Former accountant jailed for five more years over £490,000 crime proceeds

Sukhdev Singh, 78, of Chelwood Drive, Leeds, had been a business associate of the victim’s father during the 1980s.

After the victim's parents died, Singh re-established contact with him and offered to help.

The Harrogate man had significant disabilities and a learning age of 12.

Singh went on to systematically exploit him, fraudulently acquiring his mortgage-free home, which was valued at £500,000.

He also transferred more than £34,000 from the victim's Gibraltar savings account and attempted to gain control of a property he owned in Spain.

Following an investigation by North Yorkshire Police, Singh was convicted of fraud and sentenced in 2022 to more than five years in prison.

A subsequent investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act found Singh had benefited from criminal conduct to the value of £1.19 million and had assets worth £490,284.98.

On August 25, 2025, York Crown Court made a Proceeds of Crime confiscation order requiring Singh to pay the available amount of £490,284.98 within three months.

He was warned that failure to pay would result in a further five-year prison sentence.

Despite unsuccessful appeals and repeated extensions, Singh did not make any payment towards the order.

He appeared at Leeds Magistrates' Court on August 27, 2026, where police said he again refused to accept responsibility for his offending or pay the confiscation order.

The court subsequently activated the five-year default sentence and Singh was returned to prison.

Ian Sharp, from North Yorkshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “We will relentlessly pursue individuals in relation to the proceeds of their crimes. In this case, enforcement action to recover the outstanding debt will continue.”

The victim died earlier this year before receiving the compensation he was due from the confiscation proceedings.

His estate is expected to receive the money once the funds are recovered.