Terry Soloman Dugbo, 48, from Leeds, is currently serving a seven-year and six months custodial sentence which was handed down in 2016 (see letsrecycle.com story).
He was found guilty of having falsified paperwork to illegitimately claim that his company, TLC Recycling Ltd, had collected and recycled more than 19,500 tonnes of household WEEE during 2011.
This led to a reported income of more than £2.2 million to his business in payments from WEEE producer compliance schemes.
The additional sentence, which means he will serve a total of 16 years in prison, follows a Proceeds of Crime hearing at Leeds Crown Court last week.
Repayment
In February 2019, Mr Dugbo was ordered to pay back more than £1.3 million of the £2.2 million he acquired through his activities, on top of over £79,000 from a previous Environment Agency prosecution for exporting hazardous waste to Nigeria in 2011 and over £17,000 from a VAT fraud in 2015 (see letsrecycle.com story).
According to the Agency, despite numerous court orders Mr Dugbo had failed to make payments towards the £1.3 million order and insufficient payments towards the other two. So far, a total of £46,000 has been made towards an earlier order, it said.
Last week (22 August), HHJ Jameson QC ruled that there was no realistic prospect of Dugbo paying the outstanding amount, and sent him to prison for a further eight years for failing to pay the £1.3 million order, 14 months for the older Environment Agency order (reduced from 21 months for the money already paid) and 2 months for the order relating to the other fraud. Each sentence will be served consecutively to each other.
“This a clear signal that waste crime does not pay.”
Commenting on the additional sentences, Dr Paul Salter, Environment Agency waste crime officer, said: “Dugbo’s defiance has led to an extended jail sentence which he will be forced to serve until all the money is paid. This a clear signal that waste crime does not pay.
“We take a hard line against anyone that intentionally sets out to profit from defrauding recycling systems. In recent times, we have increased resources in our waste enforcement team and are working with partners to establish a Joint Waste Crime Unit to forge stronger links between government, police forces and local councils to tackle waste crime.”
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