A Stoke On Trent husband and wife duo convicted of theft and false accounting have been ordered to pay over £157,000 following a confiscation hearing at Stoke-On-Trent Crown Court. This followed an investigation by Staffordshire Police and a protracted trial

Charles and Angela Rathbone of Welsh Close, Lightwood, Stoke-On-Trent were jailed in October 2007 after being found guilty of theft and false accounting. Rathbone, the former director of Blurton Transport Services Ltd and Angela, his bookkeeper systematically stripped the company of tens of thousands of pounds.

Charles Rathbone [61] received a 16 month prison sentence and his 54 year old wife was jailed for 12 months. This was followed by a confiscation investigation, carried out by the Midlands RART.

At the confiscation hearing, the pair, between them,  were ordered to pay a confiscation order of £85,000, a compensation order of £62,387, plus court costs of £10,000.

Detective Inspector Andy Bannister of the Midlands RART said “ This was an excellent result and we will continue to work alongside the regional Police forces in pursuing the recovery of funds from those involved in crime”

 Stoke-On-Trent Crown Court