A BUSINESSMAN helped to mastermind a massive fraud and money laundering operation involving the illegal importation of £4million of high-performance cars.

Thomas Beard, of Clayton-le-Dale is one of three men who have admitted their part in the scam, involving a host of vehicles such as Mercedes, BMWs and Land Rovers.

The 46-year-old, and his co-accused, now face having up to £2million worth of assets - including property, land and cars - stripped from them by the courts.

It is estimated they defrauded the taxman out of at least £500,000 in VAT.

Beard, of Acorn Lodge gypsy caravan site, admitted conspiracy to defraud and money laundering when he appeared before Preston Crown Court yesterday.

James William Mounsey, 33, and Alexander Howard, 29, both of Morecambe, admitted similar charges this week.

After the hearing, police said the men had used false, lost or stolen passports to carry out the fraud, and even established bogus companies But when the taxman moved to reclaim VAT payments from the fraudulent firms, they discovered they had been closed down.

An 18-month fraud and money laundering inquiry - codenamed Operation Anfield - saw police travel to car showrooms in Holland, Belgium and Germay.

Police said top-of-the range Mercedes, BMWs and LandRovers were the group's main targets - and said the men even used the passport of a dead man on one occasion to secure their prize.

They said the men set up one on-line company, Go Racing, with false accounts and false credentials.

Det Supt Dave Brian, head of Lancashire Police's serious and organised crime squad, said the three men involved had made significant gains as the result of a 'serious and sophisticated fraud'.

"Now there will be confiscation proceedings where we will seek to strip these individuals of their criminal assets," he said.

Police have been able to 'impound' a number of the convicted men holdings, including property and land in Lancashire and Scotland.

The charges relate to a period dating from April 2004 to April 2006 and the men were arrested when around 150 officers took part in the Operation Anfield raids, at around 6am on April 25, 2006. .

No evidence has been offered against Beard's wife Naomi, 44, also of Acorn Lodge, and Mounsey's wife Rebecca Jane Mounsey, 29, also of Morecambe and another Morecambe man in the dock, Trevor Thomas Bennett, 62.

Money laundering charges against them will lie on the court file.

The three convicted men are set to be sentenced in October at Preston Crown Court.

Judge Christopher Cornwall has warned them that they could face a signifcant jail sentence.