Loan shark ordered to pay back £85,000

Following a hearing at Preston Crown Court on Thursday, May 25, David Jackson, 59, of Cabo Roig, Alicante, Spain, was given 3 months to pay the lump sum of money or face an extra 12 months in prison.

Jackson, together with his son-in-law Mark Hayhurst, ran an illegal money lending business in the city.

David Jackson was sentenced to two years in prison back in March 2016 after pleading guilty to counts of illegal money lending and money laundering at an earlier hearing.

Mark Hayhurst, 32, of Garsdale Road in Ribbleton was also given a nine-month sentence, suspended for two years.

The England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) working in partnership with Lancashire County Council’s Trading Standards Service and Lancashire Police, executed warrants at the loan sharks properties in November 2014, seizing loan documentation and a quantity of cash.

During a sentencing hearing in March 2016, prosecutor Ben Mills told the court how Jackson, after leaving his job as a collector for a legitimate loan company, set up his own illegal money lending business and encouraged many of the company’s customers to take out loans from him instead.

Mr Mills told the court that records seized showed that victims were charged £60 interest for every £100 borrowed.

Jackson and Hayhurst had issued loans to at least 142 individuals during the period that they were operating their illegal money lending business.

Although Jackson had declared some of his income from the money lending to HMRC, the prosecution explained how he was hiding a significant percentage of his business by not submitting lists of his most lucrative victims to his accountant.

Mr Recorder TJ Hannam described Jackson as ‘persuasive, insidious and damaging’ upon sentencing.

He added: “Your victims came from the most vulnerable areas of society, including the elderly and those addicted to gambling. These are very serious offences and it’s clear in this case that your behaviour was clearly criminal.”