3:06pm Thursday 9th July 2009
A man, who failed to pay back nearly £300,000 proceeds of crime has been told he will spend longer in prison.
Peter Moss, 49, formerly of Cromwell Avenue, Penwortham, pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court in 2006 to illegal possession of a firearm, possession of counterfeit currency, concealing the proceeds of crime, handling stolen goods and possessing Class B and Class C drugs for his own use.
He was sentenced to seven years in prison.
At the original confiscation hearing Moss was given six months to pay the original amount of £270,102.18 with the deadline of August 22, 2008 or he was warned he would face a three year, three month prison sentence by default.
Among the assets identified under the confiscation order were two houses and land in Bulgaria, property in the UK, plus money in a Bulgarian bank account and some other items including jewellery.
To date Moss has paid off £29,418.62 and on Friday he was brought before Bolton Magistrates’ Court and told that his failure to meet the order has cost him additional money and time in jail.
A default sentence of 1,113 days has been invoked in respect of the unpaid amount of £257,599.66 which now includes £16,916.10 in accrued interest, equivalent to £52.75 a day.
This sentence has been added to his original prison sentence of seven years, of which he has currently served three years. Moss was due to be released from prison at the end of July but now faces the prospect of a further three years behind bars unless he pays up.
Det Con Anita Fishwick, of Lancashire's Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: "This case shows you can't commit crime and expect to keep the proceeds if you get caught. Despite having paid off a part of the outstanding confiscation order, the amount he now owes has increased with interest."
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