FIVE HELD AFTER COPS BUST pounds 2.8M MORTGAGE FRAUD RING; EXCLUSIVE Claims as two appear in court.Byline: By NORMAN SILVESTER FIVE people have been arrested following a police probe into an alleged pounds 2.8million mortgage fraud. The three men and two women are accused of conning major lenders such as Lloyds TSB Lloyds TSB Group plc (LSE: LLOY) is a banking and insurance group in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1995 by the merger of Lloyds Bank and the Trustee Savings Bank (TSB). The Group's head office is at 25 Gresham Street, London. over 18 months. Two people have appeared in court and three others are due to follow. The investigation centres on claims that the gang were applying for mortgages, of pounds 250,000 and more, using fictitious names and dates of birth. It is also claimed they used bogus documents to obtain loans. The lowest sum allegedly obtained by them was pounds 40,000 and the highest pounds 261,250. On five occasions, sums of just under pounds 250,000 were allegedly paid out to the team. Michael O'Neil, 38, and Richard Crawford, 25, both from Glasgow, appeared at the city's sheriff court on fraud charges. It is claimed O'Neil was involved on 17 fraudulent mortgage applications processed between September, 2004 and April, 2006. Crawford is alleged to have had involvement in 11 applications during the same period. The three others charged by police are also from Glasgow and are expected to appear in court later. It's claimed a range of fraudulent applications were submitted to obtain loans from the Bristol & West Building Society and Lloyds TSB using brokers who were unaware of the alleged scam. O'Neil and Crawford are said to have bought a string of properties using the bogus mortgage applications. They include homes in Great Western Road and Partickbridge Street in Glasgow's west end, Kirklands Drive and St Helens St Helens may refer to: Places:
The two women are alleged to have set up bank accounts to receive the millions in fraudulently obtained loans. The Crown Office in Edinburgh yesterday confirmed an investigation was under way. A spokeswoman said: "Two men appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court Glasgow Sheriff Court is the main Court in Glasgow. It is located in the Gorbals area of the city and is the busiest court in Europe. [1] The Sheriff Court lies within the Sheriffdom of Glasgow & Strathkelvin. on March 10 on charges of fraud. They were given bail pending inquiries." The 18-month investigation was carried out by detectives from the Strathclyde Police Strathclyde Police is the police force for the Scottish council areas of Argyll and Bute, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire. Fraud Squad Police Fraud Squad City of London Police The largest Fraud squad is run by the City of London Police who are responsible for policing London's and the UK's main financial hub. . The alleged scam was uncovered when some of the "borrowers" defaulted on the loans and could not be traced. Last month, the Sunday Mail revealed that the development at Parkholme Court in Hamilton was being investigated by police. Mortgage fraud is one of the fastest growing crimes in Britain. Last year, high street lenders such as banks and building societies lost pounds 700million to conmen. Properties and sums involved pounds 40,000 for a house in Low Waters Road, Hamilton. pounds 40,500 for a home Milton, Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire. pounds 121,500 and pounds 128,500 for two flats in North Frederick Path, Glasgow city centre. pounds 135,000 for a flat in Parsonage Square, Glasgow city centre. pounds 147,250 for a house in Kilpatrick Court, Stepps. Loans of pounds 175,750 each for six flats in Parkholme Court, Hamilton. One loan of pounds 230,850 and three of pounds 237,500 for flats in Langside, Glasgow. O'Neil and Crawford were allegedly involved in the application for a pounds 261,250 loan from LLoyds TSB for a flat in Newton Mearns Coordinates: Newton Mearns is a small suburban town 7 miles southwest of Glasgow, Scotland on the main road to Ayrshire. It has a population of approximately 22,637,[1] and is 410 feet above sea level. . The Bristol and West were stung for eight loans totalling pounds 992,500. Lloyds TSB were hit for nine loans amounting to pounds 1,879,100 - pounds 2,871,600 in total. SUNDAY EMAIL See e-mail. n.silvester@sundaymail.co.uk CAPTION(S): Probe: It's alleged flats were bought in Parkholme Court, Hamilton, with bogus applications |
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