You'll stay behind bars, conman told

3:02am Friday 16th November 2007

A CONMAN who operated a worldwide loans fraud from his North-East home faces a further three years in prison after failing to hand over proceeds from his crimes.

George Steen has been jailed for a further three years and eight months for defaulting on more than £750,000 of a £1.7m confiscation order.

Justice Nicholas Evans, sitting at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court, in London, told Steen his debt would "follow him to the grave".

The 58-year-old, who lived in Geneva Road, Darlington, and his agents, David Andrews, and Dennis Alexander, both of East Sussex, offered business people around the world bogus loans and charged thousands of pounds in administration costs.

The gang received hundreds of applications for loans, ranging from £500,000 to £20m.

The applicants never received a penny, while Steen netted £2.8m, which was used to fund a luxury lifestyle in the Philippines.

Steen was originally convicted and given a six-year sentence for an offence of conspiracy to defraud in June 2003 when the confiscation order was made.

A further six months' imprisonment was added after he escaped to the Philippines while on bail.

In February, he was convicted following a second trial of deception and attempted deception.

He was sentenced to a further three years in prison, but would have been released on parole early next year if he had not been given the latest sentence.

Yesterday, Justice Evans told Steen that unless he paid the outstanding amount, he would be before the courts again when he was released from prison.

Next month, Steen - a former glamour photographer, acupuncturist and a professional singer - will appear at Southwark Crown Court, in London, to face further confiscation proceedings.

The hearing relates to an order made at this year's deception trial.