A brothel owner has been ordered to pay back more than £600,000 after claiming she was wheelchair-bound.
While claiming disability benefits, Natalie Davis went on holidays abroad, hot air balloon rides, rode elephants, flew down zip lines and climbed mountains - as well as running a brothel.
The 52-year-old, of Hewish, was initially sentenced in January 2019 after admitting controlling prostitution for financial gain over a 10-year period in Weston-super-Mare, reports Bristol Live.
And in August 2019 she was prosecuted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for benefit fraud she committed while managing the brothel.
She has now been ordered to pay £650,000 as part of a confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
At a hearing held on Friday July 24, Bristol Crown Court was told Natalie Davis had financially benefitted from her criminality.
Police and the DWP have since worked together to arrange a confiscation order against Davis.
She was found to have assets to the value of £650,000 and therefore ordered to pay the full amount to the court.
From this money the amount which she had defrauded the DWP, will be paid back to them in compensation.
Dr Kirstie Cogram, manager of Avon and Somerset Police’s Complex Crime Unit, said: “We are committed to seizing any assets gained as a result of criminal activity.
“It is not acceptable that criminals, such as Natalie Davis, benefit from illegal activities and we will relentlessly pursue them through the courts to ensure their proceeds are taken away from them.
“We hope cases such as this show criminals that they will not be allowed to benefit from crime.”
