Four members of a fraud ring were jailed for a total of 21 years referring to 189 mortgages between May 2003 and June 2008 in North Wales. One member received a suspended jail sentence of 12 months and 300 hours community service.
The lengthy five-year investigation into the case came to a climax at the sentencing, where Judge Rhys Rowlands stated the crime was on “breath-taking” proportions.
The ring orchestrated more than 1000 sabotaged mortgage applications which referred to houses, flats and apartments. Other documents falsified include statements of income and letters in support of application.
Developer Sheila Whalley, 67, from Lalanfairtalhaiarn in the Conwy Valley was jailed for 6 years. Surveyor Frank Edward Darlington, 62, Barnoldswick in Lancashire received 4 years. Solicitor Nicholas John Jones, 54, from Mold was jailed for the same duration.
Ringleader and former police officer, Antony Lowry Huws, 65, from Kinmel Bay near Rhyl- was jailed for 7 years on Friday the 6th September at Mould Crowned Court. The sentence for his wife, Susan Margaret Lowry-Huws, 60 was suspended for 2 years.
Elspeth Pringle, specialist fraud prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said all members no matter how secondary had their part to play and were fully aware of their actions. She added “The scale, duration and sophistication of this fraudulent scheme are a demonstration of criminal behaviour at its most devious.”
"The actions of the five members of this mortgage fraud ring were motivated by nothing more than greed, and their willingness to betray the trust of mortgage lenders for personal profit seemed to have no limits.”
The con artists scammed lenders by inflating the actual value of the property that was being used as security, in order to obtain bigger loans. They hid the fact that in some cases no deposit was put down or the properties retail income potential was expanded. In other occasions, the properties simply didn’t exist.
Lowry-Huws and Whalley were able to gain buy-to-let mortgages on properties because the group’s surveyor was willing to overvalue homes. The surveyor was instructed on what valuation to give, and what rental income should be.
Defendants ensured they obtained funding to clear any bridging loan, the freehold was paid for and the excess funds were split up among members.
The mortgages were initially taken out in their own names, but as the fraud expanded they used the name of family members and others.
Prosecutor- Patrick Harrington QC said to Mold Crown Court, the scheme began on a modest scale but then grew to surprising proportions.
Mr Harrington added that the fraud had been carried out by the defendants and other accomplices. North Wales police say the case is rumoured to expect more prosecutions later on in the year.
Bradford and Bingley Bank sounded the alarm on the investigation and officials later called in the police.
All have denied their charges to conspiracy to defraud, were convicted after a 4 month trial. It was the size not the sophistication of the plot that surprised investigators, Jurors saw 50,000 items of complex evidence.
The defence disagreed with the £20 million figure asserted by prosecutors and claimed it was closer to £1 million.
North Wales Police detective chief inspector Lestyn Davies said: "Operation Valgus is reportedly the largest mortgage fraud ever investigated in England and Wales.
"It is the largest fraud ever to be investigated by North Wales Police by a considerable margin in terms of value, complexity and substantiality.”
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