An accountant jailed after he conned the Bermuda Government out of $2 million will have to pay back $820,000 after his assets were seized.

Gambling addict Jeffrey Bevan lived a life of luxury — he drove expensive cars, enjoyed extravagant holidays and bought shares in racehorses on the back of a fortune swindled from the public purse.

The 52-year-old Welsh book-keeper was jailed for seven years and four months in Britain in January last year after he pleaded guilty to the elaborate scam.

Bevan was back in Cardiff Crown Court for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing yesterday and Judge Michael Fitton QC ordered him to repay the amount inside three months or face another five years behind bars.

He was prosecuted in Britain with the co-operation of the Bermuda authorities because he took the money home with him.

Bevan started his job as payments manager for the Bermuda Government in January 2011 on a salary of $100,000 a year.

Timothy Evans, for the prosecution, said he worked in the Accountant-General’s department for two years as a “trusted” member of staff.

The father of two was employed to implement a new finance system in which he was an expert and used that knowhow to cover his tracks.

Bevan built up a small property empire in Britain after he invested a big chunk of the cash in houses and penthouse apartments. He also lived the high life and attended top horse racing tracks as a VIP.

Bevan and his family also enjoyed regular lavish holidays in the Caribbean, United States and Europe.

But his gambling addiction took a huge toll and he lost $600,000 after he placed more than 18,000 online bets between 2009 and 2014.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of transfer of criminal property and ten counts of conversion of criminal property.

Judge Fitton told Bevan when he sentenced him that he had been “driven by greed”.

Bevan cheated his mother out of $62,000 after he arrived back in Britain in 2013.

Lavinia Bevan, who died last year in her seventies, was persuaded by her son to part with her money after he lied to her that he was going to invest it.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how he pocketed the cash after she wrote him a cheque.

Bevan was jailed for an additional 18 months by Judge Fitton after he was found guilty of theft following a trial.

He was also ordered to pay his mother’s estate $42,000 at the Proceeds of Crime hearing.

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