A chippy owner ran up a £20,000 electricity bill to prove critics he had money to burn when his business shut down after three months.
Hugh Clarke sent messages to the father of one of his sacked workers insisting he was keeping the lights on 24 hours a day, despite the business being closed, because he could afford to, the Daily Record reports.
In a bizarre Whatsapp message to Norman Towson - whose daughter Jill was sacked - he wrote: "Did you not notice the lights on 24 hours a day for the last month? That's for keyboard warriors like you that say I've no money to pay for electricity."
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Sizzlers chippy in Airdrie was taken over by high profile football sponsor Clarke in May, 2020, but closed a short time later after a stream of staff walked out or were sacked.
However, the lights and air-conditioning remained on, running up a massive bill every day until the keys were returned to the landlord a year later.
In another message Clarke posted: "No money for electric? Same p***. That's why lights left on for 24 hours a day and closed for five weeks to shut a few people up. Why? Because I can afford to."
Clarke leased Sizzlers from owner Massimo Rossi shortly before his Clarke ePOS UK Ltd company set up a host of high profile sponsorship deals.
Football teams like Livingston and Falkirk did not get paid, nor did pro basketball team Glasgow Rocks.
The chip shop closed within weeks after he fell out with his landlord and takings fell with staff claiming he knew nothing about how to work equipment.
The shop has since been taken over by another business.
Rossie said: "The messages he sent about leaving on the electricity 24/7 to prove he had cash were bizarre. He was almost literally burning money.
"Anyone in Airdrie could see the lights running all day and night, but I was advised that I had no right to legally enter the building until he returned the keys.
"He makes it quite clear in his messages that it was his decision to keep the lights on and that the bill he was racking up would be met by himself, to prove he could afford it, according to his own explanation."
Rossi said he had been through hell after Clarke falsely spread stories about him being a sexual predator and a paedophile.
He said: "He wrecked the business my family built up but it is under new management, who have really turned things around. The support from people in Airdrie has been brilliant."
The Record reported previously that Clarke is being chased by Glasgow Rocks and Falkirk FC for unpaid sponsorship fees and workers at his Eurocentral bases business also pursed him for wages.
Clarke said he had no comment to make on the electricity bill row and refused to say if he had paid the bill.
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