FSA secures £70k confiscation order in illegal meat fraud case
© FSA More than £70,000 has been confiscated from a convicted food fraudster and his company following a major investigation by the Food Standards Agency’s National Food Crime Unit, involving unsafe food entering the human supply chain.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Southwark Council have secured two confiscation orders totalling £70,967 at the Central Criminal Court under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Anthony Fear and Fears Animal Products Limited were each ordered to pay £35,483.
See also: Custodial sentences for fraudsters trading dodgy meat
The case follows an extensive investigation led by the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) and local authority officers in the London area.
Investigators uncovered 1.9t of Category 3 animal by-products at an illegal meat cutting plant.
Items included whole and cut chickens, lamb’s testicles and beef burgers, which were being processed for entry into the human food chain.
In August 2025, Mr Fear, the sole director of Fears Animal Products Ltd, was sentenced to 42 months in prison for conspiracy to defraud by placing food not fit for human consumption on the market.
He was also disqualified from acting as a company director for six years.
Three additional men linked to the operation received custodial sentences on 26 August 2025 for their roles in diverting unsafe food back into circulation.
Sentencing for Fears Animal Products Ltd is expected in the coming months.
Nowhere to hide
NFCU senior financial investigator Yvonne Barwani said: “This result sends a clear message – whether you are an individual or a company, there is nowhere to hide.
“If you have profited from criminal activity, we will find you and take those profits from you. The action taken by our financial investigation team reinforces that crime simply does not pay.”
Andrew Quinn, head of the NFCU, said: “Securing confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act is a key part of our strategy against serious food fraud.
“Not only do food criminals such as Anthony Fear face custodial sentences, they will also be stripped of any profits made from their criminality.”