A Lincolnshire waste crime offender has been ordered to pay £278,492.92 after the Environment Agency discovered his undeclared assets.
Simon Mason, 54, was ordered to pay hugely increased proceeds of crime on top of the £8,317.02 he paid after being sentenced in 2021.
Mason’s case was reopened after the Environment Agency learned of changes in his financial position.
It was discovered that he owned a property that he had not declared at the time of his sentencing.
Mason was originally prosecuted in the summer of 2021 for waste crime offences and given a suspended prison sentence for storing and burning waste illegally at a site in Holbeach, Lincolnshire.
At Lincoln Crown Court, it was re-calculated that Mason benefited from his illegal waste activities by £286,809.94.
He was given three months to pay the remainder or serve five years imprisonment, and was ordered to make a £1,500 contribution towards the Environment Agency’s costs.
Peter Stark, Environment Agency Enforcement Team Leader, said: “Waste criminals should be aware how seriously we take their offending, including the benefit they obtain from their illegal activities.
“They won’t get away with concealing information or their assets, and due to the EA’s hard work, justice was served.”
During the initial investigation, the Environment Agency said its officers visited the Holbeach site on six occasions and told Mason verbally and in writing to stop bringing waste to the site and burning it.
However, on returning to the site, the Environment Agency said officers found more waste had been brought to the site and burned.
Waste observed at the site during the multiple visits included household waste, furniture, mattresses, clothing, paint cans, toilets, televisions and numerous fridges, classed as hazardous waste and require specialist disposal.
Some of the rubbish had been burned, prompting neighbours to complain about the smoke generated.
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