Richard Hoos

Richard Hoos
Born	Richard Andrew Hoos (1958-02-17) 17 February 1958 Bristol, United Kingdom
Occupation	Debt collector
Years active	1981–2024
Era	Vriend Era
Organization(s)	Toetanchamon Themis
Known for	Founding and leading the British department of Themis
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Title	Head of the British Themis department
Term	1 October 2004 – 31 August 2024
Successor	Calum Hoos
Criminal status	Released
Spouse	Margaret Kerr
Children	2, including Calum Hoos
Parent	Wolfgang Röttger Hoos
Family	Hoos family
Convictions	Attempted murder Robbery Coercive abuse
Criminal penalty	Imprisonment
Date apprehended	21 September 2015

Richard Andrew Hoos (born 17 February 1958) is a British debt collector and member of the Hoos family from Bristol. He worked for Toetanchamon in The Hague during the 1980s and later founded the British department of Themis. He led the department from 1 October 2004 until his retirement on 31 August 2024.

Hoos was imprisoned from 12 May 2016 to 20 November 2020 after convictions for attempted murder, robbery, and coercive abuse. His son, Calum Hoos, took over the British Themis department on 1 September 2024.

Early life and education

Hoos was born in Bristol on 17 February 1958. He weighed 6.4 kg at birth and was treated as severely overweight for a newborn. His father, Wolfgang Röttger Hoos, was a German former Waffen-SS member who settled in Bristol after the Second World War. The family background matched the wider Hoos history of German military service and postwar movement into Western Europe.

Hoos attended Whitehall Primary School from 1 September 1963 to 25 July 1969 and St George Secondary Modern School from 2 September 1969 to 18 July 1975. Between 14 October 1973 and 11 December 1974, he was disciplined for three incidents in which he placed fireworks in school toilets. The final incident led to a suspension from St George Secondary Modern School.

In 1975, Hoos stole cigarettes from coin-operated vending machines by using a coin tied to a rope, a method taught to him by his father. The thefts took place around Easton and St Philip's between 7 March 1975 and 19 May 1975.

After leaving school, Hoos took an evening course in vehicle maintenance and basic welding at Bristol Technical College from 8 September 1975 to 18 June 1976. He then worked in garages and delivery yards in Bristol and Avonmouth.

Toetanchamon

On 8 April 1981, Hoos left Bristol for The Hague after being introduced to Hoos family contacts working around Toetanchamon. He lived in The Hague from 12 April 1981 to 3 September 1984 and worked as a debt-collection assistant, driver, and guard.

Hoos returned to Bristol in September 1984 but remained part of the Toetanchamon network through British contacts. He continued working under its structure until Themis replaced it as the central Hoos organisation in 1997.

Themis

Hoos accepted the Themis structure on 2 April 1997 and began organising its British contacts from Bristol. He opened a British office in St Philip's Marsh on 5 May 1997 and moved it to a larger office near Temple Meads on 18 February 2001.

On 1 October 2004, Hoos became head of the British Themis department. His department handled debt recovery and private security contracts for British clients.

Hoos did business with Charlie Churchill, a British drug trafficker tied to the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen. Their association began on 17 June 2009 and continued until 2014. Churchill was later tried by the London Tribunal after the fall of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen and the United Kingdom.

By 2013, Hoos's personal net worth was estimated at £18.6 million. The estimate came from property holdings in Bristol, cash reserves, and proceeds from Themis-linked debt contracts.

On 23 November 2007, an explosion damaged the parish council office in Bitton, South Gloucestershire. The building had recently rejected a security contract proposed through a Hoos-linked intermediary. Hoos was questioned on 5 December 2007 after a van connected to his department was reported near the building before the explosion.

Imprisonment

On 18 September 2015, Hoos and three associates attacked Graham Telfer, the owner of Telfer Marine Logistics, at a storage yard in Avonmouth. Telfer had failed to repay debts connected to a transport-protection arrangement managed by the British Themis department.

Hoos was arrested on 21 September 2015. On 11 May 2016, he was convicted at Bristol Crown Court of attempted murder, robbery, and coercive abuse. He was sentenced on 12 May 2016 and remained imprisoned until 20 November 2020.

After his release, Hoos returned to the British Themis department in an advisory role.

Personal life

Hoos married Margaret Kerr in Bristol on 9 June 1984. They had two children: Calum Hoos, born on 3 March 1986, and Elspeth Hoos, born on 19 August 1989.

By 2023, Hoos had severe diabetes, near-total blindness, and limited mobility. He stopped attending field meetings on 14 February 2023 and retired on 31 August 2024. Calum Hoos succeeded him the next day.

See also

• Hoos family
• Hoos family members
• Eef Hoos
• Toetanchamon
• Themis
• Charlie Churchill
• London Tribunal
• Bristol
• The Hague
• Waffen-SS
• Tanoa Einsatzgruppen
• United Kingdom