A waste crime offender who ignored planning and environmental law to run a waste haulage and processing business, has been ordered to pay more than £2 million after a confiscation case concluded this week.
The Environment Agency has reported that a “convicted waste crime offender, John Bruce, has been ordered to pay £2,101,708 following the confiscation case brought by the Environment Agency at Worcester Crown Court and which concluded on 22 December 2020”.
Judge Nicholas Cole ordered that John Bruce, aged 48 of Tilesford Park, Pershore, should pay the amount following a case brought by the Environment Agency under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
The illegal waste site at Pershore (picture: Environment Agency)
Judge Cole imposed the order on Mr Bruce, who had received a 26-month custodial sentence in May 2018 for operating an illegal waste site at Ridgeway Park Farm, Throckmorton Airfield near Pershore in Worcestershire between 2011 and 2014. In 2018 Mr Bruce also received a second jail sentence for a permit breach (see letsrecycle.com story).
Payment
This week, the Agency reported that the court gave Mr Bruce three months to pay the confiscation order or he faces seven years in jail if he fails to do so.
He was initially prosecuted for six offences where waste totalling about 25,000 cubic metres was either dumped, buried or burned at the farm.
Plant hire
The Agency noted that “The court heard that the defendant had grown his business and had invested in various properties, land and cars. He also owned a large selection of expensive items of heavy plant hire which he hired, bought and resold.
“Judge Cole ruled that a Trust set up by the defendant was a sham and that money held in a bank account operated by the Trust, along with a property, formed part of his criminal benefit.”
Judge Cole also determined that Bruce had used a bank account operated by a proxy company to hide his ongoing unlawful activity and used it as he would his own business accounts, the Agency explained.
Illegal activities on the farm (picture: Environment Agency)
James Puzey, the prosecuting counsel for the Environment Agency, said: “The defendant is a dedicated career criminal who has ignored planning and environmental law to run a waste haulage and processing business.”
Orders
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “This is one of the biggest orders the Environment Agency has gained.
“The case shows that we’re not just content to prosecute those who run illegal waste sites, we’ll also come after them to get back the profits they made from their illegal activities and to recoup taxpayers’ money spent on pursuing them.
“Waste crime can have a serious environmental impact which puts communities at risk and undermines legitimate business and the investment and economic growth that go with it.”
And the Agency spokesperson emphasised how it is trying to disrupt waste crime, saying: “We support legitimate businesses and we are proactively supporting them by disrupting and stopping the criminal element backed up by the threat of tough enforcement as in this case.
“We continue to use intelligence-led approaches to target the most serious crimes and evaluate which interventions are most effective.
“If you see or suspect waste crime is being committed we urge you to report it immediately to CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
