Former pals left struggling by a Surrey property developer’s bankruptcy were furious when footage emerged of him gambling in Las Vegas while their bills remained unpaid.
Thomas Alexander Ross, 44, racked up debts into the tens of millions.
Most creditors were paid nothing when bankruptcy trustees published their final report in August 2024, as the sale of his assets didn’t even cover what he owed to banks, who get first dibs on any cash raised.
So they were horrified to discover video, shot just weeks before they were told they’d get nothing, of Ross living it up in Sin City, splashing cash in the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Ross previously lived in a £2.5m house in Claygate, Esher, had a second home in the area and owned a flat in Hyde Park Gardens.
His debts included millions owed to “unsecured creditors”, like business partners and contractors.
He was discharged from his bankruptcy in 2022 but investigations into his affairs continued until unsecured creditors - meaning everyone except the banks - were told last August they would be paid none of what they were owed.
Just weeks earlier, in July, the property developer had been filmed participating in a high-stakes poker tournament in the USA.
One of his competitors can even be seen in TV footage of the tournament offering to get him a box at an F1 race.
He has since also been filmed gambling at a “high rollers” poker tournament in the UK.
Chessington landscape gardener Matthew Bennett, 34, who worked on Ross’s mansion in Ruxley Crescent, Claygate, and his second home in Forge Drive, said the footage “made my blood boil”.
“I work for some wealthy people, but Thomas was another level,” he said. “He owned a property in Hyde Park Gardens.”
When Ross declared bankruptcy, Matthew submitted a claim for a backlog of unpaid gardening bills.
“My business nearly went down. Cash flow became a big problem,” he said.
“There was a bit of stupidity on my side because I should have stopped working for him earlier, but I trusted him because I worked for his family. His mum and dad were very sweet and always paid.
“It was a massive mental strain I wouldn’t wish on anyone – a lot of time and effort trying to enforce the payments.”
Like all the unsecured creditors, Matthew never saw a penny from the bankruptcy.
“Knowing Thomas Ross owed so much money to myself and others, it’s sickening to see him able to afford to fly to Las Vegas and gamble,” he said.
“He’s let all of us down. I feel sorry for other creditors who were owed a lot more.”
A number of companies Ross was linked to were found to be insolvent.
Dan Crown, 49, invested over £6million in one of them – a property development firm called Ross Sloan Investments Limited - and was made a director.
The company hasn’t filed accounts since 2019 and is subject to an active proposal to strike off.
Dan had to declare himself bankrupt and lost his home in Finchley, north London.
“I had to relocate my family to Hove,” he said.
Neither the trustees nor the Insolvency Service responded to our questions about the case.
Ross initially responded to our emails, saying he would answer our questions the following week – but then failed to do so and never replied to subsequent emails.
He accused this newspaper of being part of a “hate campaign”.
