Sukhdev Singh has been returned to prison after failing to pay a confiscation order imposed following his conviction for defrauding a vulnerable Harrogate man.
A former chartered accountant from Leeds has been jailed for a further five years after failing to pay a confiscation order worth more than £490,000.
Sukhdev Singh, 78, of Chelwood Drive, Leeds, was originally sentenced in 2022 to more than five years in prison for fraud following an investigation by North Yorkshire Police.
York Crown Court heard that Singh had exploited a vulnerable Harrogate man who had significant disabilities and a learning age of 12.
Singh fraudulently acquired the victim's mortgage-free home, valued at £500,000, transferred more than £34,000 from a savings account in Gibraltar and attempted to gain control of a property the victim owned in Spain.
Singh had previously been a business associate of the victim's father during the 1980s and re-established contact after the victim's parents died, offering to help him.
A subsequent investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act found Singh had benefited from criminal conduct totalling £1.19 million and had available assets valued at £490,284.98.
In August 2025, York Crown Court ordered him to pay the full available amount within three months or face an additional five years in prison.
Police said that despite unsuccessful appeals and repeated extensions, Singh made no payment.
At Leeds Magistrates' Court on 27 August 2026, the five-year default sentence was activated and Singh was returned to prison.
Ian Sharp, from North Yorkshire Police's Economic Crime Unit, said officers would “relentlessly pursue” individuals over the proceeds of crime and confirmed that enforcement action to recover the outstanding money would continue.
The victim died earlier this year before receiving the compensation due from the confiscation proceedings. His estate is expected to receive the money once it is recovered.
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