Leighton Samuel is a Welsh businessman, and former owner of several sporting teams in South Wales.
[10] Trouble followed in the spring and early summer of 2004 where Leighton Samuel repeatedly threatened and revoked threats of selling the club;[11] one such instance went as far as Samuel accepting an offer from the WRU citing a lack of support from fans in the new Bridgend/Pontypridd region, before changing his mind.
On the advice of David Moffett who cited spiralling debts, the club was dissolved with Leighton Samuel reportedly receiving £875,000 for his shares.
The WRU denied this but Leighton Samuel took them to court claiming a misrepresentation of sale and loss of earnings from Brewery Field which he still owned.
Celtic Crusaders were initially successful; winning promotion in their second season and being awarded a Super League licence in their third year.
They were also investigated by the UK Borders Authority for employing six players illegally on working holiday and student visas.
By August 2010, documents showed that there were 18 county court cases against Crusaders, the earliest being December 2006.
[21] According to The Sun newspaper, Crusaders went into administration on 2 November 2010 after Samuel served a writ on the Welsh club for £360,000.
[citation needed] The GMB Union stated that they were taking action on behalf of players over alleged missing pensions payments on 12 November 2010.