A churchwarden who carried out a targeted campaign of manipulation against two elderly neighbours has been ordered to pay £146,561.02.

Benjamin Field, 29, embarked on a relationship with dedicated churchgoer Peter Farquhar, befriending the 69-year-old so that he would change his will in Field’s favour.

Once Field was set to be the main beneficiary of Mr Farquhar’s will, he started plying the retired lecturer with a cocktail of drugs and alcohol, slowly poisoning him to death.

A burglar who helped to steal millions of pounds worth of jewellery from Hatton Garden in London has been given a further seven years in prison after not paying his confiscation order.

John Collins, 78, was part of a gang of six men who burgled the Hatton Garden Safety Deposit Company in April 2015. The group, wearing high-visibility jackets entered the London premises over a Bank Holiday weekend, overcame the alarms and drilled their way into the safety deposit vault in the basement.

They left with around £13.69m of gold, jewellery and precious stones.

Proceeds of crime is the term given to money or assets gained by criminals during the course of their criminal activity. The authorities, including the CPS, have powers to seek to confiscate these assets so that crime doesn’t pay. By taking out the profits that fund crime, we can help disrupt the cycle and prevent further offences. 

The CPS has a specialist unit – CPS Proceeds of Crime (CPSPOC) – which is dedicated to asset recovery.