A FRAUDSTER involved in a million-pound scam must pay back £70,000 or spend a further 18 months in prison.

In November 2009, Trevor Alfred Morris, 65, from Pollington, near Selby, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail for money laundering after a major investigation by North Yorkshire Police's Financial Investigation Unit uncovered his part in a £1.4m theft from Aviva PLC, formerly Norwich Union, in York. On Thursday, Morris faced further punishment when a judge at Leeds Crown Court ruled he had benefited to the sum of £69,430 as a result of money laundering.

The court heard that on the day of his conviction, Morris had moved a substantial amount of money from his bank account.

Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, Morris was ordered to pay back the full amount within six months or face a further 18 months behind bars. If he pays the money back, it will be paid in compensation to Aviva. Detective Sergeant Dave Edwards, of North Yorkshire Police’s financial investigation unit, said: “The message is clear: why should criminals benefit financially from their crimes? The Proceeds of Crime Act ensures that they don’t, and a lot of the money confiscated goes back into the community to help fund projects.”

Further confiscation hearings against the other men involved in the case will be heard in November.

The £1.4 million fraud involved taking money from dormant accounts.