Richard Rufus Crown Court fraud hearing adjourned due to defender arriving without legal representation

A Crown Court hearing into an alleged multi-million-pound fraud carried out by former Premier League defender Richard Rufus was adjourned on Thursday after he turned up without a lawyer.

At a pre-trial preparation hearing at Southwark Crown Court, Rufus was given until October 3 to answer charges of fraud by false representation, possessing £5.3million of criminal property and accepting deposits without being authorised to do so between 2007 and 2012.

As well as granting a four-week adjournment to give Rufus more time to secure legal counsel, Judge David Tomlinson also provisionally ordered a trial starting on June 8.

Rufus gave no indication of a plea on Thursday, having done the same at a hearing at City of London Magistrates’ Court last month.

Chair Spyros Elia told Rufus the matter was “so serious” that it needed to be dealt with in a Crown Court.

Rufus, of Crystal Palace, was once voted Charlton’s greatest ever defender by fans.

He retired in 2004 after suffering a career-ending cruciate ligament injury before entering the financial sector.