Man jailed after failing to pay back waste crime profits
Last August, Tony Leigh Shepherd, 41, of Winston in Darlington, was ordered by a judge at Teesside Crown Court to pay back £350,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act (PoCA).
The figure was set after Shepherd pleaded guilty to two offences of operating an illegal waste site at West Musgrave Farm, St Helen Auckland, between August 2009 and March 2011, as well as a third charge of operating an illegal waste site at Hackworth Industrial Estate, Shildon, between December 2010, and July 2011. Shepherd had been running a waste transfer facility on the land – illegally depositing, sorting and storing mixed household and industrial waste.
Prior to the PoCA hearing, in February 2014, Shepherd was given a 12-month suspended prison sentence. The Environment Agency (EA) then began proceedings to recover the value of his available assets that it was believed he had obtained through crime.
The £350,000 figure was based on the assets Shepherd owned, including machinery and vehicles. It was also agreed that if he came into future assets he could have to pay back more of the agreed £1.17 million benefit sum. Shepherd was warned at the time that failure to pay could lead to a prison sentence. The recovered sum of money would be paid to central government to support crime prevention measures.
On Wednesday (25 May), Shepherd appeared at Teesside Magistrates’ Court, where he was jailed for failing to pay back the agreed amount. The court heard that he had paid back £10,000, but interest accrued on the figure meant that he still owed the court £347,228.
The court stated that Shepherd had shown a ‘wilful refusal’ to pay the sum. When he is released from prison, he will still have to repay the full amount.
Waste crime created ‘debt for life’
Commenting on the prison sentence, the EA’s Enforcement Team Leader for the North East, Dave Edwardson, said: “This is a significant result which sends a clear message to others who flout the law that waste crime just does not pay.
“We took Shepherd to court for his crimes and then sought to hit him in the pocket by recovering the money it was believed he gained through his criminal activity – resulting in the biggest confiscation order for us in the North East.
“And because he’s failed to pay that back he’s now been sent to prison. But it’s still a debt for life for Shepherd and he must repay the money – and any future assets in the future could also go back to repaying the full amount.
“Waste crime undermines legitimate businesses and can have significant detrimental impacts on communities and the environment. This hearing demonstrates how seriously we take waste crime, and we’ll continue to take action against those operating outside of the law and the regulations.”
More information about how the Environment Agency investigates waste crime can be found in Resource’s feature article.
