VAT fraudster told to pay back £88,000

A NORTH Staffordshire woman today became the third member of an organised crime gang to be told to pay back her criminal profits or face an extended jail sentence.

Last week gang leader Craig Johnson, who lived at luxurious Meaford Hall, near Stone, was ordered to return £26 million for his part in the £138 million mobile phone VAT fraud.

Today, Linda Wragg, aged 44, from Wedgwood Road, Cheadle, appeared at a confiscation hearing at Wolverhampton Crown Court and was ordered to re-pay £88,685 to the public purse or face an extra 21 months in prison.

She was sentenced in June 2006 to six-and-a-half years after being convicted of cheating the revenue and conspiring to furnish false accounting information.

Robert Alder, assistant director of criminal investigation for Revenue and Customs, said: "Wragg attempted to provide a 'legitimate' cover-up in the chain between Johnson's company Signal Telecom and the missing traders.

"She ran a 'buffer' company to distance them from the fraud in a bid to avoid detection. This action contributed to one of the largest thefts from public funds brought before the courts following our investigations."

Last Friday, Johnson, one of the UK's most serious fraudsters, was ordered to pay back £26 million of the money he stole within the next two years or face a further 10 years in prison. He is currently serving a 12.5 year prison sentence for his role in leading the serious organised crime gang.

Also last week, Steven Lipinski, from Essex, was ordered to pay £376,540 within nine months or face a further three-and-a-half years in prison. He is currently serving a six year prison sentence.

For more on this story, see The Sentinel and www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk tomorrow