Brothers pay back £1.5m made in money laundering scam
Two brothers are having to pay back £1.5m they made in an international money laundering racket.
Nevada and Sydney Smith played a leading role in a conspiracy smashed by Leicestershire police after a three-and-a-half-year investigation.
The pair were at the head of a 16-strong group whose members splashed out on homes, luxury cars, designer clothes, fur coats, jewellery and cosmetics.
One of the 16 named by police today had a Versace dinner set. Another was caught screwing up £50 notes and flushing them down the toilet in an attempt to hide evidence when police started raiding homes in August 2006.
The two brothers were ordered to pay up under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Assets will be sold and the cash put towards paying off the criminals' debt.
Nevada Smith (31), of Nevada Park, Melton, was jailed for nine months for converting criminal property, namely cars, into cash.
Sydney Smith Jnr (39), of Brisco Avenue, Loughborough, was jailed for 23 weeks, suspended for two years, for being concerned in money laundering and concealing criminal property.
If the brothers do not pay the £1.5m within six months, they will each receive five years in prison – and still have to pay. Other gang members also had assets seized and must pay back £1.1m between them or face prison sentences.
Police said the confiscation of cash, property and assets was the second largest of its kind in the force's history.
The gang was operating a complicated scam which centred on the buying and selling of luxury cars, police said.
Officers believe they used cash generated by other crimes, including distraction burglaries and fraud, to fund trips overseas to buy and import 200 vehicles.
Investigators discovered the gang fraudulently evaded the 17.5% importation tax on the cars, adding hundreds of thousands of pounds to their profits when they later sold them to unwitting UK customers.
The police investigation – codenamed Operation Clawback – led to the 16, who were from Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and Manchester as well as Leicestershire, pleading guilty to money laundering offences in a series of court hearings over the past year, concluding last week. The defendants received sentences ranging from unpaid work to 21 months in prison.
Superintendent Steve Harrod, who led Operation Clawback, said the gang members were organised criminals involved in high-level money laundering in the East Midlands, elsewhere in the UK, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, the Channel Islands and Ireland.
He said that as well as the key members, police targeted those who helped and assisted them in "an attempt to send out a message that anybody involved in organized crime, even in a small way, will be subject to prosecution and confiscation". He said: "Many of the defendants had luxury lifestyles.
"They had palatial houses filled with designer items including Rolex watches and Versace dinner services.
"Yet none of those we had arrested had a feasible explanation for how they had accumulated such wealth."
Officers were alerted to the group's criminal activity when they broke up another crime gang which was also running a highly lucrative used-car scam.
Operation Lucky saw £2.8m seized from two families, the Biddles and Strettons.
They were arrested at Justin Park caravan site, in Market Harborough, in April 2005.
In total, the two operations saw Leicestershire police seize cash and assets worth £5.4m.
Taken together, they are believed to be the largest seizure in UK law enforcement history.
Leicestershire crown prosecutor Lawrence English said: "It can be incomprehensible to ordinary people that, in the past, criminals were able to keep riches gained from their life of crime after being prosecuted.
"To say we are satisfied at this result is an understatement."
Three other county defendants faced the courts for lesser roles uncovered by Operation Clawback. Sally Smith (58), of Barlestone Road, Bagworth, was fined £7,500 for being in possession of criminal property.
Karen Finigan (44), of Copeland Crescent, Loughborough, was ordered to complete 48 hours of unpaid work for being concerned in a money laundering arrangement.
Rachel Ann Hibberd (26), of Kane Close, Coalville, must do 62 hours of unpaid work for the same offence.
10 Comments
by Michael Taylor, Leicester
Tuesday, July 07 2009, 12:20PM
“The usual list of travellers' apologists seem a bit quiet today...”
by Sue, Leicester
Tuesday, July 07 2009, 12:06PM
“I can't believe these sentences it makes my blood boil to read this story. 9 months for one of them and 23 weeks for the other with the option to pay back 1.5 million pounds or get a further 5 year sentence! And the others to pay back 1.1 million pounds or face prison sentences. For a 31/2 year Police operation, which was the 2nd largest of its kind in the forces history ,must have cost tax payers hundreds of thousands of pounds. The
”
by John Stitch, Leicester Town
Tuesday, July 07 2009, 11:58AM
“Let's try this on a smaller scale.
A kid at a school sees another kid taking a tenner out of someone else's coat pocket. A teacher is told and the person who took it is confronted.
The kid who's tenner it was is also present and the teacher says 'Give him his tenner back'.
The kid who stole it is then told 'off you go', leaving him free to do the same again.
Albeit on a larger scale, isn't this a version of what has happened here ? It's taken as read that you hand back the money, but if there's no punishment to follow then where's the real acknowledgment that a crime has been committed at all ?”
by Simon, Hinckley
Tuesday, July 07 2009, 11:27AM
“3.5 years on just one investigation. Good God!
£5 million may seem like a large sum to recoup but it's just the tip of the preverbial "ice-berg".”
by eddie, leicester
Tuesday, July 07 2009, 11:24AM
“Emma..if you read the article properly you would have noticed they used distraction burglaries to raise funds,these are usually carried out on old and vulnerable people if you think thats ok you are 1 sick individual.Also do you really think the money they have to pay back is all they got?”
by CJ, Leics
Tuesday, July 07 2009, 10:59AM
“It¿s good to see them paying it back, so many gangs go to prison over this, but they get to keep most if not all the money they have acquired once released. This is a good example for any gangs planning the same thing. This case can act as a deterrent, but some how I don¿t think it will!”
by Lorraine, Town Centre
Tuesday, July 07 2009, 10:56AM
“So you dont regards this as a serious crime Emma???? just because its "non violent" Dont you realise the significance of a money laundering operation, how it will affect us, the normal law biding folk. This crime is very serious and the convicted should pay back the money and go to prison.”
by Jo, Leic
Tuesday, July 07 2009, 10:44AM
“I would rather they pay back everything plus interest and then have 20 years in prison. That would deter others.. lol but something so obvious will never happen with muppets making the laws and Miss Piggy's following them.”
by Emma, Leiceser
Tuesday, July 07 2009, 10:03AM
“Eddie you have totally missed the point - the crime doesn't pay as they have to pay back millions or face 5 years in jail.
This story isn't about sending them to jail for months on end it is about them paying back what they gained. It's a non violent crime so I'd rather take all their money and luxuries and have the Serious and violent criminals stuck in jail.”
by eddie, leicester
Tuesday, July 07 2009, 9:02AM
“23 weeks for £1.5 million...who says crime doesnt pay,what a farce,good job they didnt do something really bad like not pay the tv licence or council tax then they would really be in for it!!”