Lawyer Monthly Magazine - February 2020 Edition

The UK’s most prolific female fraudster Maria Michaela, dubbed by police at the time as the UK’s most prolific female fraudster, conned banks out of £13m by submitting offers on houses over the market value and then defaulting on the mortgages [5] . By creating false identities, Michaela was able to repeat this scam multiple times, conning banks out of millions until she was eventually arrested in January 2012 after being tracked back to a mortgage broker she had been working at in Blackheath. Offers coming in well over the asking price on properties may be a classic case of being too good to be true. Of course, many strong offers will be genuine, but mortgage brokers should critically analyse these to consider whether there may be something fraudulent going on. Designer watches, gold bars, and 500 lottery tickets Police had suspected Stephen Burton [6] , from Tunbridge Wells, of purchasing expensive items and rare metals to cover up money earned through illegal activity. Whenhis homewas eventually raided inFebruary 2019, police uncovered possessions with value totalling nearly £1 million, including gold bars, Krugerrand coins, silver coins, designer watches, thousands of pounds and euros, 500 lottery tickets, and various false identity documents, including two passports with Burton’s name, but different birthplaces and dates of birth. This is a prime example of detectives ‘following the money’, as purchasing expensive metals and items as an average citizen can often be a clear indication of fraudulent activity. £15 million smuggled from UK to Dubai in suitcases In November 2019, ten suspected members of an organised crime gang were arrested under suspicion of smuggling £15.5 million out of the United Kingdom to Dubai in suitcases. These suspects were also wanted in connection for conspiracy to illegally transport 17 people into the UK. Luxury cars, drugs and cash were all seized from the suspects’ homes when they were raided by the National Crime Agency. This is another example of the authorities building a case on suspected illegal activity and acting upon their information. Unusual travel patterns and living far beyond one’s means is often a key indicator that illegal activity may be going on. One of the UK’s largest benefit frauds Ethel McGill, 68, from Cheshire, was jailed in July 2019 for one of the largest benefit frauds ever recorded in the UK [8] . McGill claimed her dead father, Robert Dennison, was still alive anddoing so allowed her to claim his war pension and benefits after his death in 2004. At one point, McGill even asked a friend to lay down underneath a blanket to pretend to be Mr Dennison. McGill also faked disability and dementia for over two decades. Eventually, investigators from the Department for Work and Pensions acquired video recordings of her driving and moving around, despite claims she needed a wheelchair. This is a sad case of benefit fraud but thankfully investigators eventually caught up with McGill’s charade. However, everyday people should keep an eye out for suspicious activity and report it to the authorities if something doesn’t appear genuine. 28 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | FEB 2020 Special Feature Written by John Dobson, SmartSearch 4 5 6 7