£200,000 criminal pair given jail terms
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Published Date:
13 September 2008
By Andrew Robinson
A COUPLE who led a life of luxury on £200,000 obtained through benefit fraud and other criminal activity have been jailed.
Boxing promoters Michael and Christine Dalton admitted laundering the cash amassed from criminal activity at their boxing club in Grimsby.
The pair are the father and stepmother of notorious criminal Richard Dalton, who carried out a series of armed raids across Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire with his partner in crime Michael Lydon, also from Grimsby.
The pair fled their high-profile trial in 2001 and spent two years on the run as "Britain's
most wanted" before being captured and handed long jail sentences.
Michael and Christine Dalton also admitted falsely obtaining benefits of £33,000 and £12,346 respectively.
Sentencing them yesterday at Leeds Crown Court Judge Paul Hoffman said: "You were both wallowing in money and using it to buy property in Grimsby and Thailand.
"There were two distinct frauds, long-term fraud and money laundering."
Stephen Hellman QC, prosecuting, told the court it was accepted that the sum the Daltons admitted to converting or transferring – not less than £200,000 – was the proceeds of their criminal activity between January 1997 and July 2005.
Michael Dalton, 60, pleaded guilty to two offences of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice between January 2002 and May 2003, and obtaining about £33,000 in benefit by deception.
He claimed incapacity benefit while working as a labourer and had been caught on video claiming to be crippled but seen carrying heavy suitcases.
Christine Dalton, 52, pleaded guilty to obtaining £12,346 in tax credits by deception through a statement made in July 2003.
The court heard the pair, of Weelsby Avenue in Grimsby, had 56 bank and building accounts, 14 credit cards and 17 National Savings accounts.
They bought houses in Grimsby as well as land in Thailand on which they built a house with a swimming pool.
Their main home in Grimsby was also fitted with an American walk-in fridge and sauna.
They purchased five separate houses before paying off the mortgages in cash and transferring the properties to other members of the family including Michael Dalton's daughter Paula and their 13-year-old granddaughter, who could not legally own the houses as she was under age.
Paula Dalton, 40, denied two offences of assisting another to retain the benefit of crime and two offences of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, but the Crown offered no evidence and they were ordered to lie on file.
Defending Michael Dalton, Nigel Edwards told the court that Dalton had a psychiatric condition that required medication and that he was now on incapacity benefit because a debilitating condition.
Gordon Stubbs, defending Christine Dalton, said she had been diagnosed with depression because of the proceedings.
Judge Hoffman said: "I am satisfied that it is one of the most complicated frauds and cover-ups that I have dealt with.
"It was a web of lies, you put property in family members' names and even into the names of grandchildren who were not old enough to own property."
The pair were both jailed for two-and-a-half years, but Michael Dalton must also serve a further three years for breaching a suspended sentence.
After the case, Det Insp Paul Welton of Humberside Police Economic Crime Unit, said he was delighted the pair had been brought to justice.
He said: "The pair committed large scale money laundering and benefit fraud to obtain payments to which they were not entitled. They then laundered the proceeds of this fraud, disguising the proceeds through a maze of bank accounts, premium bonds and properties.
"The Daltons led a life of luxury; buying land in Thailand and building a villa on it with a swimming pool; racking up more than £26,000 on travel and air fares, and spending in excess of £15,000 on their house in Grimsby and fitting it with luxurious items including a sauna.
"They stole from the public purse and enjoyed living the high life that the average, law abiding members of society cannot afford to experience.
"They have been brought to book as a result of a huge amount of hard work by the Economic Crime Team at Humberside Police.