The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Canoe death fraudster to pay £40,000
CANOE FRAUDSTER John Darwin has been ordered by a court to pay a £40,000 lump sum over to the authorities after two pensions matured.
A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Teesside Crown Court heard he had so far only paid back £121 of the £679,073.62 he was found to have benefited from after faking his own death.
Darwin, 63, of Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool, did not challenge the application by the Crown to have the money removed from his bank accounts, which are the subject of restraints.
The pensions were understood to be legitimately earned from his time as a teacher and a prison officer.
After the hearing Jolyon Perks, who prosecuted, said this was not the end of the matter for Darwin, and should he come into more money, further applications to take back the cash would be made.
Anne Darwin, now separated from her husband, has repaid more than £500,000 under a separate Proceeds of Crime order after selling properties held in her name.
She still has around £ 177,000 outstanding to pay back.
John Darwin was reported missing in a canoe in the North Sea in March 2002.
His wife collected more than £500,000 in life insurance payouts, while he hid in their home, leaving their two sons to believe he was dead.
In December 2007, Darwin walked into a London police station, claiming he had amnesia.
His wife pretended to be shocked until a photograph emerged of them posing together after his supposed death.