Police are hunting a missing £30million a fraud family made in a VAT scam, amid fears they may have splashed it on holidays, sports cars and marathon gambling sessions.
Geoffrey, 57, Joshua, 26, and Andrew Copp, 52, are currently serving a combined 27 years for pocketing more than £45million in the largest payroll fraud of its kind in the UK.
Police have managed to claw back more than £16.6m of the Copps’ haul – but are not sure where the rest of the money is.
The trio were jailed last year after it emerged their firm Central Payroll Specialists had not paid VAT for 36 months.
The family spent their ill-gotten millions on lavish homes, holidays and cars. Pictured: Geoffrey Copp’s home in Stamore, north west London
The family took the tax from the recruitment agencies that used their services and used the millions to fund a lavish lifestyle.
Joshua gambled more than a million pounds in a single session at a Las Vegas casino and posed for pictures in private jets, casinos and with bundles of cash in briefcases.
His £4million home was referred to as an ‘Aladdin’s cave’ of luxury goods during his trial – with officers finding Bentleys worth £300,000 and Rolex and Audemars Piguet watches worth a whopping £50,000.
His father Geoffrey, who owned four mansions in the UK and one in Malaga, bought valuable race horses and paid more than £120,000 for training and stabling.
When police raided his home in Stanmore, north London they found £55,000 cash squirreled away – even inside a Bentley GTC Convertible on the driveway.
He also bought three Bentley Continentals in cash between 2013 and 2015.
His brother Andrew owned eight homes, six mortgage-free including one in Malaga.
The thieving family splashed out on a fleet of luxury cars, race horses, trips to Las Vegas and mansions in Britain and around the world. A Lamborghini found at one of their homes
Each of the three men had a fleet of luxury cars, including Bentleys and Lamborghinis
Several Rolex watches, works of art, a Lamborghini, Bentley and Range Rover were found at his home in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire.
A judge agreed confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 at a hearing at Wood Green Crown Court on Monday .
Geoffrey Copp was found to have benefited from his crimes to the tune of £11,535,729.
His available assets were £7,761,745 and he was ordered to pay this amount within three months or face a further nine years in prison.
Andrew Copp was found to have benefited by £8,053,209 and had £6,461,010 in available assets.
He was also ordered to pay this amount within three months or face a further nine years in jail.
And Joshua Copp was found to have benefited by £9,873,513 and have £2,460,777 in available assets.
He was ordered to pay this amount within three months or face a further eight years in prison.
Geoffrey Copp’s home in Stanmore included a swimming pool and Bentley GTC Convertible
As well as splashing money on gambling sessions in Vegas, they bought expensive watches
Essex Police has pledged to keep investigating to try and find out if they have hidden the rest of the money.
Detective Inspector Paul Dibell, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: ‘This is the biggest combined confiscation order we have had as a force for a single case and sends a clear message that criminals will be made to pay for their crimes.
‘This is not the end of this matter as a significant amount of money remains outstanding, having been spent on their lavish lifestyles.
‘We will continue to monitor criminals like this on their release from prison and, where justified, ensure that any future assets are considered for removal in order to ensure they pay back the money they have stolen as part of their criminal activity.’
Tim Clarke, assistant director, HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, said: ‘Our work doesn’t stop when a fraudster is jailed, we make sure criminals do not profit from their crimes by recovering the stolen money to fund our vital public services.
‘Our message is clear – tax crime doesn’t pay.
‘They must pay back the equivalent to £16 million or face even more years behind bars – and still owe the money.
‘Working closely with HMRC, further recoveries of £4,581,565 have been made by the liquidator of Quality Premier Services Ltd, the company being used to perpetrate the fraud at the time of the arrests in September 2015.
‘Tax fraud is a serious crime and I ask anyone with information about possible fraudsters to report it to HMRC online or contact our fraud hotline on 0800 788 887.’