THE former boss of a landfill site who ran a massive fraud cheating taxpayers and his bosses out of almost £1 million has been ordered to pay back more than £200,000.

Malcolm Smart, who has already been freed from a two year jail term imposed last August, may now have to sell his Broad Town home to meet the bill.

The court was told the 52-year-old has also been forced to hand over three cars which the police will sell at auction after he delivers them to them.

And his partner in crime Victor Millin, 65, from Blunsdon, has been ordered to pay £19,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act for his part in the scam.

Although their fraud was worth more than £900,000, Smart has been found to have benefitted from crime by £350,000.

Judge Euan Ambrose, sitting at Swindon Crown Court, ordered he pay £211,098.33p in the next six months or face a three-year jail term.

Millin, of Ermin Street, Blunsdon, was found to have benefited by £19,000 and must pay that in six months, or face a 12 month sentence.

The judge's ruling brings to an end a three-and-a-half-year investigation into the fraud which benefitted waste disposal companies using the landfill site.

Speaking after the hearing Det Sgt Huw Jones, of Swindon police economic crime unit, said they were pleased with the outcome of the long running case.

He said: “As far as we are concerned the proceeds of Crime Act has been used to recover some of the criminal assets from Mr Smart and Mr Millin.

“The amounts reflect somewhat their involvement in it, it is not an insignificant amount that we are receiving from Mr Smart. It is a long, drawn out process, though we are talking big figures, we can only get what is available.

“We are actively endeavouring to ensure that nobody profits from their criminality: this is another example of that.

“It has been a satisfactory conclusion to a hard worked case. We are satisfied that justice has been done.

“I would like to comment on the officer in the case, Det Con Bev Dennison, and Andrew Stonell of the financial investigation team.”

And Mark Worsley, who prosecuted the case, also thanked DC Dennison and Mr Stonell for their hard work.

Smart was the boss of Sand Farm Landfill, in Calne, and Millin the weighbridge operator, when they deliberately under weighed lorries dumping their load at the site.

The pair organised the under-weighing of lorry loads of waste arriving at the tip in exchange for kickbacks from customers.

Covert surveillance of loads arriving on a day in early October 2009 revealed at least three were under-weighed, costing the firm £3,500.

A few days later auditors went to the tip and noticed the takings rocketed when they were there, then falling again when they left.

Both men were spoken to by their employers Viridor, and then the police, and they admitted what they had been doing.

They either under weighed the loads, misclassified waste or simply ignored some vehicles arriving at the site.

Between the start of April 2007 and October 10, 2009, they cost the company £907,255; of which about £200,000 was in landfill tax and VAT.

Although Smart said he received nothing for his deceit, Millin accepted his co-defendant had given him brown envelopes stuffed with cash totalling between £10,000 and £20,000.

An investigation was launched into seven directors of waste disposal companies who may have benefited from the scam, but no charges were brought against any of them.