Jeremy Philip Charles Keith (born 1964) became chief executive of Derby County after a corporation he controlled with two others bought the club out of receivership for £3 in 2003. He had previously been a director at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and had a financial role at

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

Early life

Keith was born in

Montego Bay Montego Bay () is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth most populous urban area in the country, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

and moved to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

when he was ten years old.

Financial irregularities

Keith was charged on 12 November 2007 with conspiracy to defraud and conceal criminal property after police investigations at Derby County. In addition, former finance director Andrew Mackenzie and former director of football

Murdo Mackay Murdo Mackay (born 1956) is a Scottish businessman and sports agent. He worked as director of football at Derby County F.C. between October 2003 and March 2006. In July 2009 Mackay was convicted of fraudulently claiming money from the club as c ...

were charged with similar offences. In July 2009, Keith was convicted of

false accounting False accounting is a legal term for a type of fraud, considered a statutory offence in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. England and Wales This offence is created by section 17 of the Theft Act 1968 which provides: ...

and sentenced to 18 months in prison after being paid £125,000, as this payment was never approved by the club's

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

. He was also disqualified from being a company director for three years. Following an appeal the sentences were reduced to nine months, with a two-year ban on being a director.

References

1964 births Living people Derby County F.C. directors English football chairmen and investors {{England-footy-bio-stub