Fraudster ordered to pay back over five million by judge

Crime doesn’t pay – no matter how much you fight it.

A fraudster who swindled almost six million pounds of public money has been stripped of his assets and ordered to pay back his illicit profits – despite his previous attempts to fight and appeal court rulings.

Stanley Miller was jailed in 2018 for eight years and three months after he was caught out in a complex series of frauds which saw him pocket over five million of taxpayers’ money.

A complex investigation pieced together by HMRC found the 64-year-old had been deliberately evading paying VAT, Income Tax and National Insurance between 2008 and 2016, as well as laundering money and benefitting from criminal cash.

In October 2018, Miller went to trial at Newcastle Crown Court, and he was found guilty of four counts of being concerned in fraudulent evasion to the tune of £1,055,294.51 and one count of cheating the public revenue to the tune of £4,897,045.06.

Officer work didn’t stop there and after he was put behind bars, a thorough financial investigation was launched by the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU) to strip Miller of his illicit funds and illegally purchased properties.

Detectives identified numerous bank accounts which Miller had opened, some of these were based overseas in the UAE; an impressive property portfolio in Gateshead and Newcastle; as well as £35,000 in cash and other luxury items seized from his home in Lane Head, Ryton.

Detectives put an application before the courts to recoup the money, under the Proceeds of Crime Act and in 2021 a judge at Newcastle Crown Court ordered Miller pay back the money.

However, Miller appealed this ruling and initially won but that didn’t stop our detectives from fighting back. They collated a strong evidence case file, presented it at court and today (Monday) a Judge ruled in their favour and ordered Miller to pay back £5,470,258.

If he fails to do so within three months, he will be ordered to carry out the sentence of 10 years imprisonment.

Speaking after the final hearing, NEROCU Detective Inspector Thomas Maughan, said: “This has been a very long and complex investigation but despite the best efforts of Miller and his legal team we have secured a financial order that really hits him where it hurts – his bank account.

“Criminals often think they can conceal accounts, finances and luxury items from us, so when they are released, they return to the lifestyle their illegal activity afforded them however, we’ve proved time and time again this isn’t the case.

“For some offenders prison might not seem like much of a deterrent if they have a nice home and a healthy bank balance to return to, which is why we carry out comprehensive investigations to ensure these people are stripped of criminal assets and shown in no uncertain terms that crime doesn’t pay.”

DI Maughan added: “I’d like to once again thank the HMRC criminal investigation team who did a fantastic job, cases like this demonstrate the power we have when working with partners to secure convictions as well as financial orders like this one.”

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