ASSETS worth £1.2m have been recovered from a fraudster who cheated Evans Halshaw out of nearly £2.5m.
Allan Curry siphoned the money off from the dealer group over a two-and-a-half-year period when he was employed there as an accountant. He was imprisoned for six years in December 2017 at Teesside Crown Court, pictured above, after pleading guilty to fraud by abuse of position and money laundering.
Evans Halshaw group owner Pendragon started a claim in the civil courts to recoup its losses and has retrieved £1.2m of assets, including four houses plus expensive cars, so far, Teesside Live reported. Curry is still liable for the rest of the money taken.
A proceeds of crime hearing, which was held after Cleveland Police launched proceedings, saw prosecutor Ian West QC say that Curry currently had £3,369 available, on which Judge Sean Morris made a confiscation order, adding that a default sentence of six months would be added if that sum were to go unpaid within three months.
Curry, from Seaham, Country Durham, devised the sophisticated scheme to siphon off the money from the Evans Halshaw Vauxhall garage he worked for in Middlesbrough, with the intention of paying off a £20,000 debt.
However, he became addicted to the thrill and went on to buy four houses as well as expensive cars such as Mercedes, BMWs and Range Rovers.
His activities also included spending £140,000 on personalised number plates and transferring £136,000 into a Sky Bet account. In addition, he helped family members financially, telling them he had won the money by gambling.
At the time of the original sentencing, Judge Simon Hickey said the crimes showed a ‘sophisticated nature of offending’.
He said: ‘You knew exactly what you were doing. You were stealing vast amounts of money to service your gambling habit. It is a significant figure, one rarely seen even in the crown court.’
Curry, now 25, is currently serving his sentence in Holme House Prison, Stockton-on-Tees.
Main image: Owen Humphreys/PA Archive/PA Images
MORE: Fraudster stole nearly £2.5m from Evans Halshaw Vauxhall dealership
