£11m seized from Lancashire criminals (From Blackpool Citizen)

£11m seized from Lancashire criminals

7:30pm Monday 18th January 2010

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By Sam Chadderton »

MORE than £11million has been seized from Lancashire criminals in the last three-and-a-half years, it has been revealed.

But one of the county’s top prosecutors said crafty criminals were now trying to use the credit crunch as an excuse to avoid paying back their ill-gotten gains.

John Dilworth, who heads the Complex Case Unit for Lancashire and Cumbria Crown Prosecution Service, oversees many of the Proceeds of Crime Act prosecutions which are aimed at removing the assets of offenders.

He said his team was having to use new skills to stay one step ahead and ensure the public see ‘lifestyle criminals’ paying their dues.

A Freedom of Information request revealed prosecutors have recovered £11,362,669 through 282 separate Proceeds of Crime Act prosecutions in the last three-and-half years.

Figures for the last full financial year, from April 1 2008 to March 31, 2009, show £5,753,770 was handed over by the county’s criminals.

In the seven months up to October 2009, there had been almost £1m recovered, but confiscation orders approved by courts can often be delayed by 12 months or more.

Mr Dilworth said: “The credit crunch has provided a vehicle for offenders to try and wriggle out of paying up.

"One of the defendant’s big assets is often their house. Previously they would sell easily.

“Now, the house will be put on the market for £100,000, for example, and the defendant will claim they cannot sell it.

"We vet any claims like this very carefully, although we do accept that on occasion a house may not achieve the price that was originally envisaged.”

All money recovered is reinvested in frontline services such as police and CPS, as well as the Community Cashback scheme which gives people a chance to nominate local projects to get a share of the funds.

Conman Robert Barker, from Nelson, who preyed on pensioners, had almost £500,000 in assets confiscated in December 2008.

Convicted Haslingden drug dealer Nigel Hunt fled to Thailand and then Spain when faced with 20 months for not paying the £83,000 he made from peddling ecstasy in pub toilets.

This week, the authorities received £175,000 from property sales belonging to jailed lorry driver Andrew Akeroyd, who admitted a £400,000 money laundering operation in July 2008.

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