Fraudster caged for 11 years seeks appeal to Supreme Court

Accused was jailed after Britain’s longest criminal trial

A property fraudster who was jailed for 11 years after Britain’s longest criminal trial is seeking to appeal to the UK’s Supreme Court.

Edwin McLaren, 53, wants to challenge convictions for frauds against the vulnerable and money laundering offences.

McLaren and his wife Lorraine, 53, had sought to appeal their convictions to the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh but their grounds were rejected by judges.

He was also appealing against the sentence imposed on him after he was found guilty of 25 fraud charges, three money laundering offences and breaching bail.

His wife was jailed for 30 months after she was convicted of one fraud and a single money laundering offence. The Crown raised a proceeds of crime action against them in a bid to confiscate illegal profits in the latest in a serious of hearings in the case, which called at the High Court in Edinburgh.

McLaren’s solicitor advocate Gerry Brown said: “The situation is that an application has been lodged with this court seeking permission for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court on behalf of both.”

The court heard it was hoped that a decision on the leave to appeal move would be available by the end of the year.

The confiscation action against McLaren has been prolonged because of the prospect of an appeal.

Former financial adviser McLaren obtained more than £1.6 million by fraud in the four years running up to January 2013.

Lord Stewart, the trial judge who jailed him at the High Court in Glasgow last year, said: “Your motivation was to obtain funds from mortgage lenders to finance an affluent lifestyle. To do this you had to set up house purchases for which mortgage funding could be obtained and which you could control. You plan involved targeting house owners in financial difficulty,” said the judge.

McLaren found potential clients by advertising in the press using the business names Home Sale Solutions and Property Solutions, and arranged for houses to be bought in the names of family members or associates.

Lord Stewart said: “You induced the clients, unknowingly, to sign away their whole right and title to your nominee purchasers.

“Notwithstanding that, the whole right and title with vacant possession was transferred to your nominee purchasers you induced the clients who wanted to stay put to think that they had a legal right to stay on in their houses indefinitely.

“The evidence which the jury must have accepted demonstrated breath-taking dishonesty in every aspect of your enterprise by you personally and by your assistants and certain professional advisers acting on your directions.

“I am satisfied that the jurors, or a majority of them, rejected your evidence on the critical issues because they have found you to be an outright liar.”

If the Scottish High Court judges refuse McLaren leave to appeal to the UK Supreme Court, then he can seek special permission from the London court to have his application considered.

Your motivation was to obtain funds to finance your lifestyle Lord Stewart