Scots couple jailed over £1.6m mortgage fraud

Edwin and Lorraine McLaren were described as “heartless and driven by greed” following their conviction last month for having orchestrated a highly complex series of mortgage frauds

The pair have now been jailed for a total of 11 years.

Bentley-driving Edwin McLaren, 52, of Quarrier’s Village in Inverclyde, conned dozens of victims over the course of several years to fund his lavish lifestyle – which included a £760,000 mansion in Renfrewshire, private schools, luxury trips to Dubai and £100,000 ring for wife.

The fraud consisted of targeting those who may have been in financial difficulty and convincing them to sign over their homes before duping them into transferring the proceeds of the sale to a bank account controlled by himself.

In some cases, he provided a loan to pay off the mortgage as well as other debts but had instead arranged the sale of their property to a third party.

Cash from the fraud was then used as deposit for the next fraudulent purchase.

He was convicted in May on 29 charges and sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow following a trial which had started in September 2015.

His wife, Lorraine McLaren, also 52, was convicted of two charges including one of mortgage fraud.

She was sentenced to two and half years in prison.

Lindsey Miller, Deputy Crown Agent at the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “It is rare to have a case of such complexity and I want to pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of the team who brought about this successful prosecution and secured justice for the many victims of Edwin McLaren.

“The case was put together first by the painstaking work of colleagues from Police Scotland and then by the expertise of specialist prosecutors from the Crown.

“McLaren’s actions were conducted in such a covert way that it was an incredibly demanding investigation which took a considerable time to unpick the chain of events before that evidence could then be led in court.

“The prosecuting team were able to put in front of the jury compelling evidence and the story of a man who was calculated in his deception and showed no remorse for the victims of his deceit.”

Proceeds of crime proceedings have been started against Mr McLaren.