Thomas Robinson outside Falkirk Sheriff Court. Copyright Pic: The Central Scotland News Agency.

Prosecutors are seeking to claw back cash from a Scottish conman who was sent to prison after scamming the Jersey Royal Company and other businesses in a £550,000 fraudulent tea-growing scheme.

Thomas Robinson falsely claimed that he grew thousands of tea plants – many of which later died – on a Perthshire farm in an act of deceit which allowed him to sell them at a high price to prestigious buyers due to their “Scottish-grown” label.

But the plants were actually sourced from Europe for cheap before being sold on at a significant mark-up to unsuspecting customers, which included the Jersey Royal Company.

The fraud against the Jersey Royal Company took place between 2014 and 2018, before its sale to supplier Albert Bartlett in 2024.

Pictured: Robinson had told people that one of his teas was the “Queen’s favourite”.

Robinson – who also went by Thomas O’Brien or ‘Tam O’Braan’ – made £550,000 from the scam over a five-year period.

He was sentenced to three-and-a-half years imprisonment by Stirling Sheriff Court in June.

Now the Scottish Crown Office is seeking to recoup as many of the ill-gotten gains as possible and has launched Proceeds of Crime action.

It is now seeking to establish how far Robinson benefited from his crimes, and how much he will be able to pay back, the Courier reported.

An initial confiscation hearing has already taken place at Stirling Sheriff Court, and a further Proceeds of Crime hearing is scheduled for December.