Shoplifting gang from Aylesbury ordered to pay back £145,000
Paul Jones AKA Mat Wali Khan, of Aylesbury
A GANG of Aylesbury shoplifters has been ordered to pay back more than £145,000 which they gained through stealing electrical goods.
Reading Crown Court heard that leader, Paul Jones, also known as Mat Wali Khan, from New Street, enlisted the help of local drug users to swipe high-value goods from stores across Bucks and Oxfordshire.
The group would either attempt to return the items, or sell them online, with cash being laundered through their bank accounts.
In May last year, Jones was convicted of conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to convert criminal property. He has been forced to pay back £75,000, the full sum of his available assets.
If he fails to cough up within six months, he will face a further 21 months imprisonment and still be required to pay the amount in full.
He also has to report his financial position every six months for 10 years.
Also forced to pay back cash from the scam was Judith Rogers, aged 56, of Constable Place, Aylesbury.
She was told she must repay £62,550.26.
It followed an investigation by Thames Valley Police’s economic crime unit.
Det Insp Gavin Tyrrell, who headed the investigation, said he was pleased with the result.
He stated: “It is wrong, especially in the current financial climate that criminals are seen to benefit from their crimes and we will make every effort to ensure that within our communities crime will not pay.”
Three members of the group, Vicky Carter, 25, of Ascott Road, Aylesbury; Andrew Mark Short, 28, of Ascott Road, Aylesbury; and Dominic Clarke, 29, of York Place, Aylesbury, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal in June 2010.
In August 2010, Carter was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment and Short was sentenced to two years imprisonment.
Clarke received a community order in September 2010.
Other members of the group, Laura Rogers, 28, and Rebecca Rogers, 24, both from Minehead in Somerset; Judith Rogers, 56, from Constable Place, Aylesbury; and Shehzad Khan, 31, from Luton, all pleaded guilty to money laundering offences and in March 2011 they received suspended sentences.
Laura Rogers received 12 months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, plus 200 hours of unpaid work and electronic monitoring; Rebecca Rogers received four months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, plus 80 hours of unpaid work and electronic monitoring; Judith Rogers received nine months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, plus 180 hours of unpaid work and Shehzad Khan received six months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, plus 120 hours of unpaid work and electronic monitoring.
The ECU conducted a financial investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act into those involved in the conspiracy.
Last week confiscation orders were granted at Reading Crown Court against Paul Jones and Judith Rogers.
Confiscation orders were granted at an earlier date against Laura Rogers for £3,495 and Shehzad Khan for £4,196.40.
Rebecca Rogers was ordered to pay a nominal amount.
A statement from police said compensation will be awarded to the victims who suffered losses as a result of the thefts committed by this group.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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