41-year-old man handed £850,000 Confiscation Order following Thames Valley Police investigation

A 41-YEAR-OLD man who helped a former Windsor property developer carry out a £33 million property fraud has been ordered to pay £854,310.77 Confiscation Order.

Matthew Robinson, from Wiltshire, appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, July 2, and was told he must pay back £800,000 within 28 days and the final balance within 56 days or face a six year jail sentence.

The order follows a lengthy and complex criminal investigation by Thames Valley Police which began in June 2009 and concluded in July 2014, resulting in lengthy jail sentences for the fraudsters involved.

Investigations revealed that Robinson helped 48-year-old Mark Entwistle, from Kings Road, Windsor, and 46-year-old Jonathan Gilbert, previously from Trinity Place, Windsor, obtain multiple loans on development properties.

By delaying the registration of mortgages, the fraudsters were able to obtain as many as five different mortgages on properties, defrauding banks out of millions of pounds in the process.

 The Confiscation Order given to Robinson means Thames Valley Police will receive a £160,000 windfall which will be used by the chief constable to continue the fight against crime in local communities.

The £854,310.77 figure was the amount he was found to have benefited from his criminal conduct.

Phillip Croxson, financial investigator with the TVP Economic Crime Unit, said: “A restraint order was obtained against Matthew Robinson in July 2012, and this has enabled us to control his property portfolio to ensure that assets were preserved.

“Properties have been sold, either voluntarily, or by receivers acting on behalf of mortgage lenders, and we have been able to ensure that sufficient liquid funds were retained to satisfy the Confiscation Order that has now been made.”