A PROPERTY fraudster jailed for 11 years for duping vulnerable cash-strapped victims into signing over their homes has complained to a judge that his own £800,000 property is to be repossessed.
Edwin McLaren, 54, was in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow on Monday, along with his wife Lorraine, for a Proceeds of Crime action against them.
He was jailed in 2017 after the longest criminal trial in Scotland for his involvement in a £1.6million property fraud scheme.
Dad-of-two McLaren was found guilty of 29 charges after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow that began in September 2015 and heard evidence over 320 days.
His 54-year-old wife was found guilty of two charges, involving a fraudulent mortgage application on their own home and money laundering involving a sum of £128,000.
She was sentenced to two-and-a-half years behind bars but was released after nine months.
This week, McLaren, who was representing himself in court, told judge Lord Arthurson: “My home at Juniper Avenue, Bridge of Weir, has been inhibited by the Crown.
“My home, which is worth £800,000, is now about to be repossessed. I’m very concerned.
READ MORE: Couple convicted for £1.6m property fraud in Scotland's longest ever criminal trial
“It is rented out and rent of £80,000 is due and we can’t deal with the property.
“The Crown have given Aberdein Considine the authority to sell my house.”
Lord Arthurson asked prosecutor Bill McVicar to look into what is happening with McLaren’s house.
The judge continued the Proceeds of Crime hearing until January 13 at the High Court in Edinburgh.
McLaren also complained about the difficulty of reading figures in the paperwork supplied to him by the Crown.
During his trial, a court heard how McLaren preyed on vulnerable people by arranging for the title deeds of their homes to be transferred to his associates without the victims’ knowledge.
The estimated cost of the 20-month trial was £7.5m.
Jurors heard of the couple’s lavish lifestyle, which included luxury holidays in Dubai and splurging £100,000 on a ring for her and private schools for their kids.
Bentley-driving McLaren was described by trial judge Lord Stewart as showing “breathtaking dishonesty.”
The fraudster left victims out-of-pocket and, in some cases, homeless.
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