Former private schoolgirl who was once Britain's most wanted woman has jail ... trends now
Formerly one of the UK's most wanted women, a former public schoolgirl has had her sentence more than doubled for a massive fraud that laundered nearly £1billion.
Sarah Panitzke, 48, was living a life of luxury in Santa Barbara in Spain before she was spotted walking her dogs and recaptured last year after nine years on the run from the taxman.
The organised crime gang member was jailed for eight years for the original offences in June 2022. She and her 16 co-conspirators were handed sentences that totalled more than 135 years.
Panitzke was given another nine years in prison at City of London Magistrates' Court on Friday for failing to pay the £2,455,913 confiscation order. She still owes the full amount plus interest.
The total amount outstanding, including interest, which continues to accrue at a rate of £538 a day, reached £3,782,779 as of February 2023.
Panitzke (left) was given another nine years in prison at City of London Magistrates' Court on Friday. She was finally recaptured in Spain in 2022 following nearly a decade on the run
Panitzke was identified as part of an organised crime group responsible for laundering approximately £1 billion from a mobile phone VAT fraud. She and her co-conspirators were originally sentenced to 135 years in total
Panitzke, originally from York, absconded in May 2013 while standing trial for money laundering offences and subsequently featured in National Crime Agency (NCA) most-wanted appeals.
After hiding under a fake identity for nine years, she was arrested by Spanish Guardia Civil while walking her dogs her in a village in the region of Tarragona.
Nicol Sheppard, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service at HMRC, said Panitzke's actions had deprived the UK of vital public money.
He said: 'Panitzke was part of a criminal gang that stole millions of pounds of taxpayers' money and deprived our public services of vital funding. She failed to repay the money she stole and now faces even more time behind bars, and still owes the money.
'Sarah Panitzke played a pivotal
