UK’s most prolific female fraudster is jailed for nine years

A WOMAN described by police as the UK’s most prolific female fraudster has been jailed for nine years for conning banks out of £13 million.

Maria Michaela, 31, posed as the heiress to a South African business fortune to claim eight loans for property in the London, an investigation found.

Aided by an accomplice, she submitted heavily over-estimated prices for the houses and then defaulted on the mortgages.

Detective Inspector Andy Fyfe said: “False identities and a corrupt property surveyor were the tools she used to make millions, turning herself into one of the, if not the, most prolific female fraudster the UK has ever seen.”