Alex Midgley, a 31-year-old aspiring cryptocurrency broker dubbed the 'Spanish Scouser', was sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday for his role in laundering criminal proceeds for the notorious Huyton Firm. Midgley, of Custley Hey in Stockbridge Village, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis, conspiracy to convert criminal property, and possession of criminal property.
Naivety or hubris?
Midgley's barrister, Louise Santamera, argued her client was 'wet behind the ears' and 'really, really naïve' about the criminals he was dealing with. Born and raised in Malaga, Spain, Midgley did not fully grasp the extent of the Coggins brothers' criminality, she said. 'He was driven by hubris and positioned himself between criminals who were a lot more sophisticated than him.'
However, messages on the encrypted platform EncroChat, infiltrated by French police in spring 2020, painted a different picture. Using the handle 'Viper East', Midgley told a contact: 'The firm who are investing into Bitcoin are a heavy firm from my city and they don't f*** about. I just don't need headaches you see.'
The Huyton Firm
The 'firm' was the Huyton Firm, led by brothers Vincent and Francis Coggins. Born on the Cantril Farm estate in the mid-1960s, they were immersed in crime by their teens. Francis, considered the brains, moved to the Costa del Sol in the 1990s to run a cocaine smuggling syndicate with alleged links to the Kinahan cartel. Vincent handled domestic distribution, stretching from Devon to Scotland. They had inside men at the Port of Liverpool and a police contact, referred to as 'the computer man' and 'piggy'. They also smuggled drugs via UPS, posing as legitimate companies like G-Star Raw. Estimated to have imported class A drugs with a wholesale value of at least £16 million in one year, the brothers needed to launder their profits.
Midgley's role
Midgley, a university graduate, sought fast money during the Covid pandemic to support his mother after his father died of a heart attack in front of him. Using the handle 'Mixed Jet', he advised Francis Coggins in April 2020: 'It's a good time to invest in Bitcoin in the next 18 months. The price will rise massively.' Coggins replied, 'got people looking for millions.' Midgley then sought contacts to handle the cash, with one associate boasting of a London banker who 'stole f***ing millions and millions'. Though no final deals were confirmed, Midgley was arrested on April 23 this year leaving a van bearing his cleaning company logo. Police seized £24,620 in cash from an address he had visited.
Sentencing
Judge Garrett Byrne noted the 'element of immaturity and bravado' but said it was 'a tragedy that someone like you has ended up in this position.' He acknowledged Midgley's good character, lack of reoffending, grief, depression, and the impact on his young daughter. Vincent Coggins received 28 years in 2020 for drugs and blackmail. Francis Coggins was given 18-and-a-half years in November last year after being extradited from the Netherlands.
