Warrington loan shark ordered to repay £750,000

A WARRINGTON man convicted of a range of offences connected to running an illegal money lending business has been ordered to pay back £750,000 to the courts.
John Stephen Radford, of Park Road, Great Sankey had the order made against him at Chester Crown Court.
It follows an extensive investigation by the Cheshire Police Economic Crime Unit working in partnership with the Illegal Money Lending Team which led to Radford’s arrest and subsequent prosecution for offences against the Consumer Credit Act in relation to the running of an illegal money lending business and money laundering.
Radford was convicted in 2013 at Liverpool Crown Court of possessing an illegal firearm and ammunition, running an unlicensed money lending business and money laundering at a subsequent trial at Chester Crown Court.
Following his conviction for the money lending and money laundering offences, the Constabulary’s Economic Crime Unit began a ‘Proceeds of Crime Confiscation’ investigation, which resulted in the confiscation order.
DI Karen Jaundrill, of the Economic Crime Unit, said: “At the conclusion of the investigation the court accepted that Radford had benefited financially from his criminal enterprise to the sum of £750,000. Radford was subsequently ordered to repay this amount within three months or face a further four years in prison.
“I hope that this sends a strong message to any criminals in Cheshire that crime does not pay and offer reassurance to the residents of Cheshire that we take this type of criminality extremely seriously.”