Joey Essex 'fuming' over alleged cryptocurrency con

Joey Essex has claimed he was duped into advertising an allegedly fraudulent cryptocurrency company.

The former The Only Way Is Essex star recently agreed to promote EATS Coin via a personal appearance and posts on his social media feeds - a currency that was supposedly linked to a food delivery app called CryptoEats.

However, all traces of CryptoEats vanished this week, including its website and social media accounts, and concerned Twitter users have labelled the venture a "scam" that others should avoid investing in.

Speaking about his rage at being roped in, Joey told The Sun: "I'm fuming. This company used my name to dupe lots of people into investing money. It's disgusting and I feel bad for anybody in that situation.

"I do tonnes of appearances. It's difficult to vet everybody and this seemed like a legit brand. It was all done in good faith, but I feel terrible for people who have lost out."

His manager Dave Read added: "Joey was half thinking of investing himself, it sounded genuine. He feels awful."

Radio 1 DJ Charlie Sloth, who produced a promotional video for the brand, also distanced himself from the company, telling the outlet that he and his team are "investigating" the situation.

Punters reportedly invested £500,000 in the firm, which pitched itself as a rival to UberEats or Deliveroo, but one that users could use cryptocurrency to pay for food.

Joey posed in a CryptoEats cap at The London Reign club in Mayfair and Love Island star Belle Hassan also posted an image of herself with gifts at the same party.

A coordinator said of the event: "All these celebrities and influencers turned up. The booze was flowing and everyone had a good time. But from what I've seen unfold, it looks like it was all a big scam."

Officials at London's Metropolitan Police are yet to receive any reports on the matter.