Alcatraz Caffe has closed for good

Earlier this year at Southampton Crown Court, the three brothers who ran a restaurant and bar empire, were jailed for a total of 14 years for stealing £3million in a complex tax fraud. This followed a lengthy trial where all three denied the charges.

Bournemouth brothers Shahab Hashtroudi, 64, Shahin Hashtroudi, 58, and Hedayat Hashtroudi, 68, ran premises in Dorset, Hampshire and Surrey.

They each received prison sentences ranging from six to four years for their part in the fraud.

A Facebook group, established by staff, confirmed the Bournemouth Alcatraz closure.

Neighbouring businesses say the restaurant has stopped trading, and when the Echo visited the site, yesterday, it was locked up and mail posted inside the front gates had been uncollected.

No signs were on the door to tell customers what was going on, but tables inside remained set for dinner with cutlery and wine glasses.

The staff Facebook post, which lamented the end of the business, praised the brothers for establishing the restaurant.

It also read: "I think Alcatraz will never be forgotten, it will always be in our heart.

"To all our customers we say thank you for your support and as one of the key members of Alcatraz it has been my pleasure to serve you all and we are sorry if we didn't please some of you, but we want you to know we always made sure we did our best."

The Alcatraz Group was established in 1974 and expanded across 15 outlets.

These included the Alcatraz Caffes at Horseshoe Common in Bournemouth, and High Street, Poole. However, the group was dissolved as a company in December 2016.

The Echo understands the Poole Alcatraz Caffe has been purchased and will soon open as a new restaurant.

Yesterday, the premises was closed for business.

After the brothers were sentenced HMRC confirmed confiscation proceedings had started in a bid to recover the proceeds of the crimes.

Yesterday, HMRC told the Echo: "Confiscation proceedings to recover proceeds of the crimes are continuing."

These complex proceedings remain ongoing, with court dates set for Southampton Crown Court on December 17 this year.

Speaking after the brothers' sentencing hearing in February, HM Revenue and Customs Fraud Investigation Service assistant director Richard Wilkinson said: "The Hashtroudi brothers were serial offenders in setting up businesses and ripping off the British taxpayer, by pocketing the income tax and national insurance contributions employees had made and also VAT on sales.

"The money they failed to declare is the equivalent to the starting salaries of 165 nurses for a year."