Fraudster's luxury cars and home for sale

A Staffordshire crime boss who was part of a £138 million VAT scam faces losing his millionaire's mansion and fleet of personalised cars.

Craig Johnson's eight-bedroom Grade II-listed 17th century stately home near Stafford has been put up for sale as the Government battles to recover the cost of his massive tax swindle.

Johnson, who is serving a 12-year jail term, has been ordered to pay back £26 million or face a further decade inside.

Johnson was one of 21 people behind one of the biggest VAT swindles, known as carousel fraud, in British history.

The complex paperwork fraud focuses on the apparent movement of high value goods, such as mobile phones or computer chips, across European borders.

Johnson used the profits from the £138 million mobile phone VAT scam to fund a pop star lifestyle at the expense of taxpayers. As a result his home, Meaford Hall, has been put on the market with a price-tag of £2.75 million.

It comes complete with swimming pool, gym, spa and helicopter landing pad. Johnson also bought two helicopters to fly around the estate.

The contents of his quadruple garage, a Bentley Arnage, Ferrari 355, Range Rover and a Ducati motorbike will also be auctioned next month.

They will go under the hammer with a host of distinctive personalised number plates including BA51 ERD, 55 CJ, 1 DUX, W1LKE and MA51 ERJ. One number plate alone, CRA 1C, is expected to raise at least £40,000, while many of the others could also be worth five figure sums.

Richard Blackman, director of auction house SHM Smith Hodgkinson, said the number plates and cars should fetch at least £250,000. He said: "This is the most sizeable sale of criminal assets that I have dealt with. There are also some residential properties up for sale.

"As for the house, no disrespect to footballers but it is probably even better than theirs. It was the birthplace of Admiral John Jervis.

"The lots should make a fair few quid although everyone is credit conscious at the moment and the boy's toys are the first things to go.

"We are expecting really good money for CRA 1C. It was valued independently at £40,000."

Robert Alder, of HM Revenue and Customs, said: "This case resulted in some of the longest prison sentences handed out by the courts for this type of crime."

The appointment-only auction will take place at an undisclosed location, near Stratford upon Avon on Tuesday June 23 from 10am.