TWO fraudsters have been ordered to pay back thousands of pounds after profiting in a horse racing betting scam.

Daig Head, 41, and Lee Taylor, 41, were convicted of money laundering in Brighton in February.

They were part of a nationwide £3.5 million operation, and have now been ordered to pay back thousands to victims after confiscation orders were made at Hove Crown Court this month.

Head, of Fitch Drive, Brighton, is serving a seven-year sentence, while Taylor, of Montpelier Road, Brighton, was given a 20-month suspended prison sentence.

At the hearing Head’s assets of £2,114 were confiscated, while for Taylor some £29,285 will be paid as compensation from his assets of £61,784.

Now police say the duo will check to see if the duo have any additional assets to claw back as much money as possible.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Richardson said: “This was a complex case of money laundering, which we believe they had been operating for about five years.

“It came to us via national Action Fraud in November 2015.

“Once the pair had been sentenced in February one of our expert financial investigators completed an in-depth examination of their dealings.

“Now we have also been able to secure these court orders, working with the Crown Prosecution Service.

“Head took the lead in contacting known horse racing gamblers and managed to get them to place bets into the accounts of himself and Taylor, but then withdrew the money in cash.

“To keep the fraud going Head would then ask for more money from the gamblers to recoup their ‘losses’, or said the ‘winnings’ were tied up in an off-shore company so they needed an advance fee to release it.”

Taylor was charged in relation to three victims, and Head was charged in relation to seven.

Victims were based across the country, and placed bets on horse racing through online or telephone accounts after anonymous tips. They then handed over cash as a percentage in expectation of fake winnings

DCI Richardson said police will regularly check the accounts and assets of both men to make sure as much money is recovered as possible.