her feet' when she met her husband, who is 13 years his junior, at Royal Ascot in 2004 but the seven-year marriage ended when his scheming was uncovered in 2011. He immediately left the family home in Great Bookham, Surrey, where the couple lived with their two children and moved to Little London in Chichester, West Sussex. Mr Gale appeared at Guildford Crown Court today, carrying an overnight holdall, where he admitted three counts of fraud and two counts of unauthorised regulated activity.Â Prosecuting, Alison Clare said: 'They have two small children. Mrs Gale's father lost more than Â£100,000 and her grandfather lost money. It was all in her name and she has already been successfully sued by one investor who lost Â£300,000. Mrs Gale, 37, appeared in the dock alongside her former husband charged with aiding and abetting him, but Judge Robert Fraser told her this would lie on file. She admitted she knew about her ex-husband's scheme but believed it was fool-proof. David Gale, who is 13 years older than Faye, was pictured arriving at court today carrying a holdall At an earlier hearing she was found liable for hundreds of thousands of pounds when family friend, Kathleen O'Neill sued for the Â£300,000 she had invested in her husband's scheme. In March last year, Judge David Donaldson QC cleared the London-based TV producer of any dishonesty but ruled that she would still have to cover the costs of Mr Gale's losses. Judge Donaldson expressed amazement that 'intelligent and level-headed' people could possibly have believed that any scheme involving betting on football could be risk-free. He explained the collapse came abruptly in 2011, adding: 'Mr Gale wrote to his investors to explain - falsely, as is now known - that, by oversight and clumsiness in making a single entry online, he had lost the entirety of the pool of money.' She took it to the Court of Appeal in December but three top judges ruled against her.Â In today's trial, the court heard that Gale's gambling addiction had led him to get caught up in the betting system and he convinced investors they would receive 'dividends' if they signed up. He admitted the charges at Guildford Crown Court today and is due to be sentenced on December 12 He told his wife's friends, relatives and neighbours that the scheme was risk free and his ex-wife's grandfather was one of the first investors. Ms Clare told the court: 'The loss to the witnesses was in the region of Â£1.8 million.'Â Judge Fraser warned the former mortgage broker he faced jail and Gale was released on bail until December 12, when he will be sentenced.Â