Couple in £55,000 benefit fraud told to pay back £940,000

Anthony Kearney, 46, and Donna McCafferty, 44, were ordered by the Crown Office to pay £943,366 after being convicted of a housing benefit fraud in December 2009.

They admitted claiming benefit when they had more than £330,000 in offshore accounts.

Kearney’s two frauds were worth £22,983.55 and £19,408.79, from the Department of Work and Pensions between December 1997 and March 2004.

Kearney, from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, also defrauded the Bank of Scotland and the Clydesdale Bank of £10,350 by using a false identity to take out credit cards and breached section 327(1)(a) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, concerning the concealment or transfer of assets, amounting to £126,400 in October 2003.

McCafferty admitted housing benefit fraud totalling £13,003.25 between November 1999 and March 2004.

The pair were initially investigated in a complex operation undertaken by Strathclyde Police in late 2003 and early 2004. But they fled to Spain and set up home in Alicante.

They were arrested on an international warrant in the Costa Blanca in November 2008 after featuring on Crimestoppers’ most-wanted list and were extradited back to Scotland.

The majority of the confiscation order was made against Kearney, who was told to pay £930,362.75 at Glasgow Sheriff Court. An order of £13,003.25 was made against McCafferty.

Kearney, who had also pled guilty to money laundering, was sentenced to two years in prison and McCafferty to 250 hours’ community service.

Kearney’s conviction for money laundering meant that the court was entitled to consider that the income and assets obtained during the six years before the offence were the proceeds of crime, and to take these into account when deciding the amount of the confiscation order.

Solicitor General Lesley Thomson QC said: “Anthony Kearney and Donna McCafferty lied about their circumstances to rob the public purse of thousands of pounds in benefit fraud before fleeing to Spain to try to escape justice.

“They were arrested on an international warrant within 24 hours of a Crimestoppers’ appeal, which featured them on a ‘most-wanted’ list, and extradited back to Scotland.

“COPFS (Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service] will continue to work to bring criminals to justice wherever they may be in the world.

“This case should also be a warning to those who think that targeting public funds through criminal enterprise is an easy way to make money.

“It is also a reminder Proceeds of Crime legislation covers a wide range of offences where there has been financial benefit.”

Figures released earlier this year showed more than £25 million has been seized from criminals since the legislation was introduced.