MILLIONAIRE conman John Hirst could be ordered to hand over his fortune.

Hirst, of Brighouse, and his wife Linda face losing their homes and luxury cars in the wake of convictions for fraud.

The Serious Fraud Office, who led the inquiry in the couple’s role in a so-called Ponzi investment scheme, have confirmed they will be seeking a confiscation order.

That means when the Hirsts and former accountant Richard Pollett are brought back to court for sentencing on August 31, the judge could also order that their ill-gotten gains are seized.

And that could mean investors who lost an estimated £5m to the fraudsters could get back some of their life savings.

During a lengthy trial at Bradford Crown Court, conman Hirst, 61, of Millroyd Mill, admitted his role in a Ponzi scheme, which saw British expats in Mallorca and investors in the UK duped out of an estimated £10m.

His estranged wife, Linda, 62, was convicted on three charges of money laundering, involving sums totalling nearly £740,000. She was also found guilty of deception.

And Richard Pollett, a 70-year-old British accountant living in Mallorca, was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud.

The jury dismissed money laundering charges against Daniel Hirst, John Hirst’s 35-year-old solicitor son, and Zoe Waite, 37, Linda Hirst’s daughter.

During the trial, the court heard how the couple lived a luxury life in the sun, spending hundreds of thousands on their wedding celebrations, cruises, holidays and jewellery.

Now all have been warned by trial judge Jonathan Durham Hall that they face jail.

An SFO spokesman said: “It is likely that we will be asking the court to consider a confiscation order, in which the judge will determine how much each defendant should pay.

“They will be given time to realise their assets but the order can then become a compensation order in which victims of the fraud can submit claims to get back some of the money they have lost.

“If the defendants default on the order they could face a further sentence from the court” .

New of the verdicts has been welcomed in Mallorca.

Local journalist Hugh Ash, who tipped off the SFO about the Hirsts’ activities said many people had become victims.

He said: “In the many years of living within a few kilometres of each other on Mallorca, John Hirst and I never met, but I knew him by reputation as an ambitious social climber, weaving his web around the island’s British expatriate social circuit.

“In fact, he joined almost every club that met for a jolly – from the exclusive Santa Ponsa Country Club, a prestigious local golf club to The 41 Club, English Speakers Residents Association and the Majorca Cricket Club.

“Hirst was an impeccably-dressed charmer, glad-handing all within touching distance, oozing confidence and bonhomie, a stellar presence at any shindig, who’d assembled an impressive network of contacts, including Paul Abrey, of the British Consul.

“He certainly lived up to every euro of a high net-worth lifestyle … the lavish villa, a Mercedes for him, a chic convertible for wife Linda, exotic holidays, designer wardrobes and expensive bling, not forgetting the obligatory motor yacht.

“A real, Mallorcan success story, you’d think, for a man from Brighouse, West Yorkshire, who arrived on the island in 2003, apparently penniless – according to a source – and forced to eke out a living as a day labourer, commuting to jobs on a push-bike from a rented flat in Calvia Town.”

Ash became suspicious of Hirst’s claims and carried out checks, including a call to Financial Securities Authority, before reporting his concerns to the SFO.