Blackmailing brothel criminal who made £94k must pay back £1

A man who made £94,951 from crimes connected with a brothel in a leafy Preston suburb has been ordered to pay back £1 of ill gotten gains.
Sicarius McGrathSicarius McGrath
Sicarius McGrath

Sicarius McGrath, also known as Anthony Harrington, was previously jailed for eight and a half years at Preston Crown Court following a sickening conspiracy to blackmail a woman in which he threatened to cut off her fingers.

The Preston criminal was found guilty of conspiracy to blackmail, following a two month trial at Preston Crown Court last year.

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Preston Crown Court heard when McGrath 36, latterly of Wince Close, Middleton, Manchester, was arrested he was in possession of a CS gas canister and cocaine.

Police examined his phone and found evidence which proved he controlled prostitutes at the house he rented, including text messages agreeing prices with clients for the women’s sexual services.

He also set up a website for an escort service and sent out photographs to potential clients in order to advertise the women he employed.

McGrath also admitted charges of possessing an offensive weapon, possessing Class A drugs and controlling prostitutes for financial gain whilst managing the brothel at Victoria Road, Fulwood.

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He was given a Serious Crime Prevention Order for five years and will be banned from driving for two years upon his release.

During a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing, following a financial probe, a judge found he benefitted from his crimes by £94,951, but he was found to have no assets the authorities could seize.

However, he was warned his finances could be revisited in future.

Judge James Adkin ordered him to pay a nominal £1 order.

In a previous hearing co-defendant Suhail Patel, 34, of Blackpool Road, Ashton-On-Ribble, Preston, was jailed for seven years after using a phone in his prison cell at HMP Haverigg to conspire with McGrath to collect a debt from a woman in Preston.

Another defendant, Paul Williams, was sentenced to 18 months for assisting an offender by supplying transport to McGrath.