Holmfirth father and son ordered to pay back cash from forgery scam

Christopher Gaunt was jailed for six-and-a-half years for his role in the fake money operation

A father and son who masterminded a fake money operation worth nearly £1m have been ordered to pay back proceeds.

Christopher Gaunt and son Jordan were sentenced last year after admitting running a "sophisticated and lucrative" counterfeit scam in Holmfirth.

At Leeds Crown Court, Gaunt, 59, was ordered to pay back £217,390.47 he earned from his crimes.

His 27-year-old son was told he must pay back £3,840.32 of the £6,114.14 he had accrued.

Christopher Gaunt was jailed for six-and-a-half years, while his son was handed a two-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to making fake money with intent to supply at Leeds Crown Court last December.

The forgeries included a variety of notes including English and Scottish currency.

The court was told how piles of fake banknotes amounting to £200,000 and a cannabis farm were found at Christopher Gaunt home's on Bank Street in 2020.

In a raid at another site in nearby Scissett, dyes and printers used to make the fake notes were found.

Investigations found the pair had the materials used to produce around £977,000 of forged paper bank notes for sale to criminals.

At a confiscation hearing on Friday, both men were told they must repay the money by October 6 2023, or face a possible increase to their custodial sentences.

In one raid in Holmfirth, police found fake banknotes, printers and ink

Ch Insp Lee Townley, of the Economic Crime Unit, said: "We welcome the substantial joint confiscation imposed on these men by the courts, which ensures they have to pay back every available penny of the money they made from crime.

"They masterminded a substantial counterfeit currency ring and we believe the 'cash' they created was being used to fund crime in communities so it is a good thing for residents that this supply chain has been broken."