Teeth-bleach scam family ordered to repay £1.6m
ACOUPLE and their son, convicted of selling unsafe teeth-whitening products, have been ordered to pay back £1.6m of their illgotten gains.
John Barry Hargreaves, his wife, Jean, and son, Matthew Hargreaves, from Knutsford, Cheshire, were prosecuted by Powys council for running a fraudulent business in September 2016.
Between October 2012 and July 2015 they used dishonest practices by making false claims about teeth-whitening products and untrue claims about which company was selling the products at events throughout Britain. The men were jailed for 18 months. Jean Hargreaves, who was also involved, was jailed for six months, suspended for two years, after admitting making false claims about the products and supplier businesses.
Financial investigators launched an inquiry to determine the amount of money they had made from their scam and a hearing was held this week at Caernarfon Crown Court.
Judge Philip Harris-Jenkins was told the trio had made £2.5m from the con and ordered Matthew Hargreaves, 45, to pay back £1,096,500 within three months.
The court heard he owned seven properties and six of these will now be sold. If he fails to pay he will have to serve a seven-year prison term.
His mother, 72, will have to pay £519,940 and his father, 71, must sell a Range Rover car valued at £945.
These amounts must also be paid within three months or she must serve a five-year jail term and Hargreaves a three-month term.
After the hearing Powys council chief trading standards officer Clive Jones said: “This Proceeds of Crime Act action has identified the individuals behind this fraud gained £2.5m and will have to pay back £1.6m from their available assets.
“This is a clear deterrent to any criminal that Trading Standards will not tolerate unfair practices which affect consumers and legitimate traders.”
The sentence followed a three-year nationwide investigation led by Powys council with the co-operation of the General Dentist Council (GDC).
The teeth-whitening products did not comply with safety laws and were unsafe due to harmful levels of hydrogen peroxide, with one victim receiving hospital treatment for burns after using a product.
The investigation began in July 2013 at the Royal Welsh Show at Builth Wells
Lee Reynolds, prosecuting, told the court council officers attended and were suspicious of the claims made by the family.
“These suspicions were well founded when it was discovered the company behind the products had been formally dissolved several years before.
“A test purchase was made and analysis found the product contained harmful levels of hydrogen peroxide – some 110 times the legal limit for products that are sold directly to consumers. Numerous unsubstantiated and false claims were discovered on banners at the event,” the lawyer said.
Following the arrest of one suspect and the seizure of all products and banners in Powys at the event the Operation Gleam inquiry found the family traded at some 150 venues across the UK and also online.
This illegal trade appeared to have continued for about 10 years.
More than 30 victims were identified, with one victim hospitalised.