A MAN convicted of deception over several properties - including one in the Huddersfield area - has been ordered to pay almost £1.5m or face another 10 years in jail.
And a Huddersfield woman who helped him - Tracey Ryder, of Mountjoy Road, Edgerton - must repay £93,000.
Mortgage broker Noel Ward, of Barwick in Elmet, near Leeds, was convicted of five counts of obtaining a money transfer by deception.
He is already serving a six-year prison sentence.
He was among six defendants who were given a total of almost 16 years at Sheffield Crown Court last year after an investigation by West Yorkshire Police and the Serious Fraud Office.
The investigation was into the abuse of mortgage lending procedures relating to properties in Huddersfield, Barnsley, Wakefield, Leeds and Aberford, near the city.
At a hearing at the Sheffield court, Ward was ordered to pay back £1.48m within 12 months or effectively have his sentence increased to 16 years.
Det Chief Insp Steve Waite, from West Yorkshire Police's Economic Crime Unit, said: "Ward's court appearance and sentencing was only the start of the process which is undertaken in all criminal cases where the defendant has benefited.
"He, like many other criminals, now faces a substantially longer time in prison if he fails to pay back the money stolen from the community."
The judge praised Det Con Michael Dyson, a financial investigator with the unit, for his skill in tracking down the proceeds of these crimes.
"Ward was a very difficult and devious defendant," said Det Chief Insp Waite.
"This outcome highlights how seriously we take this type of offending by professional people who we trust to handle our money properly.
"I hope it also sends out a clear message to all those tempted to commit crime for personal gain."
