Two convicted fraudsters will have to hand over the majority of their assets after a Proceeds of Crime Act investigation by The Pensions Regulator.
Essex-based Alan Barratt, 64, and Rochdale-based Susan Dalton, 68, were ordered to pay £9,771 and £25,010 respectively at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday (January 17).
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2022 sets out the legislative scheme for the recovery of money from criminal conduct after a confiscation investigation.
TPR investigators said the figures Barratt and Dalton were ordered to pay represented the majority of the fraudsters’ assets, with the regulator having the ability to ask the court to increase the amount if further assets become linked to the pair.
Nicola Parish, executive director of frontline regulation at TPR, said: “We already put fraudsters Barratt and Dalton behind bars, now we are depriving them of the remainder of their ill-gotten gains.”
Following the conclusion of the investigation, independent trustees running schemes affected by Barratt and Dalton’s crimes will now be able to take steps to progress the claims on the Fraud Compensation Fund.
The fraudsters were jailed for a total of 10 years in April 2022 after tricking more than 200 savers into transferring their pension pots into fraudulent schemes.
Failure to hand over assets could risk the pair serving further jail time and they will still be liable to pay the sum with interest.
The money will be handed back to the affected pension schemes which are now being run by Dalriada Trustees Limited.
alina.khan@ft.com
