East Lancashire bus boss jailed for failing to pay back £117k (From Blackburn Citizen)

East Lancashire bus boss jailed for failing to pay back £117k

3:30pm Saturday 14th November 2009

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A ‘LADY of the manor’ who masterminded a massive transport fraud has been sent back to jail for failing to pay back her ill-gotten gains.

Suzanne Bailey ran East Lancashire bus companies Buzy Buz, Catchmebus.com, and DSP Travel, which were based at Appleby Road, Blackburn.

Her husband, David Bailey, was employed as a driver.

Mrs Bailey, who bought title deeds over the internet in order to be called ‘Lady Suzanne Bailey’ of ’The Turrets’, submitted grossly-inflated claims for rebate on fuel duty to the government’s Department of Transport over the course of two years.

In June 2006, Mrs Bailey - described in court as having a ‘fixation against authority’ - was jailed for two years, as she was the brains behind the £600,000 plus scam.

Days after she was jailed, Mrs Bailey, formerly of Partridge Drive, Baxenden, and Blackburn Road, Rishton, was ordered to pay back £200,000 she made through fraudulently obtaining taxpayers money and putting passengers at risk on uninsured buses.

But following an in-depth investigation by the North West Regional Asset Recovery Team (RART), Mrs Bailey was brought back to the UK and appeared at Bolton Magistrates’ Court this week.

She was sent back to jail for 438 days for failing to paying up the £117,576 outstanding under the confiscation order she owes from her crimes.

At the hearing she gave her address as Plougenast, France.

After the case, RART Inspector John Entwistle from RART said: “It sends out a clear message that we will relentlessly pursue those who profit from criminality and when a confiscation hearing is made, it is enforced.

“Even when these assets are moved overseas, RART and the CPS continue to liaise with our overseas partners to ensure that the criminals do not keep their ill gotten gains.

"Inquiries are continuing to recover the outstanding money.”

Mrs Bailey was first arrested in November 2003 in connection with the use of forged insurance certificates for buses she operated in Blackburn and Accrington areas.

Detectives had their suspicions a lot of her illegally-accrued wealth was tied up in property in Lancashire, Devon and a house in France - where police believe she tried to flee at the start of their investigation.

The defendants’ assets remain frozen by the High Court in London since March 2005.

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