A CONVICTED fraudster from Althorne has been ordered to hand over the majority of his assets following an investigation.

Alan Barratt, 64, was ordered to pay £9,771 at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday, January 17.

Meanwhile, Susan Dalton, 68, from Rochdale was ordered to pay £25,010.

It follows a successful Proceeds of Crime Act investigation by the Pensions Regulator.

According to investigators, the amounts represent the vast majority of Barratt and Dalton’s remaining assets.

If further assets are linked to the pair, the Pensions Regulator can ask the court to increase the amount payable under a confiscation order.

Nicola Parish, of the Pensions Regulator said: “We already put fraudsters Barratt and Dalton behind bars. Now we are depriving them of the remainder of their ill-gotten gains.

“Our thoughts continue to be with the pair’s victims, many of whom saw their lives devastated by Barratt and Dalton’s crimes.

“Significantly the end of the Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings brings a claim on the Fraud Compensation Fund a step nearer.”

Barratt and Dalton were jailed for a total of 10 years in April 2022 after admitting their part in a criminal enterprise that tricked more than 200 savers into transferring their pension pots into fraudulent schemes they controlled.

It was reported they had conned victims out of a total of £13.7million between 2012 and 2014.

The average amount each person lost was said to be £55,000 but some lost much more, as well as their future security, Southwark Crown Court heard in April 2022. 

Barratt received a custodial sentence of five years and seven months while Dalton was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison.

If Barratt or Dalton fail to pay, they risk a further jail term and will still be liable for the ordered sums, plus interest.

The money will be returned to the affected pension schemes, which are now being run by the independent trustee Dalriada Trustees Limited.